Paris take flight in Nîmes

News

The context:
On Thursday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball were in Lidl StarLigue Round 18 action. One week after travelling to second-placed Nantes, the league leaders welcomed third-placed Nîmes to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. While the capital club had the opportunity to regain a six-point lead over The H (who had won 24 hours earlier over Saint-Raphaël, 29-33), USAM could consolidate their place on the podium and move considerably further ahead of Montpellier (four points clear before throw-off) if they were successful.

The match:
There was no need for a warm-up lap for Les Rouge et Bleu, who started their match very well (4': 4-1). Thanks to Rodrigo Corrales' iron defence and a skilful attack led by Nikola Karabatic and Gudjon Sigurdsson, they carved out a decent lead despite a Nîmes side offering some fine resistance (12': 8-4). But our players weren't just efficient, they also put on a show! Nedim Remili scored with a fine chabala (16': 11-7), while Sander Sagosen squeezed one in at the far post from a tricky angle (21': 14-8). But, as the end of the first half approached, the fate of the game was far from sealed, especially when future Parisian Elohim Prandi reduced the deficit (27': 17-14). However, Paris were still three points clear at the break (30': 18-15).

Despite the efforts of Sander and Rodrigo, the game was still very close in the early stages of the second half (34': 20-17). Raul Gonzalez's side managed to fend off plenty of pressure form USAM and started moving forward once more. Our attackers upped their efficiency just as our rearguard made several interceptions that were converted into goals (36': 22-18). In the space of a few moments, the capital club had streaked ahead once more (41': 26-19), but the gap increased again as Dylan Nahi struck with kung-fu, set up by Benoît Kounkoud (43': 28-19), and Nikola Karabatic hit the target from long range after Rodri had pulled off a superb point-blank save (47': 31-22). In short, Paris dominated the latter stages of the game and went ten goals to the good when Benoît struck again (49': 32-22). In the final moments, there was little suspense (54': 36-25) and Sander's goal proved the final nail in Nîmes' coffin as Paris won comfortably (39-29).

The Parisian of the match: Rodrigo Corrales
The Nîmes attack - the Lidl StarLigue's third-best with 519 goals scored heading into this clash - had a lot of difficulties on Thursday night! It must be said that the Parisian defenders did an excellent job, but it was the man at the back of the court who shone brightest: Rodrigo Corrales. The Spanish international won 40 per cent of his duels with his opponents, saving 17 of their attempts.

The word: Invincible
After 18 Rounds of Lidl StarLigue action, Les Rouge et Bleu are still undefeated! They remain on a 21-game unbeaten run in the league, if we take into account the last three games of the 2018-2019 season. A fine run, which has installed them in top spot on the table, six points ahead of closest pursuers Nantes and now nine ahead of third-placed Nîmes.

Coming up:
Paris Saint-Germain Handball are now embarking on a week of cup action! On Sunday afternoon, they will play host to Dunkerque in their French Cup quarter-final. Their next match will take place on Saturday 14 March, at the Antares in Le Mans for the League Cup Final4. Our team will face Toulouse in the semi-final. In case of victory, Paris will meet the winner of the other semi, between Nantes and Chambéry, the following day.

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)