Victory in the North

Match reports

Following their 33-42 win at Dunkerque, Paris Saint-Germain Handball remain unbeaten in the Liqui Moly StarLigue this season. Here's a look back at the match!

On Sunday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball took part in Liqui Moly StarLigue Round 4. The objective was simple, but not easy: continue their unbeaten run in the league and stay on top of the standings. But to do that, they had to get past a Dunkerque side who are not in the habit of making things easy for their opponents at the Stade des Flandres. As has often been the case away from home since the start of the season, the match began with a tribute to Nikola Karabatic, who will be retiring at the end of the season.

The game got off to a very good start, with no shortage of early goals (3': 3-3). Les Rouge et Bleu were able to stop the free-for-all thanks someone defending and, above all, Jannick Green, who has been at his best in the early stages of the season. The attack took advantage of his excellence to make the first break of the game, with a double from Kamil Syprzak (9': 4-6). Despite a few bursts of energy from the home side (12': 8-8), Raul Gonzalez's men got off to a flying start and took the lead (17': 9-13).

Spurred on by their fans, Dunkerque tried to respond by pushing our rearguard to the limit. Despite conceding penalties and temporary send-offs, the capital club maintained their lead (21': 11-15). If Paris' lead was so significant, it was mainly due to the fact that our players kept cool under pressure and exploited their counter-attacks perfectly (25': 14-19). An attacking festival in which Kamil played a major part! The Polish international scored goal after goal against a Dunkerque defence that was struggling to keep him at bay (27': 16-21). In the closing moments of the first period, the score was evenly poised, but the Parisians were able to go into the locker room four points ahead of their opponents (30': 19-23).

The Parisians' application was just as strong at the restart (34': 23-28) and Les Rouge et Bleu even managed to lift their game! In the space of a few minutes, thanks to several defensive stops, a Kent Robin Tonnesen goal and a Luc Steins counter-attack, they moved to +7 and had already shaken the net 30 times (37': 23-30). The clock was ticking and the gap was growing. Our players applied themselves in all areas, putting themselves in a very good position as the final minutes approached (45': 26-35).

Sadou Ntanzi extended the Parisians' lead to +10 as we entered the final ten minutes (50': 28-38), and at this point, the outcome of the game seemed certain. But the Parisians continued to push forward, as evidenced by David Balaguer's sublime goal from the back (54': 31-40). A few moments later, Paris Saint-Germain Handball confirmed their victory and maintained their perfect start to the season: four wins from as many games. Next up is a clash with Nantes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Sunday.

 

REACTIONS FROM RAUL GONZALEZ, LUC STEINS AND RUBEN MARCHAN:

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)