Handball: PSG fail but win at Porto in the Champions League

We were waiting for the PSG victory in Porto on behalf of the 9th day of the Champions League: it has arrived. We planned an easy match for the French champions against a team that hasn’t won a match so far (7D, 1D). In this regard, the trip to Portugal was less obvious: PSG had some concerns.

After a good start, the Parisians allowed the best Lusitanian handball team to gain confidence and score again. By the break, both teams were side by side (19-19). Surprising from PSG, who are still on a 16 consecutive win streak so far. But not too worrisome either.

Wards Raul Gonzalez returned from the start of the second period. And when things don’t go well, you have to call your boss. In the world of sticky balls, the name of the boss is Nikola Karabatich. It was the three-time Olympic champion who took matters into his own hands to revive PSG (23-26, 40th). With the help of the very good Kamil Sypjak and the Latvian giant (2:14) Dainis Kristopans, the coach got PSG back on track. As his brother Luka and Elohim Prandi also played their match, PSG pulled ahead slightly. Also not enough to fall asleep (31-33, 52nd). But enough to leave the Portuguese at bay. In the end, after a more difficult match than expected, Paris won 35-33.

This is good news for the rankings. Looking forward to the match against Veszprem this Thursday in Plock in Poland, PSG are single-handedly at the top of Group A. They also continue to fight for a direct qualification to the Champions League quarter-finals. You have to finish in the top two in the group to get there. In the standings Paris is 4 points ahead of German champions Magdeburg, who finished third. A priori, this is the only team that can prevent the capital club from finishing in the top two. A week later, on December 14, a tempting match between PSG and Magdeburg is scheduled. If Paris wins, he will (almost) go directly to the Champions League quarter-finals, something he didn’t achieve last season.