Winners at Pelister, Paris set for EHF Champions League play-offs

Comptes-rendus

Dominant throughout the match, Paris Saint-Germain handball beat Pelister (26-35) on the EHF CHampions League group stage's 14th and final matchday. Here's our look back at the match.

It was a six-month, fourteen-match marathon for our Parisians that ended in North Macedonia on Thursday evening. Travelling to Bitola to take on Pelister, seventh and already eliminated from the play-offs, the capital club was looking to end on a high before moving on to the play-offs. While direct qualification for the quarter-finals had still been a possibility at the throw-off of this final matchday, Berlin's success at Veszprém (32-33) earlier in the evening put an end to Les Rouge et Bleus' hopes.

This duel between Pelister and Paris was, however, far from being a dead rubber, since Raul Gonzalez's men could still take third place should they win and Sporting slip up in Plock at the same time. So, Szeged or Kielce, who would be the capital club's future opponent? The answer was just sixty minutes away.

Andreas Palicka on point

From the very first minutes, Paris made no secret of their intentions, moving forward quickly and imposing a frantic rhythm on the North Macedonians. Picking up where he left off in his excellent performance against Saint-Raphaël in the league last weekend (16 saves), Andreas Palicka distinguished himself from the outset. In addition to his defensive efficiency, the Rouge et Bleu goalkeeper spearheaded the Parisian counter-attacks, culminating in two conversions by Dani Baijens (4': 1-4). As the minutes passed, the Swedish international's efficiency (three saves) frustrated Pelister, who committed multiple technical fouls.

A man up, Raul Gonzalez's men immediately punished the NorthMacedonian team, who had been somewhat passive at the start of the match (10': 4-8). Devastating on the counter, Les Rouge et Bleus also took the time to build up their play and proved dominant. Omnipresent right from throw-off, Yahia Omar distinguished himself both as a scorer and an assist provider. The Parisian right-back proved particularly inspired when he conjured a perfect pass for Jacob Holm, who finished with a splendid kung-fu (14': 5-9).

Yahia Omar reaches new heights

Despite their dominance, Les Rouge et Bleu were nonetheless put to the test in this first act. Reduced to five men following the temporary send-offs of Dani and Luka, the capital club showed unfailing defensive rigour to resist the North Macedonian onslaught. Yahia, who scored again, kept his team in the lead while also taking the opportunity to pass the 300-goal mark in his EHF Champions League career (20': 10-12).

Although Paris were still in front, Pelister had made up a good part of their deficit and decided to stop play in a bid to bolster their hopes of getting back int othe match. Serious and focused, Paris nevertheless took the opportunity to redouble their intensity as the break approached and put three unanswered goals past the North Macedonians, who had no solutions for the capital club's clinical finishing (27': 12-16). Dominant, Raul Gonzalez's men thus returned to the changing rooms with a five-goal lead at the end of an accomplished first half (30': 13-18).

Paris cut loose

Despite enjoying a significant lead, Paris returned to the court with the same intentions they had shown in the first half. As soon as play resumed, Elohim Prandi continued his perfect form by scoring his fifth goal of the evening (32': 13-19). After a brief uptick from Pelister, the capital club picked up the pace again, Wallem Peleka and Yahia Omar in turn punishing Pelister with lightning counter-attacks (38': 17-22).

The North Macedonians were unable to maintain the blistering pace set by Paris and another brace from Elo' forced Raul Alonso to call another time-out to try to stem the flow (40': 18-24). However, Pelister's tactical adjustments did little to improve matters for the hosts - quite the opposite in fact. In view of the gap on the scoreboard, Raul Gonzalez decided to ring the changes, and Les Rouge et Bleus' substitutes clearly had every intention of joining the Parisian party. It was Ferran Solé who distinguished himself first, the Spaniard widening the gap as the last quarter of an hour approached (44': 19-27).

Rendezvous in Szeged

In a last quarter devoid of any suspense, Paris calmly cruised to the end of the match. Kent Robin Tonnesen and substitute Ruben Marchan took their turns to score (55': 23-31) and Paris duly stitched up a deserved win in North Macedonia to conclude their EHF Champions League group stage campaign (60': 26-35). Raul Gonzalez's men thus finished fourth in Group A and will now face Szeged in the play-offs.

Next up for Les Rouge et Bleu

On Sunday, the capital club will return to Coubertin for the top-of-the-table Liqui Moly StarLigue clash with leaders Nantes. It's a crucial match in the title race, and one in which Raul Gonzalez's men will be counting on the support of their fans to help them regain pole position.

(Credits: L. Valroff/PSG)