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Spurred on by their fans, Paris shine against Lisbon

Comptes-rendus

On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain handball once again put up a fierce fight to overcome Sporting CP (30-28) at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. Here's a look back at the EHF Champions League Matchday 7 clash.

Paris Saint-Germain have been in imperious form for several weeks now, going top of the league and joint-top of the Champions League. Les Rouge et Bleu had shown no mercy to their rivals and were ready to wrap up the first half of the EHF Champions League group stage in style. Against Sporting, our Parisians were once again facing a stiff test in the form of the Lions, who suffered their first defeat on the European stage last time out against Bucharest. That defeat in no way detracted from the excellent start to the campaign made by the Portuguese, who were unbeaten up to that point and who arrived at Coubertin looking to bounce right back.

Spurred on by a sold-out Stade Pierre de Coubertin, the Parisians turned up the heat in the opening minutes. Jannick Green denied Martim Costa from the off, while Les Rouge et Bleus‘ attacking trio of Omar, Prandi and Syprzak showed why the capital club have the best attacking record in the competition (4’: 3-1). Continuing their excellent form, Elohim and Kamil played off each other at the start of the match with five goals apiece (9': 6-5). Luc Steins, always imperious in gaps, made the most of his speed and perfectly teed up Ferran Solé, who found the back of the net. Paris regained their two-goal lead, and the visitors calledthe firs time-out of the match (15': 8-6).

This pause and re-jig gave the Portuguese renewed confidence, and they managed to close the gap (22': 11-11). The intensity increased with each passing minute, but the Parisians responded. Raul Gonzalez drew on his bench to breathe new life into his team, bringing on Wallem Peleka, Kent Robin Tonnesen and Dani Baijens. It didn't take long for the impact to be seen, and it was Baijens who made his mark early on (24': 12-11). With the battle raging at the end of the first half, Raul Gonzalez decided to call a time-out (28': 14-13). It paid off immediately for Paris, who regained their lead thanks to Elo‘, before Jannick Green made his seventh save of the evening (29’: 15-13). Solid in all areas of the game, our players returned to the dressing room with a two-goal lead in a match that was living up to its billing (30': 16-14).

From the restart, Paris made their intentions clear and upped the tempo. The firm hand of Jannick Green and the efficiency of Yahia Omar enabled Les Rouge et Bleu to rapidly extend their lead (32': 18-14). Although Sporting gradually found their feet, the capital club kept up the pace and maintained a four-point lead over the Lisbon side (37': 21-17). With no way out, the Portuguese side decided to stop play once again (40': 22-18). Les Rouge et Bleu then found themselves being pushed around by the visitors‘ tactical adjustments, but stayed in front thanks to another exceptional save from their Danish 'keeper (42’: 22-20). That save set the Parisian machine in motion once again, and they put three unanswered goals past their opponents to create the biggest lead of the match at just the right time (45’: 25-20). Sporting were far from giving up, however, and redoubled their intensity to get their game back on track.

Yahia Omar scored twice to join Elohim as the match's top scorer with six goals (50': 27-23). Down a man, Raul Gonzalez's men suffered and saw the visitors come back to within a point, promising a thrilling end to the game (54': 27-26). However, as is often the case, it was in the weaker moments that the capital club dug deep to make the difference. Put to the test right up until the final moments of the match, Paris did not give in and leveraged their mental strength to come out on top with a rousing team performance (60': 30-28). Victory was achieved with great courage and self-sacrifice, amd it keeps Les Rouge et Bleu in second place in the group, level on points with Veszprém, who also emerged victorious from their duel in Plock. On Sunday, Raul Gonzalez's men return to Coubertin for the first league clash of the season against Montpellier.

Reactions from Raul Gonzalez, Kamil Syprzak and Wallem Peleka:

(Credits: E. Renard/Team Pics/PSG)