Already qualified for the quarter-finals and guaranteed to finish in first place in group A (which will allow them to receive), PSG came back from nowhere against Veszprém this Wednesday evening. Under the eyes of Nedim Remili, who joined the Hungarian club three weeks ago following the financial difficulties of his former Polish club Kielce, the French champion completely missed his first period before turning the tide (37-35) . It promises for the future, which will take place at the beginning of May.
What you must remember
Since the arrival of Qatar in 2012, we had never seen such a catastrophic departure from the Parisian club in its room. Nine lengths apart (9-18) in just 19 minutes of play, almost one goal conceded per minute, you had to pinch yourself to believe it. The reason for this sinking is simple: an incredible success of the Hungarians (95% success), exactly the same treatment inflicted last Sunday in the championship by Ferran Sole and his teammates to the poor Nîmes. Motivated as ever, the Hungarians, pushed by Kentin Mahé, absolutely needed to get a result to hope to finish 2nd, hoping for a possible misstep from Magdeburg, which hosts Bucharest this Thursday. At the break, Paris picked up the pieces but remained at a distance (19-24).
The recovery is more conclusive. In eight minutes, PSG came back up to par (26-26) and even took the lead (29-28), with an unstoppable Elohim Prandi. Jannick Green, preferred to Andreas Palicka in the cages, has finally found the right method to make his defense an impassable citadel (6 goals conceded in the twenty minutes following the return from the locker room). The gap seems made but Veszprém returns via Dragan Pechmalbec, the former Nantes player. Before Luka Karabatic offers the 12th victory for his team in the qualifying phase.
The player: Dominik Mathé
Seriously injured at the end of last season with his former Norwegian club Elverum, the 23-year-old Hungarian international produced his best match on Wednesday since his return to the field on February 12 against Dunkirk. His six goals scored before the break allowed his team not to sink completely. Elohim Prandi then took over to set the record straight.
The number: 9
Or the number of consecutive victories for PSG, in all competitions. Luka Karabatic and his teammates have been invincible since December 17 and a setback conceded on the Montpellier floor (30-31). A good omen before going to challenge Chambéry in the league next Sunday.
The rookie: Petar Nenadic
This is the news of the day on the PSG side. The French champion announced on Wednesday the arrival for six months of Petar Nenadic, from… Veszprém. This 36-year-old Serbian international (78 caps) arrives in the capital as a medical joker to replace Nikola Karabatic, victim of phlebitis and unavailable until the end of the season.
Nenadic previously played in Spain, first with Algeciras BM and then with Barcelona a few months later. In 2008, he settled down in Hungary where he remained for two seasons in the ranks of Pick Szeged before committing, in 2010, with TTH Holstebro, in Denmark. Two years later, the Serb signed for Wisla Plock, Poland, then joined Füsche Berlin, Germany in 2014, with whom he was voted Bundesliga top scorer in 2016.
In 2018, Petar Nenadic returned to Hungary to play under the colors of Telekom Veszprém. With the Magyar club, he scored 803 goals in 208 games and was crowned champion in 2019. With Serbia, he notably won the silver medal at the European Championship in 2012.