Returning from the international break with three wins in three matches, all earned away from home, an in-form Rouge et Bleu side nonetheless faced a huge challenge as they played host Barcelona. Back at Coubertin, Stefan Madsen's men were looking to build on their fine performance at GOG last week (28-31) and secure a landmark victory against a side that has lost only once this season, to reigning European champions Magdeburg (21-22).
The opening moments set the tone in this high-intensity match, with two aggressive teams battling for every ball. As is often the case, Elohim Prandi and Yahia Omar led the Rouge et Bleu attack, but Carlos Ortega's men responded perfectly (5' minute: 4-4). In a fiery atmosphere at Coubertin, it was blow for blow in this European clash.
Despite Paris's strong resistance, Barcelona managed to pull ahead, taking advantage of their numerical superiority (13': 6-10). The players from the French capital rallied, but Emil Nielsen was on top form in the Catalan goal and helped his side maintain their lead. After another save by the Danish goalkeeper, followed by a Barcelona goal on the counter-attack, Stefan Madsen called a time-out to try and get his team back on track (21': 8-13).
That the Blaugranas boast Europe's best defence is clearly due in no small part to their incredible goalkeeper, who made no fewer than nine saves in the first half (47% save rate). Struggling to take their chances, the Parisians suffered from their opponents' formidable counter-attacks and at half-time, the visitors were well in front (13-19). Les Rouge et Bleu had 30 minutes left to pull off an incredible comeback.
After the break, the match resumed at the same pace, with the Catalans maintaining their lead. However, as the minutes ticked by, the Parisians grew in strength and significantly reduced the deficit (44': 20-22). Mikkel Lovkvist made a string of saves (eight in 15 minutes), and Stefan Madsen's men hopes of a comeback were still alive.
Thanks to a successful penalty from Yahia Omar - the Egyptian's seventh goal - Paris closed the gap to just one goal (50': 23-24) as the atmosphere in Coubertin reached boiling point. Victory was within reach, but unfortunately, the Blaugranas righted the ship and held out for the win (60': 27-30).
In this big test, our Rouge et Bleu faced a more experienced team and came up against the impressive Emil Nielsen, who was deservedly named man of the match with 18 saves. However, Stefan Madsen will be able to draw on his team's fine performance tonight as he prepares for the upcoming fixtures.
In the Champions League, Paris will have the opportunity to bounce back against Plock, once again at Coubertin, on 27 November (20:45). But before that, the capital club has a big league fixture to negotiate, playing host to perennial rivals Montpellier, third in the Liqui Moly StarLigue, at 17:00 on Saturday 22 November.
