Paris (AFP)

Easy winners of the Slovenes of Celje in the round of 16 of the Champions League, the Parisian handball players made an appointment in mid-May with the defending champions of Kiel in the quarter-finals of the C1.

After a controlled round of 16 and concluded with a lead of 13 goals (37-24) in Slovenia, Raul Gonzalez's players only had to finish the job Thursday night in Coubertin.

They did it in two stages, leading without escaping the score for 40 minutes, before carrying a big acceleration for ten minutes to take a seven-goal lead (26-19, 51st).

"They came with more desire, it was more difficult for us. It took a while to get into it, even at the start of the second half. With a little pride and pride, we managed to dig a bit of a gap, but we can do a lot better, "said Nedim Remili after the meeting.

The Parisians have mainly provided the essential, namely to come out of this match without injury to approach in the best possible conditions a tunnel of five matches in fifteen days in the French championship, including two shocks against Montpellier and Nantes at home, to make an important step towards a seventh consecutive national title.

On Thursday, Mikkel Hansen were in the stands of Coubertin: tested positive for Covid-19 on March 22, he came out of isolation at the start of the week but the Parisian staff preferred to take the time for his return to competition.

In mid-May, the Parisians will reunite with an old acquaintance, the Norwegian Sander Sagosen who spent three seasons with Coubertin from 2017 to 2020, before joining Kiel and northern Germany, where he won his career at the end of December. first Champions League.

"We will find Sagosen", slipped with a smile Nedim Remili after the meeting.

"It's going to be a complicated quarter-final, we know that but we'll be ready," he added.

The first leg will be played in Kiel before a second leg scheduled for May 19 or 20 in Coubertin, which was still behind closed doors on Thursday evening, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

© 2021 AFP