Le Paris-SG and Montpellier continue their winning streak in Starligue. Unlike their rival Nantes, who were held to a draw by Limoges on Saturday (34-34), the French champions and last season’s runners-up secured their fourth victory in four matches on Sunday. PSG crushed Dunkerque at Stades de Flandres (33-42), while Montpellier showed their strength on Cesson-Rennes’ court (27-32). They remain co-leaders alongside Nîmes.
In the north, the capital team put on another offensive display. Before the start of the game, Dunkerque players formed a guard of honor for Nikola Karabatic, who is playing his last season of his legendary career. However, they seemed to leave the door wide open throughout the match.
Paris took advantage of this opportunity, four days after suffering their first defeat of the season against Kielce in the Champions League (30-29). The French champions welcomed back their playmaker Luc Steins, who was absent in Poland for family reasons. The Dutchman once again proved his worth, scoring 5/6 and delivering 11 decisive passes that particularly delighted Kamil Syprzak at pivot (9/9 including 4 penalties).
PSG quickly established their lead (9-13, 16th minute). “We controlled the match well,” said captain Luka Karabatic to beIN Sports. “We were vigilant, maintained the tempo, and Dunkerque cracked in the second half.” Despite the 7 goals (but only 2/5 in open play) from Dunkerque’s right-back Tom Pelayo, the league’s top scorer, the gap reached ten units (28-38, 50th minute). PSG prepared much better than Nantes for the upcoming clash against H, next Sunday at Coubertin.
In Brittany, it was Montpellier’s defense that made the difference. Cessonnais struggled with turnovers and missed shots against Rémi Desbonnet, and were completely overwhelmed in the opening minutes (1-5, 7th minute; 4-10, 15th minute). The Bretons loosened their grip a bit afterwards (11-16 at half-time), but never posed a threat to MHB, who managed to maintain their lead until the end.
Despite missing several key players due to injury (Stas Skube, Yanis Lenne), Montpellier concludes a successful week after their first victory in the Champions League against Plock on Thursday (30-28). Next Friday, they will host newly promoted Dijon.
