While the capital club had already secured their place in the main round ahead of this final fixture against Aalborg, it remained to be seen how many points they would take into the next phase. As such, this top-of-the-table clash between the top two sides in EHF Champions League Group C promised to be a particularly thrilling affair. The Scandinavians, who finished fourth in the last FINAL4 in Cologne, had plenty of strengths to call upon, but our Parisians could count on a special advantage: the home fans.
Thanks to a sell-out crowd, the Stade Pierre de Coubertin roared, sang and leapt to the rhythm of Elohim Prandi’s thunderbolts (eight goals) and Mikkel Lovkvist’s saves (14). Although they were under pressure at times, Paris remained in the lead for most of the match and secured a crucial victory.
Thanks to this victory, Stefan Madsen’s men will start the main round in second place with three points - one from their Matchday 1draw with the Danes and two from Wednesday's victory. The next phase will see them face Veszprém, who will top the group from the outset with four points, whilst Plock and Melsungen will be hot on Les Rouge et Bleus' heels with two points each. Meanwhile Aalborg will enter the main round with the single point from their home draw against the Parisians, whilst Füchse Berlin will already be under pressure with zero points following their two defeats to Veszprém.
The capital club’s crucial victory in front of their home crowd also came thanks to the exceptional performances of several of their players. In front of goal, Kamil Syprzak and Elohim Prandi gave Niklas Landin a torrid time. The two-time World Player of the Year was powerless against Les Rouge et Bleus' firepower and clinical finishing, with both players scoring eight goals each – their record tally against Aalborg. With seven goals, Yahia Omar was on the same page, also turning in his bes-ever performance against the Scandinavians.
The Danish 'keeper who really impressed was not playing for Aalborg on Wednesday evening, but rather for Paris. At 24, Mikkel Lovkvist is increasingly proving his talent and is becoming one of Stefan Madsen’s key assets, be it in the league or in the Champions League. With 14 saves against his compatriots, our goalkeeper produced the joint-best performance of his career on the continental stage. The last time he reached that total was also against a Danish side – GOG, to be precise – last season during the victory secured in his home country (31-28).
“We’re very pleased with this win in front of our home crowd. We knew this match was important, as it would determine how many points we’ll have going into the main round. We’re very happy with this result. It’s always a special occasion to play against Montpellier, but we’re in good form and feeling confident. We’ll do everything we can to be ready for Sunday.”
Group A held no further surprises as the final matchday approached. Having beaten Füchse Berlin twice, Veszprém will progress to the main round with four points, whilst the Foxes will be under pressure as they start from scratch. On Wednesday evening, the Hungarians finished in style, securing a sixth consecutive victory in Porto (29-34) to complete a perfect run in this group stage. This Thursday, Berlin will host Raul Gonzalez’s Partizan Belgrade in a match that also has nothing at stake, other than building confidence ahead of upcoming fixtures.
In Group B, however, everything was still to play for. At the kick-off of the two matches on Wednesday, Plock, Melsungen and Nantes all had six points. Having lost in Plock (33–27), Nantes were left to watch the final moments of the headline clash between Vardar and Melsungen, whilst the Poles celebrated their qualification with their home crowd. Had the Macedonians won, Nantes would have progressed to the main round thanks to their superior head-to-head record against the Germans. Hope remained until the very end, with a seven-metre throw converted by Matéo Fadhuile around twenty seconds before the final buzzer to give Vardar the lead, but a last-gasp goal by Florian Drosten secured a draw for future Parisian coach Roberto Garcia Parrondo and his men (26-26) – and thus qualification for the main round.
