Paris stay focused to qualify for the quarter-finals
Last week in Slovenia, Paris took the second biggest advantage across all the play-off confrontations, winning by 13 goals, 37:24.
With nine toes already in the next round, the French side still had to concentrate to validate their ticket, as Celje have proved to be an itchy opponent during some of their away games this season.
PLAY-OFFS, LEG 2
Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) vs RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO) 14:12 (31:23)
First leg: 37:24. Aggregate: 68:47
- unlike in the first leg, Celje managed to stick close to Paris for most of the first half. After the hosts stretched to a four-goal lead, Žiga Mlakar’s arrival on the court helped Celje fight back to two goals at the break
- Paris broke away in the middle of the second half with left hander Nedim Remili and Ferran Sole at the wheel; a 6:0 run between the 37th and 47th minutes proved critical
- although Celje found the net again in the closing quarter, they could not stop PSG’s victory
- PSG’s Dylan Nahi was the top scorer with seven goals
- in the quarter-finals, Paris will face THW Kiel, who eliminated Szeged 66:56 on aggregate
Celje: better, but not good enough
It is always hard for a young side to compete against one of the best teams on the planet. Celje experienced it last week, when they were defeated by 13 goals at home.
On Thursday, they proved they would not make the same mistakes twice. Even if, in the end, their efforts were not rewarded with a win, the Slovenian side have surely learnt a lot from this double confrontation.
