By meeting PSG once again, the Norwegian Sander Sagosen, Parisian between 2017 and 2020, did not recognize many people. Three years after his departure, and during his returns with Kiel, his previous club, he saw how much Paris had changed. From his time, there are only three players left in the ranks with whom he played: Luka and Nikola Karabatic as well as the Pole and top scorer in the Champions League Kamil Syprzak. We can add coach Raul Gonzalez.
Already winner (36-31) of the first leg 8 days ago with Kolstad, Sagosen did not return to show feelings by forcing PSG to a draw during this 8th day of the Champions League. In a relationship (and father since the summer) with former Paris 92 player Hanna Oftedal, Stine’s sister, the best handball player in the world, Sagosen even came to cause misery to his former club. Kolstad, the team which bears the name of a district of Trondheim, with its backbone of the Norwegian selection left nothing easy for the French champions. If this club was little known until now, we now know what it is capable of. He is clearly a contender for the title of European champion. “To achieve a result here in Paris is always something very hard,” relishes the Norwegian. I think we can be proud of ourselves. »
Despite an ultra decisive Andreas Palicka and a @PrandiElohim boiling, the Rouge et Bleu could not obtain better than a draw in this #MOTW
See you in Kiel next week to try to return to victory in @ehfcl. More information to come on… pic.twitter.com/xqR1e246Gq
— PSG Handball (@psghand) November 22, 2023
To disrupt Paris at Coubertin in front of 3,235 spectators, you have to be a great team. Few of them, over the last 10 years, have managed to come and win here. Barcelona, Kiel are among them. Kolstad almost succeeded. That says the performance of the Norwegians. In front at the break (15-13), Kolstad did not relax their grip. Paris, fortunately, did not give up either and this offered a stifling and indecisive second half. With a major challenge for PSG: not to lose a fourth time in this group phase, which would have destroyed its chances of direct access to the quarter-finals and forcing itself to go through an eighth. PSG saved the furniture and is not there yet. But his path becomes complicated.
With an Elohim Prandi author of 10 goals and up like a cuckoo, an Andreas Palicka elected man of the match and devilishly airtight in his goal, an efficient David Balaguer, PSG turned the tide and held on in the second half. But it was never easy: Sagosen and his 10 goals continued to hurt. Paris shook. With 13 seconds left, the score was 28-28. Paris had the match point but did not exploit it. And the score didn’t change. “It’s a frustrating result,” says Prandi. We came across a tight team, which played very well. We had a 2 or 3 goal lead and we weren’t able to take advantage of it. We made small mistakes and in the end, it came down to very small details. »
The advantage (or not) with the busy schedule of handball players is that there is no time to think. On Sunday, another XXL challenge awaits PSG with the arrival of Montpellier (7 p.m.). With the clash of the two best French teams at the start of the season, part of the French champion title will already be at stake.
