Tricky start

News

On Friday evening, Paris Saint-Germain Handball played the first match of the pre-season - away to Fenix de Toulouse.

With a few new recruits, but without several first-team regulars, Les Rouge et Bleu struggled to get into the match. By contrast, the home team, supported by a nice summer crowd, took their chances well and took advantage of every Parisian mistake to find the back of the net. Despite the efforts of Andreas Palicka, who made several great saves, and Elohim Prandi, who hit a trademark strike from nine metres, the capital club were still chasing the game. Trailing by as many as three goals at one point in the first half, they were only two goals behind at the break (30': 18-16).

The scenario repeated itself in the second half. This time, it was Jannick Green who shone in the Parisian goal, but still his team couldn't seem to bridge the gap. Luc Steins gave his all, scoring a hat-trick in a few minutes to get Paris back to within one goal. Unfortunately, Raul Gonzalez's men couldn't quite get over the line and thus lost the first pre-season friendly to a strong Toulouse side (38-34). 

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(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)