After starting the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2022/23 with defeat to Veszprém, Paris Saint-Germain pulled out a strong second half to ensure victory against a tough Plock side this week.
Although they struggled in the first half, PSG pushed things to another level after the break, thanks to Andreas Palicka between the posts and Kamil Syprzak on the other end of the court. The Polish line player ended the game as best scorer, with nine goals.
GROUP A
Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) 37:33 (18:16)
- while Plock made the best start in the game, it took Paris a good 15 minutes to warm up. But when they did, Nikola Karabatic and Luc Steins put their foot to the pedal and allowed the hosts to be ahead by two at the break
- Paris kept the lead after half-time, but never managed to truly shake off their opponents’ resistance until the last quarter of the game
- Andreas Palicka was key, as the Swedish goalkeeper saved a couple of important shots to help his team take a decisive advantage
- using all the depth of their bench, including both goalkeepers, Plock were able to make a sharp comeback in the last 10 minutes, closing the gap to three goals before Elohim Prandi gave them the kiss of death
- Kamil Syprzak finished best scorer of the game with nine goals, closely followed by Plock’s Sergei Mark Kosorotov who netted eight times
Kamil Syprzak, still on the same pace
The Polish line player was certainly PSG’s best player in the last Champions League season, and it seems like the summer did not steal his momentum.
His nine goals on Wednesday included some important ones in the first half, to help his team remain afloat when the Polish wind was blowing strong. Even when PSG are struggling, they can count on Syprzak to keep their heads high.