The Debrief: Paris - Chartres
Handball•
On Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain beat Chartres in their StarLigue Matchday 3 clash (35–26). Find out everything you need to know about this latest victory at Coubertin!
Between the league and the Champions League, the matches are coming thick and fast for our Rouge et Bleu! While Paris now have, for the first time this season, a full week to prepare for their next match (away to Limoges at 19:00 on Saturday), this did not stop Stefan Madsen from resting some of his players against Chartres. While Luka Karabatic was rested, Elohim Prandi was indeed named on the team sheet - but our number 71 remained on the bench for the entire match.
For his part, Ferran Solé came on for just a few seconds to have a go from the seven-metre line. This squad rotation allowed other players - such as Sebastian Karlsson - to shine. Playing for 50 minutes, the Swedish international had a perfect game, converting all six of his attempts and thereby set a new personal best for goals in a league match with the capital club. Noah Gaudin also proved decisive by being involved in 12 of Paris Saint-Germain Handball’s 35 goals(seven goals, five assists), while Simen Lyse demonstrated excellent vision to provide six assists.
45.31 per cent. That is Mikkel Lovkvist’s save percentage so far this season. Our young goalkeeper has already picked up where he left off last season, proving instrumental in our Rouge et Bleu’s perfect league campaign thus far. His 29 saves after three matchdays – including 12 against Chartres this Sunday – demonstrate the confidence and maturity the parisian shotstopper has been showing defence since his arrival in the summer of 2025. Against Chartres, Mikkel notably saved two seven-metre throws, preventing the visitors from getting back into the game.
Whilst Mikkel was in fine form against Chartres, Rodrigo Corrales also played his part in this well-deserved victory, notably stopping Gaël Tribillon’s seven-metre throw (7': 4–3) and providing an assist late in the first half. After the match, he reflected on this fine victory - the biggest of the season so far - speaking to PSG TV: “I think we controlled the match perfectly,” he said with his infectious smile. It must be said that, unusually for this season, the match went off without a hitch: “We enjoyed ourselves, everyone played, so I’m pleased with how the match went,” he emphasised.
This third round of the league campaign was marked by Nantes’ resounding away victory over Montpellier (31–36). The H's dominant display took them to the top of the standings, level on points with Paris, the only other team with three wins from as many matches. After two wins to start their season, newly promoted sides Saran (32-31 at home to Nîmes) and Caen (38-23 against Limoges) suffered their first defeats this weekend.
Meanwhile, Chambéry, Tremblay and Cesson-Rennes picked up their first points against Dunkerque (38-29), Saint-Raphaël (36-30) and Aix (29-28) respectively. At the bottom of the table, Toulouse’s poor start to the season continued with a third consecutive defeat, this time at home to Sélestat (25-24). Le Fénix therefore remain stuck on zero points, as do Dunkerque, who sit bottom of the Starligue table.
