Paris run the show at Chambéry

Comptes-rendus

Paris Saint-Germain handball turned in a masterful display on Sunday, beating Chambéry 37-31 at Le Phare. Here's our look back at the Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 11 encounter.

Having notched a perfect record through the first third of the season, the capital club travelled to Chambéry on Sunday with the goal of continuing in the same vein. A tough new challenge awaited the Parisians, who had to contend with a number of injuries and an increasingly tough fixture list. Raul Gonzalez's men were about to play their third match away from home in a week, following wins in Aix (26-28) and Lisbon (39-28). With just a few days to go before a long-awaited return to Coubertin in front of their home fans, Les Rouge et Bleu knew they would have to give everything they had to maintain their lead over their pursuers.

Paris began the match very much on the front foot. Les Rouge et Bleus' wingers were the first to shine, with goals from Mathieu Grébille and Ferran Solé Sala (3': 1-2). Faced with a particularly compact Savoyard defence, the Parisians had to work hard to find a solution in the middle. In the absence of Kamil Syprzak, Gautier Loredon stepped up to the plate and put the capital club back in front (7': 3-4). Raul Gonzalez's men took full advantage of Chambéry's defensive lapses to score penalties, all converted by Ferran (9': 3-5). Trailing by a goal, Chambéry upped the tempo, scoring one goal after the other to work the crowd into a frenzy (13': 7-7). Les Rouge et Bleu responded to the home side's attacks, and it was Yahia Omar in particular who provided the entertainment in this first period, with a quick-fire three goals (15': 7-9). Between Jannick Green's saves and Chambéry's wavering attacks, Paris didn't hesitate in attackand extended their lead, thanks in particular to Ferran's fifth goal, whose foray behind the defence gave Valentin Kieffer no chance (19': 9-12).

With their backs to the wall, the Savoyards called their first time-out to try and close the gap. The stoppage in play had the desired effect for Chambéry, who made up part of their deficit (23': 13-14). Les Rouge et Bleu were a little off the pace at the end of the first half and copped three quick temporary exclusions, allowing the home side to take the lead (25': 15-14). Raul Gonzalez was proactive and decided to call his men back to make some valuable tactical adjustments. In no time at all, the capital club were attacking with seven men and were back in the lead thanks to Yahia Omar and Jacob Holm (27': 15-16). At the end of an exciting first half, Paris went into the break with a narrow one-goal lead (30': 17-18).

Right from the restart, Paris attacked with their foot to the floor and took advantage of another Savoyard turnover to increase their lead (32': 17-20). Les Rouge et Bleu were also imperious in defence. Jannick Green stepped up a gear, winning his penalty duel with Benjamin Richert. Buoyed by Jacob and Yahia (who scored his seventh goal of the evening), the capital club took off and forced Asier Antonio to stop the game prematurely in the second period (37': 18-23). The Parisians did not slow down, however. On the contrary, Les Rouge et Bleu made perfect use of the wings abandoned by the compact Chambéry defence and took off (42': 21-27). Fifteen minutes from time, Ferran maintained his perfect record by converting his tenth attempt. (44' : 22-30). It was a performance that not only broke his record for the season, but also took him past the historic milestone of 800 league goals.

Yahia Omar was not to be outdone, however, and he racked up eight goals and seven assists (48': 24-32). With the fate of the match sealed, Raul Gonzalez decided to make several changes. In the final minutes, it was Jacob Holm who rounded off the Parisian festival with a hat-trick to finish the match with nine goals, his record in a Rouge et Bleu shirt (58': 30-37). In imperious form in the second half, the capital club won on Savoyard soil to continue their perfect record in the league (60': 31-37). Now it's time for the long-awaited return to Coubertin on Wednesday against Füchse Berlin in the Champions League.

Reactions from Raul Gonzalez, Ferran Sole Sala and Jacob Holm:

(Credits: L. Valroff/PSG)