After a marathon fourteen matches in the group phase, the road to the Final4 in Cologne really began for Les Rouge et Bleu in Hungary. After a fine fourth-placed finish thanks to a solid run of three wins and a draw in their last four games, the capital club faced another major challenge: beating Veszprém to have any hope of reaching the quarter-finals. This double-header, wihch started 90 kilometres from Budapest and finishes a week later at Coubertin, promises to be tougher than ever, as both sides share the same ambition: winning their first Champions League title.
Having struggled in recent weeks, losing three of their last four Champions League matches, Veszprém were clearly out to right the ship. Spurred on by their fans, the Hungarians made life difficult early on for the Parisians, who struggled to get going in attack (9': 5-2). Shortly before the quarter-hour mark, Stefan Madsen called the first time-out of the match to give new tactical instructions, while only Sindre Heldal, Luc Steins and Kamil Syprzak had found the net thus far (15': 8-3).
This short intermission allowed Paris to catch their breath after a suffocating start. While Veszprém was still finding openings in the Rouge et Bleu rearguard, our attackers started to find their feet. Simen Lyse, finally eligible to play in the Champions League following his arrival this winter, led the revolt by scoring his maiden European goal for his new club (19': 10-6).
However, Veszprém soon got back into the swing of things, helped by a packed house cheering their team on. Already clinical in attack, the Hungarian side showed themselves to be increasingly solid in defence. In particular, Rodrigo Corrales seemed to grow in strength with each passing minute, repelling attempts from Noah Gaudin and Elohim Prandi in quick succession to help his side go even further in front (27': 14-7). After a difficult first half, Les Rouge et Bleu went into the break trailing by six goals, but the match was far from over (30': 15-9).
As soon as the half-time whistle sounded, Paris showed their determination to turn things around, and Stefan Madsen did not hesitate to use his entire squad to try and make the difference. Sebastian Karlsson came on at the beginning of the second term and soon made his mark on the right wing (32': 16-11). Stefan Madsen's game was gradually changing, with more and more use being made of the wings. After the Swedish international, it was Mathieu Grébille's turn on make an impact on the other side of the court (37': 20-14).
However, the home side were making very few mistakes in this match, and the Parisians once again found themselves in real trouble. Kamil Syprzak, who had been unlucky with his seven-metre throw a few minutes earlier, took matters into his own hands, making the difference in open play and scoring his fourth goal of the match (46': 24-17). As the final ten minutes approached, Les Rouge et Bleu were far from having given up (50': 25-19).
However, the Hungarians managed to step on the gas one last time and regained their comfortable lead. At the end of a difficult match in an electric atmosphere, the capital club was forced to accept defeat, left to try and turn the situation around in the return leg at Coubertin next Thursday (60': 32-24).
Kamil Syprzak: eight goals, Elohim Prandi: four, Yahia Omar, Luc Steins, Sebastian Karlsson, Noah Gaudin: two goals, Mathieu Grébille, Simen Lyse, Sindre Heldal, Wallem Peleka: one goal. Jannick Green: 5 saves, Mikkel Lovkvist: 2.
After two consecutive away games, Stefan Madsen and his men return to the Stade Pierre de Coubertin on Sunday when they host Istres in their Liqui Moly StarLigue Matchday 22 clash (16:00). This will be an important match in the race for the title, but comes just before the decisive return leg against Veszprém, which takes place on Thursday 9 April (20:45). With everything still to play for as the season draws to a close, the capital club will need the support of their fans.
