In recent days, our Parisians have travelled from one ‘city of a hundred bell towers’ to another. After Poitiers on Saturday, when they fell to Montpellier in the Trophée des Champions (23-29), they set course for Caen. The Normandy air is somewhat unfamiliar for Les Rouge et Bleu, who have only travelled there once in their history. That was nine years ago, when they enjoyed a resounding victory over the Vikings (29-37) in the round of 16 of a Coupe de la Ligue that they went on to win against Nantes in Paris a few months later. Stefan Madsen's men will return to the banks of the Seine on Saturday against Dunkerque, but before that, they had to knuckle down against a Caen side who - spurred on by a sold-out Palais des Sports Caen-La-Mer - had nothing to lose.
Our new recruits understood their mission well and made their mark right from the start of the match. Mateo Maras, Karl Konan and Sebastian Karlsson took turns leading the way and gave Paris their first break (4': 2-4). Maras was particularly active on the right wing, scoring three goals in less than ten minutes of play. The home side decided to stop play to try and stem the bleeding as the gap widened with each passing minute (10': 5-10).
Despite showing good intent, the Vikings sorely lacked cutting edge in attack in the first quarter of an hour - and their errors were immediately punished by the capital club on the counter-attack. In these quick attacks, the entire right flank shone, with Mateo Maras (four goals, two assists) and Sebastian Karlsson, who was perfect with four goals (15': 9-16), standing out.
With his team enjoying a comfortable lead, Stefan Madsen took the opportunity to bring on several other new recruits. Noah Gaudin and Abdelrahman Abdou added their names to the scoresheet as Paris pulled clear (23': 12-20). After a spectacular offensive display in the first half, Les Rouge et Bleu returned to the dressing room with a comfortable lead over the powerless Normans (30': 15-26).
The start of the second half saw several Parisian players get their first minutes of action: Ferran Solé, Gautier Loredon and Stannis Soulier all managed to make their mark in different areas of the game (38': 20-30). With the outcome of the match looking increasingly clear, the capital club managed the second half well and did not hesitate to slow the pace, doubtless with an eye on a bust fixture list of league and EHF Champions League fixtures (46': 26-34).
However, being in control does not mean letting up, and Paris made sure to guarantee a spectacular show right to the end for the 3,600 spectators who had filled the stands at the Palais des Sports Caen-La-Mer. Having come on at half-time, Ferran Solé continued the capital club's attacking display on the right wing, which proved difficult for Caen to defend. Whether in open play or from the penalty line, our Spanish winger was unstoppable and had already scored six goals as the game entered its final stages (51': 27-39).
In the final minutes, Luka Karabatic assumed his responsibilities as captain and found the back of the net, while Stanis made his sixth save to round off a great evening for the capital club. Leading from start to finish, Paris showed great professionalism to make sure of the result (60': 31-43). It was a confident victory that allowed Les Rouge et Bleu to prepare in the best possible way before the start of the Liqui Moly StarLigue this weekend.
🎙️ Après #CAENPSG (31-43) découvrez les réactions de Stefan Madsen et de Wallem Peleka ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6NRbJkDGYj
— PSG Handball (@psghand) September 2, 2025
Stefan Madsen's men will finally make their return to home ground at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin this Saturday when the Liqui Moly StarLigue campaign kicks off. Paris will play host to Dunkerque at 20:00 on Saturday - a match not to be missed if you want to see all the capital club's new recruits in action.