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The context:

After stitching up top spot in Velux EHF Champions League Group B last weekend, Paris Saint-Germain Handball were out to keep it rolling back on the domestic scene in Lidl Starligue Round 16. They made the short trip to Tremblay to take on a side on a winless streak. Nonetheless, having faced their Paris-region derby rivals in Coupe de France action in early February, Thierry Omeyer and his teammates knew it would be no walk in the park on Wednesday night.

The match:

It was a real game of cat and mouse in the first half (9’: 5-5); unfortunately, even though Les Rouge et Bleu made the first break (16’: 6-9), they were often chasing the game, with Paris old boys Patrice Annonay and Samuel Honrubia posing the visitors plenty of problems at both ends of the court (20’: 10-9). Uwe Gensheimer took it upon himself to level the scores a number of times (23’: 10-10), but at the break Tremblay still had their noses in front (13-12).

While the opening stages of the second half weren't much better (32’: 16-13), things soon changed. With just a few attacks, Raul Gonzalez's men levelled it up (36’: 17-17) and then took the lead thanks to the excellent Sander Sagosen (38’: 17-18). The Parisian steamroller hit top gear as Luc Abalo and Luka Karabatic struck to send Paris well clear (45’: 18-23), with the lead continuing to grow (52’: 22-28). At the end of a dominant second-half performance, Paris ran out winners by an impressive 11-goal margin (23-34).

The Parisian in the match: Sander Sagosen

Sparkling in attack, Sander Sagosen left the opposition defence with no chance. The Norwegian ended the match as its top scorer but also its most efficient, having struck eight time from as many chances, notably with a stunning kung-fu, set up by Nedim Remili.

The word: Fight-back

Trailing by a goal at the break, Les Rouge et Bleu came out swinging in the second and turned the match on its head. In the final 30 minutes, Paris out-scored their hosts 22 goals to ten. This was doubtless due to their improved attack but also to 'keeper Rodrigo Corrales, who stopped ten of 20 opposition shots (50%).

Coming up:

Following this latest victory, Paris will look to maintain their winning form in Europe as Zaporozhye come calling at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Sunday. Already assured of top spot in Velux EHF Champions League Group B, the capital club want to end the group stage on a high before returning to the competition in April, when the quarter-finals get under way. Their opponents in that match will be determined by draw this weekend.

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)