Accustomed to having at least one, and up to three representatives in the Final 4 of the C1 in recent years, the French hand, with the MHB and the PSG, must this season first pass the obstacle of the dams, then that of the quarter-finals.

Favorites of their double confrontation in the play-offs, the two Starligue clubs returned frustrated from their trips to Portugal and Norway last week.

In Porto, Montpellier had increased their advantage to four goals six minutes from the end (28-24), and PSG had a five-goal lead at the start of the last twenty minutes (22-17) at Elverum.

But the two French clubs cracked at the end of the meeting, a free warning.

To move on to the next round and challenge in the quarter-finals respectively the Poles of Kielce and the Germans of Kiel, Montpellier and Paris will therefore have to win at home.

They were full of confidence in the league on Sunday.

Montpellier Yanis Lenne during the Champions League match in Aalborg, September 22, 2021 Henning Bagger Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Archives

At home to third-placed Aix, Paris equaled their own record of 22 consecutive Starligue victories, taking a step towards an eighth straight French league title.

Canayer anticipates 'balanced game'

The return against Elverum on Thursday, still at Coubertin, will however be played out in a completely different context.

"It's completely different, it's another story. If we lose the match against Elverum, it's over. There will be a lot of pressure", warns the Parisian coach, the Spaniard Raul Gonzalez, who counts on the support of the public to secure its place in the quarters.

The Parisians, weakened at their back base by the absence until the end of the season of the Dane Mikkel Hansen, recorded a new blow on Sunday with Nedim Remili who left the field after only two minutes of play, limping after be twisted ankle.

Montpellier coach Patrice Canayer, May 26, 2018 in Cologne Patrik STOLLARZ AFP / Archives

For its part, Montpellier continued in the league with a fifth consecutive success (the eighth in nine matches since the start of 2022) against Istres at home, before finding Porto.

"As in the first leg, I expect a balanced game. The two teams are quite close," said Patrice Canayer, the Montpellier coach.

"I am delighted with the rise in power of the executives. It is very important, because we have one of the youngest teams in the Champions League", he adds.

In its Bougnol room, "all the difficulty" for the MHB will be to find "commitment and emotional control" to "respond in particular to the expectations of the public", considers Canayer.

© 2022 AFP