Paris punch ticket for the quarters

Match reports

On Thursday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball played what looked very much like an EHF Champions League Round of 16 match - on Matchday 13 of the group stage. With a win, Group A leaders Paris could secure direct qualification for the quarter-finals (without going through the round of 16), but also top spot in the group. To do so, they had to win at the ORLEN Arena, against a Plock side that was playing for their survival. 

In an electric atmosphere, the two teams looked evenly matched in the first minutes of the game (6': 2-2). The capital club was hampered by an efficient defence and an attack that took an early lead (11': 6-5). The first quarter of an hour passed very quickly and ended with the two teams neck and neck (16': 9-9).

After this initial observation round and a talk from Raul Gonzalez, the Parisian players got into their game and took the lead (20': 9-11). From then on, our team were in front, but without really breaking away (26': 13-14). Moreover, the Poles were very close to coming back, but missed their last attempt before the buzzer - which allowed the Parisians to return to the locker room with a lead.

The second half started well for Les Rouge et Bleu, who carved out a first +3 lead thanks to a goal from Elohim Prandi (35': 15-18). In individual terms, Kamil Syprzak also had a good game. The Polish international, born in Plock, received a standing ovation from his former supporters but didn't let that stop him from keeping his new club in the lead (41': 17-20). But really it was the whole team that started the second half very strongly - both the defence and the attack - and the Parisian lead increased (46': 19-24).

The capital club could thus approach the final ten minutes with relative calm (51': 20-26). Especially as they continued to shine! They did not concede any more goals thanks to a good backline and scored some after well-constructed moves (54': 21-29). Very diligent, Paris Saint-Germain Handball won in Plock (26-32) - a success that ensured the team of finishing on top of the group with a place in the quarters guaranteed - even before playing host Veszprém for the final group-stage match next week.

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, LUKA KARABATIC AND JANNICK GREEN:

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)