The Parisians' goal for the weekend: continue their flawless start to the Liqui Moly StarLigue season. Against Cesson Rennes, Les Rouge et Bleu had the opportunity to secure an eighth victory in as many matches and keep their closest rivals at bay. This was especially important given that Nantes and Montpellier had both temporarily moved ahead of the capital club after victories over Tremblay and Aix respectively.
Cesson-Rennes started the match well, looking confident against a Parisian side still feeling the effects of their European match earlier in the week. Following on from his impressive second half against GOG (nine goals), Elohim Prandi led the way for the Parisian attack with a quick hat-trick. With two important saves, Jannick Green kept Les Rouge et Bleu in the lead (5': 4-3).
As two of the league's best defences (first against fourth) squared off, the goalkeepers came to the fore. Jean-Emmanuel Kouassi responded to Jannick with several fine saves; in the festive atmosphere at Coubertin on Sunday, Sébastien Leriche's men were no lambs to the slaughter, holding their own against Stefan Madsen's side (11': 7-7).
However, Les Rouge et Bleu began to gain momentum as our keeper keptout all but the very best of the visitors' efforts. Cesson Rennes eventually succumbed to repeated attacks on their goal, with Noah Gaudin's return from injury and Elohim's power bringing dynamism to the attacks and making the break for the Parisians (18th: 12-8).
In the first half, Cesson had the league's assist leader, Hungarian Egon Hanusz, pulling the strings in attack. Faced with this threat, Stefan Madsen didn't hesitate to use the full strength of his squad to wear down the opposition. Youngster Gautier Lorédon caused problems for the Breton defence, as did the elusive Luc Steins (25': 17-13).
In goal, Green continued his impressive performance, even intercepting a ball in midfield. His duel with opposite number Kouassi was the highlight of an entertaining and lively first half. At half-time, the Parisians were in the lead (30': 19-16).
After returning from the locker room, Paris sought to tighten their grip on the match and managed to pull ahead with the help of some new faces, notably Wallem Peleka and Sebastian Karlsson (36': 24-19). Mikkel Lovkvist, who also came on at half-time, perfectly replaced the mercurial Jannick Green, making three important saves early on.
Solid at the back and focused up front, our Rouge et Bleu kept Cesson at bay in the second half (45': 28-23). As evidenced by a third time-out called in the 46th minute, Sébastien Leriche and his men struggled to find a solution against the Parisian defence. Less successful in goal than in the first half, Kouassi lost ground, and the gap between the two teams widened (48': 32-24).
As was the case against GOG in midweek, Elo' continued to spearhead the Parisian attack, showcasing a frightening capacity to eliminate opponents as he took his tally for the night to ten goals . As the end of the match approached, the capital club looked ot have it stitched up (57': 39-29). Although Noah Gaudin failed to score on his return to action, hitting Kouassi's post after a fine breakaway, the Parisians ran out comfortable winners over Cesson-Rennes (60': 38-32).
With an eighth win in as many games, our Rouge et Bleu regained top spot, ahead of Montpellier and Nantes. Buoyed by two excellent goalkeepers and a clinical attack, they were able to contain the Bretons' best efforts and secure the win.
