A week after securing their place in the Champions League group stage thanks to their victory in Celje, Les Rouge et Bleu were set to play their third consecutive away match across all competitions on Wednesday evening. They headed to Croatia to take on Zagreb, a side featuring former Parisian Abdelrahman Abdou, who had already secured a place in the EHF European League alongside Celje. With a week to go before a decisive clash against Aalborg at Coubertin, Stefan Madsen’s men were determined to maintain their unbeaten start to the season and build even more confidence ahead of their upcoming fixtures!
While the result of this fixture will matter little when the final tally is taken next week, our Rouge et Bleu were, as always, showing impeccable fighting spirit at the Arena Zagreb. With Ferran Solé set to soon pass the 1,000-goal mark across all competitions for Les Rouge et Bleu, he scored his 300th Champions League goal with a brace right at the start of the match (4': 1-2). He wasn't the only one set to reach that particular milestone, with Luka Karabatic also coming into the match with a career tally of 298 Champions League goals.
Ten minutes into the match, our captain was already halfway there, having beaten Urh Kastelic for the first time (10': 5-5). Playing in front of their home crowd, Zagreb gave it their all, but came up against a Rodrigo Corrales in top form (15-: 7-8). As half-time approached, the Spanish goalkeeper already had five saves to his name, helping his side maintain their lead (22': 11-12). Serious and focused in the first half, the Parisians even managed to extend their lead, heading into the dressing room with a four-goal advantage (30': 13-17).
The return to action marked the resumption of Ferran Solé’s spectacular performance; ruthless, he scored his seventh goal from as many attempts (32': 14–18). With the pace having slowed somewhat and his players unable to close the gap, Hrvoje Horvat decided to call the first time-out of the second half (40': 17-22). The Croatian coach’s tactical adjustments, combined with several turnovers by the Parisians, gave the home side a new lease of life, and they attacked the final 15 minutes with renewed vigour (46': 22-24).
In the closing stages, the home side managed to draw level, treating their fans to a nail-biting finish (56': 27-27). This marked the start of a fierce battle right down to the very last seconds between two teams giving their all to secure a result. With Paris trailing with just twenty seconds remaining, Stefan Madsen decided to play his final card by calling a time-out. The Croatians, however, remained solid in defence and clinched a narrow victory at the Arena Zagreb (60': 29-28).
Ferran Solé: Ten goals. Bjarki Elisson, Yahia Omar: four goals each. Kamil Syprzak, Wallem Peleka, Noah Gaudin: two goals each. Mateo Maras, Luc Steins, Luka Karabatic, Elohim Prandi: one goal each. Rodrigo Corrales: 11 saves.
Once again in imperious form this evening, Ferran Solé scored his 300th career goal in the Champions League. A performance that brings him closer to another, all the more symbolic milestone: 1,000 goals scored in all competitions whilst wearing the Rouge et Bleu shirt. Following his spectacular performance this evening, our winger now stands on 995 goals.
Ahead of a crucial week featuring a home Champions League fixture against Aalborg on Wednesday and huge league clash with Montpellier at Coubertin on Sunday, the capital club will play their fourth and final consecutive away fixture this Sunday at 16:00. Stefan Madsen’s men will be looking to maintain their perfect league record away to a Saint-Raphaël side that has struggled greatly so far this season.
