The tone is set

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On Sunday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball returned to Liqui Moly StarLigue action. Winners last season with 30 victories in as many games, the first task of the campaign was a tough one as the capital club travelled to the Parnasse in Nîmes.

Andreas Palcika shone on his league debut, pushing away penalty in the first few seconds. But it was the home team, spurred on but their fans, who got off to the better start in attack (6': 5-3). Solid in defence, The Green Team perfectly exploited their counter-attacks to increase their lead (19': 8-5). At the end of the first quarter, Paris were four goals in arrears (16': 12-8).

Down but not out, Les Rouge et Bleu reacted well. Notably in defence, where Nîmes' shots were more and more delayed. In attack, our aim was true and the deficit started to disappear (19': 12-11). A few moments later, an in-form David Balaguer took advantage of this rise in power to equalise with a magnificent lob (26': 15-15). But, at the break, the game was still as tight as ever.

The second half started very well! We took the lead thanks to Nikola Karabatic, and then Andreas saved another penalty (34': 17-18). This time, the Parisians hung onto the lead (40': 20-21) and soon Raul Gonzalez's men shifted up a gear. Efficient in all sectors, the goals started to rain down (46': 21-26).

Andreas stopped several key shots and kept his team in the drover's seat in the last minutes (53': 23-27). The team managed its lead perfectly (57': 27-32) and, three minutes later, the victory was official! Paris Saint-Germain Handball got their Liqui Moly StarLigue title defence off to a strong start. Their next match is Thursday, in Veszprém, for Matchday 1 of the EHF Champions League group stage.

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, LUC STEINS AND DAVID BALAGUER:

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