Winning start against Chambéry!
Handball•
Paris Saint-Germain Handball secured a hard-fought victory over Chambéry (29–32) in the opening match of the Daikin Starligue season at Le Phare on Friday 4 September 2026.
At last! Exactly 90 days after lifting the French championship trophy at the end of the final matchday against Tremblay, Paris Saint-Germain Handball were back to defend their title! The watchwords were solidarity and maturity - two qualities that enabled our Parisians to clinch their first title of the season against Montpellier in the Trophée des Champions last Saturday. Because their opponents, Chambéry, are an ambitious side - and even more so at their home ground, Le Phare, which was sold out and packed with a crowd cheering loudly to spur their team on to an upset!
As if by fate, the first goalscorer of the match was Gautier Loredon. Yahia Omar responded immediately to our former Titi, who joined the Savoyard club in the summer. This head-to-head battle went on for several minutes, with neither side managing to pull ahead (10': 4–4). The goalkeepers played a big part early on, their long-range duel providing most of the early entertainment at Le Phare. At half-time, Roberto Rodriguez had made nine saves - one more than Rodrigo Corrales.
Alongside Rodrigo, Frederik Ladefoged enjoyed a superb start that also played a key role in the fine defensive display. The Danish pivot used both his physicality and technical skill to great effect in every key moment (15': 8–8). And, as the minutes ticked by, Paris began to take increasing control of the game. Mateo Maras and then Emil Mellegard, both scoring twice, contributed to a run of five unanswered goals for Les Rouge et Bleu, who went into the break with a three-goal (30': 13–16).
After a particularly intense first half - which had seen six penalties awarded in the opening quarter of an hour - the second half got off to a slow start, dampening Le Phare’s enthusiasm. Not for long, however, as the home side took advantage of being a man up and found a new lease of life. Scoring four goals in the space of five minutes, Gautier Loredon helped his side close the gap to just one goal (40': 19–20).
Despite their best efforts, Stefan Madsen’s men were up against a Roberto Rodriguez in inspired form, with 15 saves to his name as the final quarter of an hour began (46': 22–23). Meanwhile, Chambéry relied on their wingers, and Elio Zammit made very few mistakes against Corrales (7 from 8). Fortunately, Emil Mellegard made even fewer errors and converted all four of his attempts from the left wing to keep his side one goal ahead as the match entered its closing stages (52': 27–28).
But Mikkel Lovkvist restored order. Coming on with eight minutes to go, our Danish goalkeeper made three saves in quick succession, while Frederik Ladefoged scored his fourth goal of the evening in this nail-biting final phase (53': 27–29). Just as determined as they were in the Trophée des Champions, Les Rouge et Bleu secured victory after a hard-fought battle in their Daikin Starligue debut. A crucial win, which allows Stefan Madsen’s men to now turn their full attention to the Champions League (60': 29–32).
With the league opener out of the way, it’s time for the Champions League! The Parisians will kick off their European campaign away to Aalborg this Wednesday, 9 September (18:45). The two sides faced each other in a pre-season friendly as recently as last month, when Stefan Madsen was given a hero’s welcome back at his former club. Although the Scandinavians snatched a narrow victory (36–34), Les Rouge et Bleu are now match ready and will be determined to get this group stage off to the best possible start.
Kamil Syprzak: six goals; Emil Mellegard, Luc Steins, Frederik Ladefoged: four; Noah Gaudin: three; Mateo Maras, Yahia Omar: two; Ferran Solé, Wallem Peleka: one. Rodrigo Corrales: 11 saves; Mikkel Lovkvist: four.
With four goals and four assists to his name, Luc Steins was in a league of his own in this match against Chambéry! Our maestro picked up where he left off last season, establishing himself as a key figure at the heart of the Les Rouge et Bleus' game.
