Paris roll on

Comptes-rendus

Paris Saint-Germain handball beat Toulouse 28-31 on Sunday in round 13 of the Liqui Moly StarLigue. We take a look back at this crucial victory for Les Rouge et Bleu!

A few days after a convincing victory over Dinamo Bucharest (33-40) on the final EHF Champions League matchday for 20224, Les Rouge et Bleu were back on the road this Sunday for Matchday 13 of the Liqui Moly StarLigue. Another crucial encounter awaited Raul Gonzalez's men in Toulouse. Although Fenix had been inconsistent in the league this season, languishing fifth in the standings, they remained a formidable opponent with plenty of resources at their disposal to try and put an end to the capital club's perfect record in the top flight.

The match got off to the best possible start for the Parisians, who put in plenty of effort in both attack and defence to take control from the outset. Early strikes from Ferran Solé and Yahia Omar, combined with Andreas Palicka's saves, gave the capital club their first break (4': 0-2). Toulouse were quiet for the first five minutes, but then they began to attack with seven men, giving themselves more options and managing to break through the Rouge et Bleu defence. This tactical adjustment paid off for the home side as they gradually found their rhythm in this first quarter of an hour (9': 3-3). From then on, the two sides went at each other blow for blow, but Paris held firm despite two consecutive temporary sendings off (15': 6-7). Although Jef Lettens held firm on his line on several occasions in the first half, he was powerless to stop Yahia Omar (three goals) and Luc Steins, who gave a glimpse of his dazzling skills to eliminate two opponents and open his scoring account for the evening (19': 8-9).

The Parisians were more determined than ever to get back into the game and duly increased their intensity to regain a two-goal lead (22': 9-11). Toulouse did not give up, however, and went all out to make up the deficit (24': 12-12), but the scoreline didn't remain level for long, thanks to Yahia's fantastic form. The Egyptian international was on fire throughout the first half, scoring a hat-trick to take his tally to six and restore the capital club's slender lead (28': 13-15). In the end, Paris went into the break with a three-goal lead thanks to Kamil Syprzak's 800th Liqui Moly StarLigue goal, which further cemented his place in the French league's pantheon (30': 14-17).

The second half started at a slower pace. Toulouse redoubled their efforts to get back into the game, and Jef Lettens led the way with consecutive saves to deny Jacob and Yahia (34': 16-18). However, the Parisians had no intention of giving Fénix the slightest opportunity, and widened the gap thanks in particular to a brace from Jacob (39': 16-21). With a numerical advantage, the capital club increased their lead and led the dance in a second period dedicated to managing the score. This did not stop Raul Gonzalez from stopping play to give his players new instructions, however (44': 18-23). From then on, Luc and Kamil stepped up the pace, while Andreas reduced the slim hopes of a Toulouse side desperate for a solution (48': 20-25).

However, the home side weren;t about to sit back and take it, and dug deep to revive the suspense in the final minutes. However, with a numerical advantage, the capital club did not slow down - far from it. After another save from Andreas, Luc picked up the ball in the centre circle and finished perfectly into the empty Toulouse goal (53': 22-27). With less than five minutes to go, Ferran Solé rounded off his scoring spree with a ninth goal from as many attempts and sealed victory for Les Rouge et Bleu (58': 26-30). At the end of a serious encounter, Paris emerged victorious over Toulouse to stay in sole control of the Liqui Moly StarLigue standings (60': 28-31). An important victory a week ahead of a trip to second-placed Nantes, which promises to be crucial for the rest of the season.

Reactions from Raul Gonzalez and Wallem Peleka:

(Credits: L. Valroff/PSG)