The return of competitive action is fast approaching, with Paris set to face Montpellier in the Trophée des Champions on 29 August. But Stefan Madsen's men had one last training camp in Denmark to fine-tune their preparations. Before taking on local giants Aalborg, they faced Skjern, one of the Danish league's leading sides and a team with ambitions of securing European qualification.
Les Rouge et Bleu came into the game on the back of a spectacular 44-38 win over Nordhorn and were keen to maintain their momentum, making a purposeful start to the contest (5': 1-4). After an excellent opening few minutes, however, Paris found it increasingly difficult to beat the opposition goalkeeper, and the Danes took full advantage, drawing level (11': 6-6) and finding their way back into the game.
Roared on by their home crowd, Oscar Carlén's men grew in confidence and held firm, staying in touch with the visitors. The first half developed into an end-to-end battle, with neither side able to pull clear. Ferran Solé, with four goals to his name, kept Paris level with an increasingly confident Skjern side (21': 10-10). But thanks to their clinical finishing, it was Skjern who headed into the break in front (30': 17-14).
Stefan Madsen's men needed to get back on track after the break. Facing his former club, Noah Gaudin made his mark early in the second half with a well-placed shot. Struggling to find the net in the opening minutes, the capital club remained adrift of Skjern, who proved clinical up front while their goalkeeper showed some inspired form (38': 21-17).
Everything was still to play for heading into the final quarter of an hour, but the Parisians would have to step up their efforts to overcome a solid Danish side (45': 26-22). The Paris coach could at least take satisfaction from Emil Mellegard's impressive display, the Swede scoring his fifth goal to sound the charge (52': 30-25). The winger, whose first season was curtailed by a lengthy injury, has been going from strength to strength during pre-season.
Up against an inspired goalkeeper, Les Rouge et Bleu were unable to close the gap in the dying stages of the match amid a fiery atmosphere at the Skjern Bank Arena. Despite producing some fine attacking moves, Paris lacked the cutting edge to make the difference and were deservedly beaten in Denmark (60': 35-29). They will need to respond in their final pre-season match against Aalborg.
Ferran Solé: seven goals, Emil Mellegard: five, Elohim Prandi: four, Yahia Omar, Kamil Syprzak, Yahia Omar: two, Karl Konan, Bjarki Elisson, Luc Steins, Noah Gaudin, Luka Karabatic, Wallem Peleka, Mateo Maras: one. Mikkel Lovkvist: six saves, Rodrigo Corrales: four.
The capital club will take on Danish champions Aalborg on their home court on Friday 21 August at 19:00, in their final warm-up before the return of competitive action. The match will be available to watch on PSG TV and the Paris Saint-Germain Handball YouTube channel.
