On the court, the game was a much more complicated business for Paris, as the French team was down by eight goals after just 15 minutes played. Barça never released the pressure, using every opportunity to score fastbreaks and still increase their advantage.
The second half was not enough for them to turn things around, as Gonzalo Perez de Vargas destroyed their last hopes, saving 21 shots to secure the third place for Barça.
THIRD PLACE MATCH
Barça (ESP) vs Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 37:31 (22:13)
- both coaches adopted the same strategy, putting on the court some players that had not had the opportunity to play on Saturday, such as Sadou N’Tanzi for Paris or Jonathan Carlsbogard for Barça
- the Spanish side really seemed to have recovered from the semi-final defeat, as it took an eight-goal lead after just 12 minutes played
- led by their wingers, who scored a combined 11 in the first half alone, Barça cruised throughout the first half to lead by nine at half-time
- never were Paris able to cut down their deficit to less than five goals, despite N’Tanzi netting seven times
- this is the first time that Paris lost the third place match in five participations
- in the second half, Aleix Gómez became the all-time top scorer at the EHF FINAL4, scoring four to reach a total of 70, passing Kiril Lazarov and Mikkel Hansen along the way
Barça will go on holidays with a smile on their face
There is not much to win in a placement match. But a bad performance and a defeat is the last thing you want before going on holidays at the end of a long season. Barça made the most to avoid it. Maybe it is the experience, but their players were allow to digest yesterday’s disappointment to bounce back. And even without stalwarts like Dika Mem or Luka Cindric, the youngsters showed they wanted to leave Cologne on a high note and with the bronze medal around their neck.
Photo: EHF / kolektiff
