Paris tighten their grip
60’ : C’est terminé ! Paris poursuit son sans-faute en @LidlStarligue, face à une belle équipe de l'@USIvryHB ! Plus d’infos à venir sur notre site officiel ! #USIPSG pic.twitter.com/haaUcxduaE
— PSG Handball (@psghand) October 16, 2019
The context:
On Wednesday evening, had just a short trip to make to derby rivals Ivry in Lidl StarLigue Round 7 action. Atop the standings, the capital club were looking to this derby to increase their lead - despite their hosts having made a strong start to the campaign (fifth on seven points).
The match:
Faced with the league's fourth best defence, our team took some time to find their rhythm in attack (4': 2-2). But once they had hit their stride - thanks in no small part to Nedim Remili - the Parisians were seemingly irresistible (10': 2-6). But the defense had nothing to envy their attacking colleagues, with the excellent Vincent Gérard and his rear-guard managing to shut the hosts out for ten long minutes (14': 2-9). Effective in all sectors, Les Rouge et Bleu unsurprisingly took a commanding lead, with Nikola Karabatic takein ghte opportunity to notch his 800th Lidl StarLigue goal (20': 7-14). While the home side tried to react before the break - through Axel Cochery (24': 9-14) - Raul Gonzalez's men widened their lead even further when Nedim scored yet again (6 from 6 in the first half) at the buzzer (30': 10-18).
Ivry came back from the dressing room with better intentions and made up some of their deficit (36': 15-20). But Paris quickly regained control of the match, with their two left-handed players on the right wing - Luc Abalo and Benoît Kounkoud - particularly effective in capping strong defensive phases with goals on the counter (44': 16-25). Our players were soon ten points to the good, Nedim Remili firing an umpteenth rocket into Mate Sunjic's top corner (46': 16-26). Things got even more complicated for Ivry when they lost their top scorer, Cochery, due to injury. However, they finished the game well and scored a few goals in the final moments (52': 20-28). Rodrigo Corrales, who came on in the second half, put paid to Ivry's euphoria and prevented them from doing more to redeem themselves with a string of saves (58': 24-29). Paris Saint-Germain Handball held out until the final buzzer, continuing their impressive run in the championship (24-30).
The Parisian of the match: Nedim Remili
On Wednesday evening, Nedim Remili was efficiency personified. The French international scored eight times from eight shots to top score in the match. Be it from the penalty line or from distance, our right-back showed that he has plenty of strings to his bow when it comes to scoring goals!
The word: Leader
Victorious in Ivry, Paris took full advantage of some favourable results in other matches to tighten their grip on top spot in the Lidl StarLigue standings. With Nantes beaten at home by Toulouse (26-34), Aix losing to Saint-Raphaël (25-27), and Montpellier drawing in Istres (25-25, Les Rouge et Bleu (seven wins in as many outings) are four points clear of all three teams.
Coming up:
A huge awaits the capital club! On Saturday evening, the Parisians travel to Barcelona to face the Blaugrana Velux EHF Champions League Matchday 5 action. Currently sitting atop the Group A standings, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will be out to take an even more commanding lead in this group stage.
(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)