Paris (AFP)
Nantes chained a second victory in a row in the French handball championship, Sunday, against Montpellier (34-28), during the shock of the 3rd day, while Paris Saint-Germain retained the lead thanks to its success at Créteil (36-32).
-Nantes goes back, bad operation for Montpellier
Surprised by Cesson-Rennes on the first day (29-27), the Nantes residents confirmed their return to form at the H Arena against Montpellier and climb to 7th place, 2 points behind Paris Saint-Germain.
With a record of a victory, a draw and a defeat, the Montpellier descend to 9th place, three lengths from PSG.
Nantes drew their success in the first period (20-11), before mastering the second act.
Well protected by their Danish goalkeeper Emil Niesen (13 saves), the men of Spanish coach Alberto Entrerrios enjoyed a good shooting skill (34/43 to 80%) and relied on their collective, with eleven players to more than 2 goals.
For Montpellier, double European champions (2003 and 2018), this heavy defeat comes on top of that conceded last Wednesday in the Champions League against Aalborg, outgoing finalist (36-28).
An unfortunate poor performance, while the Parisians, winners of their third game in a row, did not slow down in the race for the title.
-The PSG still sovereign-
The seven-time defending champion retained the lead in the championship by winning the derby for the third day at Créteil (36-32).
Luka Karabatic and his teammates thank their supporters, after the match against Nantes for 3rd place in the Final Four of the Champions League, on June 13, 2021 in Cologne Ina Fassbender AFP / Archives
With 6 points, PSG is ahead of Nîmes, who beat Limoges on Saturday (30-28), on goal difference (+28 against +13) and Saint-Raphäel by a length.
Hung in the first period (17-17), the teammates of Danish star Mikkel Hansen (11 goals) made the difference in the second period, won by a score of 19 to 15.
© 2021 AFP