PSG Handball seal Champions League main round spot with rout in Celje
Paris Saint-Germain Handball cruised to a big win away at RK Celje to secure a place in the Champions League main round. Qualification was confirmed by Aalborg's victory over Zagreb.
Key takeaways
- Paris Saint‑Germain Handball beat RK Celje 41-30 in Celje to seal a place in the Champions League main round.
- Qualification was confirmed after Aalborg beat Zagreb 34-33.
- Kamil Syprzak scored 9 goals, Elohim Prandi 8 and Luka Karabatic 5 for Paris.
- Mikkel Lovkvist made 6 saves while Rodrigo Corrales made 4.
- Next up is a four-match run of away games, then a Starligue trip to Caen on Saturday at 19:00 live on beIN SPORTS 3.
A week after a record-breaking win at Coubertin, Stefan Madsen's side backed it up in Slovenia. At the Zlatorog Arena, in the opening game of Champions League Matchday 4, Paris Saint‑Germain Handball beat RK Celje (30-41) and in doing so booked their place in the main round, a qualification confirmed by Aalborg's narrow win over Zagreb (34-33).
Match context
Both attacks came out firing in a breathless start. It took until the 6th minute for the first save, made by Mikkel Lovkvist, and in the 10th the Danish goalkeeper chalked up his 100th Champions League save in a Paris shirt. Clinical in front of goal, the Rouge et Bleu converted 14 of their first 15 attempts and opened up an early gap (15': 10-13). Elohim Prandi then caught fire, while Luka Karabatic, already on three goals inside a quarter of an hour, produced his best start of the season. Paris went into the break with a comfortable cushion (30': 22-14).
Second half highlights
After the restart, Prandi picked up where he left off with two quick goals to take his tally to eight (34': 16-24). Sebastian Karlsson followed suit in the second half, and the Paris defence stood firm, from Luc Steins' block at the first-half buzzer to Karl Konan's many interventions. Heading into the closing stages, the lead stretched to ten (48': 24-34), before Kamil Syprzak dominated the finish, scoring five goals in the last 15 minutes to round off a Parisian masterclass.
Paris by the numbers: - Kamil Syprzak 9 goals; Elohim Prandi 8; Luka Karabatic 5 - Bjarki Elisson, Yahia Omar, Sebastian Karlsson 4; Noah Gaudin 3; Luc Steins 2; Mateo Maras, Ferran Solé 1 - Mikkel Lovkvist 6 saves; Rodrigo Corrales 4
The win extends Paris's strong run in Group C and kicks off a stretch of four consecutive away games across all competitions. Next up is Saturday's Starligue trip to Normandy to face newly promoted Caen. Throw-off for this Matchday 7 fixture is at 7pm, live on beIN SPORTS 3.
Your questions, our answers
Did PSG Handball seal a Champions League main round spot with their win over Celje?
They beat RK Celje (30-41) and in doing so booked their place in the main round.
Who led PSG in scoring against Celje?
Kamil Syprzak with 9 goals; Elohim Prandi with 8; Luka Karabatic with 5.
What is PSG Handball's next match after this win?
Next up is Saturday's Starligue trip to Normandy to face newly promoted Caen.