PSG have to wait for first win

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After 199 days without an official match, Paris Saint-Germain Handball returned to competition on Wednesday evening, welcoming Flensburg, who had defeated Kielce 31-30 during the week, to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin for their EHF Champions League Matchday 2 clash.

On Tuesday evening, the whole Parisian delegation had difficulty hiding their impatience. And no-one more than the players!

It's Wednesday, and there are only a few hours left before throw-off!

Once the warm-up and team presentations were over the seven Parisians chosen by Raul Gonzalez put the pedal to the metal right away! Who better than Nikola Karabatic to score the first Parisian goal, after more than six months without seeing the ball hit the back of the net?

But while Les Rouge et Bleus started well and were the first to make the break - through Ferran Solé (7': 5-2) - the Germans weren't about to take it lying down and retaliated almost immediately (9': 5-4). This got the capital club back in the right direction when Ferran, once again, took advantage of a save from Vincent Gérard, and Niko's long pass, to score on the counter (15': 9-5) before conjuring a sweet chabala from the wing (17': 11-6).

Among the new faces, Elohim Prandi and Dainis Kristopans were welcomed at Coubertin for the first time! Our centre-half did not take long to find his bearings. As usual, the French international used his power to pass between two defenders and shake the opponents' net (24': 14-10). The Latvian right-back followed suit soon after, his strong attempt unstoppable for opposition 'keeper Torbjoern Bergerud (26': 15-11).

At the break, Paris were still four goals to the good!

On the return from the changing rooms, the gap was maintained for a few moments (35': 21-17), but the visitors kept pace (30': 23-20) before Adama Keita pushed them back a little further (43': 24-21).

However, they pulled back to within a goal, thanks to a successful penalty throw (44': 24-23). And while Yann Genty, just back in the game, managed to prevent an equaliser with a fine save (46': 24-23), there was nothing he could do about Marius Steinhauser's triumphant shot, which put the sides back on level terms (48': 24-24).

The Flensburgers then took the lead with their very next attack (49': 24-25), before our captain, Luka Karabatic, equalised in turn (50': 25-25). The outcome of the match was still far from clear as the final minutes approached (53': 26-26) but, unfortunately for Les Rouge et Bleu, the incredibly tight match ended up going Flensburg's way at the death.

Paris Saint-Germain thus marked their return to official competition with defeat, and will now look to bounce back against Aix as the Lidl Starligue season kicks off on Sunday. After that, a trip to Belarus to face Meshkov Brest in their EHF Champions League Round 3 clash awaits.

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)