Failed again! Definitely, the Champions League, the most prestigious club competition in handball, does not smile on Paris Saint-Germain. During the semi-final, which was played on Saturday June 17 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, the Parisians lost (24-25) to Kielce, the Polish champion.
Since its acquisition by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2012, the Parisians have been chasing a first European title. If they qualified six times for the final of the Final four in Cologne, they reached the final of this competition only once, in 2017, beaten by the Macedonian club Vardar Skopje.
In the absence of Nikola Karabatic, who is still treating his pubalgia, PSG did not start as favorites in this meeting. For twenty minutes, PSG nevertheless raced in the lead, leading by one or two goals. The Dutchman Luc Steins, the PSG pocket leader (1.73m), had a brilliant first period, often finding the Latvian colossus Dainis Kristopans (2.15m), who imposed his power in front of goal.
In this very close match, the goalkeepers often took the lead over the shooters. In this game, the goalkeeper of Kielce, the German international Andreas Wolff, was a little more effective than his counterpart, the Swede Andreas Miroslav Palicka, in the cages of PSG.
Kielce gradually gained the upper hand late in the first period, thanks in particular to the high-flying performance of Spaniard Alex Dujshebaev, son of Kielce coach Talant Dujshebaev. The Parisians have struggled to thwart his relationship with French pivot Nicolas Tournat. On the Parisian side, the Serbian Petar Nenadic, after a good start, quickly died.
Offensive sterility
At the break, the men of Spanish coach Raul Gonzalez returned to the locker room two goals behind (14-16). On his return to the floor, PSG remained nine minutes without scoring. Handicapped for two weeks by a double fracture to the hand, international left-back Elohim Prandi struggled at the forefront of the Parisian attack, but goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who played the entire game, watched over the grain.
Despite their offensive sterility, the Parisians, with courage, still managed to pick up the score (21-21) twelve minutes from the end. Two minutes later, Luc Steins made a big mistake on Arkadiusz Moryto, which earned him two minutes of exclusion. The Parisians were not without giving. Two new decisive stops by Andreas Wolff in the last minute sounded the death knell for the last hopes of PSG.
As in 2022, Kielce reaches the final of the Final Four. The Polish club will meet tomorrow in the Magdeburg final. In the other semi-final, the German club created a surprise by beating Barcelona, the double defending champion, on penalties.
The three French stars, Melvyn Richardson, Dika Mem and Ludovic Fabregas, missed their throw from seven meters for Barça. It was Fabregas’ last game with Barcelona. He will play next season in Veszprém, Hungary. If Magdeburg wins tomorrow, it would be a first because the German club has never been European champion. PSG will therefore play the match for third place against Barcelona.