Paris prevail against Porto once more

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A little more than a week after the first confrontation, in Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain Handball faced off against Porto in their EHF Champions League Matchday 8 clash at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. In the first leg, Les Rouge et Bleu only just avoided the Portuguese trap (31-34).

As expected, the battle was just as tough as last week, literally and figuratively (7': 4-4). For long minutes, the two side duked it out blow for blow at both ends of the court but, with technical errors peppering play, neither team managed to get clear (10': 5-5). However, when Henrik Toft Hansen took advantage of a wayward Porto pass to throw play Dylan Nahi in, our left-winger made the first break of the game, conjuring a superb feint before firing home (13': 7-5).

The Parisians had arrived! In addition to getting their cutting edge on point, our players began defending better as well, working well with the excellent Vincent Gérard, who made several excellent saves (16': 9-5). Even when the Portuguese attackers were clean through on goal, the French international 'keeper was imperious (20': 11-6)!

Raul Gonzalez's men seem to have learned their lessons from the first leg, and managed to remain on the front foot (24': 12-8). They took full advantage of this, adding style to substance: just after Vincent made a reflex save rom point-blank range, Nedim Remili capped the ensuing counter with a hybrid spin-shot/chabala that almost defied belief (27': 14-9)! At the break, Paris were out in front, but not yet completely safe.

Last week, Les Rouge et Bleu managed to get back on track in the second half and this week they refused to give their opponents the same opportunity, keeping them at bay in the early stages (32': 17-11). Defensively, they were still as diligent as ever. Porto had to wait a very long time to carve out chances and were forced to push their luck (40': 21-16), but Viran Morros, back in the Paris Saint-Germain Handball squad, played a key role in keeping it tight at the back.

The Parisians were also doing well to make the most of their chances, with Henrik spotting an empty net and firing home from midfield (41': 22-17). The minutes ticked by slowly but surely, and our players remained in the lead. They even took their foot off the gas ever so slightly, their failure to convert a couple of counter-attacks preventing them from widening the gap even further.

Paris weren't in trouble and maintained their lead thanks to the formidable efficiency of Mikkel Hansen (49': 27-22). However, the following minutes were more complicated and Nedim Remili had some tough defensive work to do to prevent the Portuguese from pulling level, countering a long shot when the Parisian goal was deserted (55': 27-25). In the end, it was Nedim who put his side in the clear a few seconds before the end!

So, a second-straight Champions League win for Paris Saint-Germain Handball and their third in six games - a good omen before their two European matches next week, with the visits of Vardar Skopje (Tuesday, 1 December) and Kielce (Thursday, 3 December).

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)