In the stands of the Accor Arena, two styles opposed each other. Almost at home, the Parisian supporters gave the room in the 12th arrondissement the appearance of the Parc des Princes between huge flags, chants in praise of PSG handball and a capo setting the pace. Opposite, the 2000 Nantes supporters went to Paris with tubas, trombones and trumpets in their suitcases.
The Nantes brass will have resonated much louder than the Parisian drums this evening. And from the first minutes, PSG handball understood that Nantes had not come to make up the numbers. After conceding a 5-0 at the start of the match, Paris had to wait until the seventh minute to open their account. Kamil Syprzak’s work on a seven-meter throw, the only exercise in which the Pole shone this evening. Before that, the Parisians had had all the difficulty in the world to adjust the sights, like a completely missed title from Elohim Prandi.
Prandi extinguished, then injured
After scoring its first goal, Paris certainly had a strong moment but quickly faded away against a whirlwind HBC, who muzzled the Parisian scorers. Without a solution, PSG suffered throughout the meeting. Elohim Prandi, who was injured after half-time, missed almost everything, when opposite, Alexandre Cavalcanti flew on the Parisian floor, scoring a superb kung-fu in the first period to make the Nantes team exult.
Behind also, Nantes disgusted Raul Gonzalez’s men. The Parisians never managed to cast doubt on the solid Nantais, who knew that in their cages, Ivan Pesic would be able to do the job. The Croatian will finish the match with 16 saves out of 36, or 44%.
The return of Nikola Karabatic after returning from the locker room, who was then playing his ninth and final Coupe de France final, will not have changed anything. On the contrary. In the second period, Nantes continued its demonstration, even intensified it. More vivid, more precise, more present. Impossible for Paris to exist. Trailing by six points at halftime (19-13), the Parisians literally sank to lose by eight points (31-23).
PSG returns to Bercy at the end of May
Did they already have the lead in the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona? This excuse will be difficult to pass for Parisian supporters, their evening opponents playing in three days against Berlin in the European League. In any case, Nikola Karabatic will not fill his trophy cabinet with yet another cup. He will have the opportunity to heal his exit at the end of May, for the last match of his club life. It will be once again in Bercy.
