The Liqui Moly StarLigue title race has been heating up as the end of the season approaches. With a win over Dijon (42–32), Nantes had drawn level with Paris, leaving the cpaital club aobliged to win at Sélestat if they were to regain their two-point lead. Sélestat, for their part, were looking to give themselves some breathing space in the relegation battle and, playing at home, were determined to cause problems for Stefan Madsen’s men.
The match got off to a fairly quiet start, with Sélestat looking well organised and the Parisians somewhat timid before taking the lead for the first time thanks to a brace from Ferran Solé (sixth minute: 1–2). The Spaniard's efforts seemed to spark the capital club into life; suddenly they were far sharper and more effective, piercing the opposition defence consistnetly (11': 1-5).
Les Rouge et Bleu dictated the pace of the first half, keeping the more skilful Sélestat side - who had a long barren spell in front of Jannick Green’s goal - at a safe distance, after (15': 4-8). The Danish goalkeeper got off to a fine start, stopping a seven-metre throw from Tobias Jorgensen with his fifth save of the match. As the game heated up - the Alsatians were pushing hard to get back into it - Wallem Peleka extended the lead on a magnificent counter-attack (25': 8-13).
The Parisians handled Sélestat’s pressure perfectly and, thanks their superb attacking display, they were well in front at half-time (30': 10–17). However, the capital club knew they would have to bring the same intensity in the second half to make sure of the two points. Fittingly, Norwegian Simen Lyse kicked off the second half with two quick-fire goals to cement Les Rouge et Bleus' dominance.
The newly promoted side clung to a glimmer of hope delivered courtesy of a superb performance from former Parisian Léo Villain in goal (nine saves). But he was often left isolated against the capital side’s formidable attackers, who continued to build on their lead (39': 14-23). In the thrilling goalkeeping duel, it was Jannick’s turn to shine. With 11 saves in the match, the Dane officially surpassed the 700-save mark for Paris in the StarLigue.
Despite holding a relatively comfortable lead, the capital club had to remain focused - and that's exactly what they did as the final quarter of an hour began. Scoring his sixth goal, Yahia Omar cemented his status as the team’s leading scorer in the absence of Elohim Prandi, and set his side up perfectly for the closing stages of the match (50': 20–29). Facing a side that had come close to holding Nantes to a draw a few weeks ago (32-33), the Parisians were fully in control this afternoon.
Having only just come on to replace an excellent Jannick Green, Stanis Soullier saved the very first shot he faced. Everything was going the Parisians’ way, and they secured a convincing away win in Sélestat (60': 23-34). An important victory to boost confidence ahead of a crucial clash with Nantes, which could prove decisive in the title race.
Yahia Omar: eight goals; Luc Steins: four; Noah Gaudin, Mateo Maras, Kamil Syprzak, Ferran Solé, Sebastian Karlsson, Simen Lyse: three each; Jacob Holm, Sindre Heldal, Wallem Peleka, Gautier Loredon: one each. Jannick Green: 12 saves; Stanis Soullier: two.
Paris will return to competitive action on 27 May for the must-see clash as the season draws to a close. At the AccorArena, a title decider will be played against Nantes, who sit two points behind Stefan Madsen’s men. The Parisians could all but seal the league title in this top-of-the-table clash, where the Rouge etleu faithful are expected to turn out in force to get behind the capital club!
