Following the league match against Cesson-Rennes (30–24) and the Champions League clash with Zagreb (34–30), our Rouge et Bleu were back at Coubertin for the third time in the space of a week. No-one was complaining, as Stefan Madsen’s side have been producing spectacular, edge-of-seat performances this season. And against Chartres, there was every chance that history would repeat itself! For while the vistors had struggled badly against Montpellier in the season opener (41–20), they bounced back strongly last week against Tremblay (35–30), and the iconic Thierry Anti had every intention of springing a surprise on his former team!
As has often been the case so far this season, this encounter got off to a lively start at Coubertin. This was largely down to a perfect start from Noah Gaudin, who scored Paris’s first three goals (4': 3–1). Chartres, however, have plenty of assets to make the difference. Among them was André José, cousin of Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Joao Neves, who promptly pulled his side level with a brace.
It was end-to-end stuff in the opening quarter of an hour, but Rodrigo Corrales proved a real thorn in Chartres' side. His four saves allowed Paris to take a three-goal lead, forcing Thierry Anti to call his first time-out (15': 8–5). Despite tactical adjustments by our visitors, Les Rouge et Bleu were in fine form in the first half (23': 15–9). Offensively, they were in top form, with no fewer than nine different outfield players finding the net by half-time - even though Chartres had managed to stay in contention (30': 18–15).
On return to the court, our Parisians maintained the same intensity, but Stefan Madsen rang the changes in an attempt to extend the lead. It was a move that paid off immediately, as Bjarki Elisson and Wallem Peleka hit the ground running while Mikkel Lovkvist had already made four saves just a few minutes into the second half (38': 23–18). As the match entered its final quarter of an hour, Kamil Syprzak gave Les Rouge et Bleu a six-goal lead, a gap that seemed a brudge too far for Chartres, who were struggling to keep up (45': 26–20).
The closing stages were nonetheless spectacular, as Mikkel Lovkvist decided to put on a show by stringing together a series of saves to take his tally to eleven, despite having played only one half. Our goalkeeper even sent Coubertin into raptures by finding the back of the net from inside his own penalty area (57': 32–25)! A resounding success, then, for our Parisians, with Sebastian Karlsson equalling his league goal-scoring record (five goals). A perfect evening for the capital club, who secured their biggest win of the season while demonstrating great composure throughout the match (60': 34–26).
Noah Gaudin: seven goals; Sebastian Karlsson: six; Bjarki Elisson: four; Mateo Maras, Kamil Syprzak, Yahia Omar: three; Luc Steins, Emil Mellegard, Wallem Peleka, Simen Lyse: two. Mikkel Lovkvist: 14 saves, one goal; Rodrigo Corrales: five saves.
Noah Gaudin takes off to challenge the opposing goalkeeper, Julien Meyer! Oleksandr Onufriienko may well stand in his way, but the Ukrainian is powerless against the Rouge et Bleu centre-half’s clinical finishing – he scored seven goals tonight...
No Champions League fixtures on the schedule next week! For the first time this season, Stefan Madsen and his players will have a week to prepare for their next match. See you next Saturday at 19:00 for the match in Limoges, which will be broadcast live and exclusively on beIN SPORTS 3.
