Patrice Annonay: 'We had to finish the job'

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After Les Rouge et Bleu qualified for the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League with a 34-33 victory over Plock, here's what Patrice Annonay, Luka Karabatic and Kamil Syprzak had to say.

PATRICE ANNONAY (PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HANDBALL ASSISTANT COACH)

"We had a psychological advantage because winning in Plock was far from easy. We told ourselves that we had to finish the job in the last 60 minutes. We didn't make it easy for ourselves, even though at one point I think we could have put an end to their hopes, especially when we had a five-goal lead, but we lost possession a few times and that gave them a bit of energy. We're on a good rhythm. The Champions League helps us to raise our game, but this weekend against Nantes it won't be easy. We'll be playing against an opponent who is also used to playing in Europe, and who isn't second in the league for nothing. We needed to get through this stage today so that we can go to Nantes with more peace of mind. The watchword after this match is 'recovery', so that we're fresh in Nantes and able to play our game as usual."

LUKA KARABATIC (PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HANDBALL PIVOT)

"When you win the first leg away from home, it makes for some tough encounters. It was a trap we had to avoid, and we did. After winning by four goals in the first leg, we could have felt comfortable, but they're a great team and we had to work hard. They caused us problems, but it's a Champions League Round of 16 and we knew it was going to be like that. We stayed on top of our game, pushed hard and, with the help of our fans, went on to qualify. It's our day-to-day business to have important matches on such a regular basis. It's an important run of fixtures, because we were playing for qualification tonight and we've got an important league game this weekend in Nantes. It could be a decisive game for the end of the season, and we know how difficult it is to play there. We've achieved our first objective, but now we'll have to dig deep because we don't have much time to rest, and they're waiting for us. ON top of that, they'll want to do well in front of their home crowd."

KAMIL SYPRZAK (PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HANDBALL PIVOT)

"We wanted to win this match, it was very important for us because we wanted to celebrate qualification in front of our fans. We know that April is often the most important month of the season. At the moment, we're working well and we need to keep going in that direction. We've played Plock and now we're going to play Barcelona, two of my former clubs. Obviously I'm thinking about it, but for me nothing changes no matter who the opponent is. We prepare in the same way and we want the same result."

(Credits: L. Valroff/ Team Pics/ PSG)