Plock and PSG win thrillers to leave play-offs wide open

• Paris Saint-Germain won by the closest possible margin in Szeged, their eighth win in 11 duels against the Hungarian side
• Kamil Syprzak (eight goals) and Yahia Omar (seven) were PSG’s top scorers in this equal encounter
• Orlen Wisla Plock remain unbeaten this calendar year in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League by beating Nantes
• it was Plock’s fourth win in the fifth Champions League match after the international break in January
• Przemyslaw Krajewski was top scorer for the Polish side, netting eight times

PLAY-OFFS, FIRST LEG

OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN) vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) 30:31 (13:14)

Paris Saint-Germain became the third side, after SC Magdeburg and Füchse Berlin, to take an away victory in the first leg of the play-offs. But OTP Bank – PICK Szeged were a tough nut to crack, and the tie remains open ahead of the second leg. Szeged started strong thanks to goalkeeper Tobias Thulin and EHF Champions League top scorer Mario Sostaric — now on 107 goals after five strikes — and the first half went back and forth. PSG took a two-goal lead just before the break, but Szeged went in front once more 36 minutes into the game.

However in the middle of the second half Paris had four crucial minutes, scoring a 4:0 run from 19:20 to 23:20, which helped them stay ahead until the end. Last season’s EHF Champions League top scorer Kamil Syprzak became a key factor for the visitors, scoring eight times to bring his season tally to 96.

Syprzak’s last goal for a 29:26 lead seemed to be decisive for Paris, but then Szeged profited from several missed shots and technical mistakes from their opponents to close up to 28:29 with two minutes left. Finally, Spanish wing Ferran Sola secured the away win, scoring PSG’s 31st goal 30 seconds before the end. PSG’s Egyptian right back Yahia Omar was also crucial with seven goals, while Lazar Kukic netted six times for Szeged.

Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs HBC Nantes (FRA) 28:25 (17:12)

By taking seven points from the four group matches in 2025 and remaining unbeaten against PSG, Füchse Berlin, Dinamo Bucuresti and Sporting CP, Orlen Wisla Plock were the surprise after the winter break — and head coach Xavi Sabate’s team managed to extend that series in the play-offs. Two years ago, Plock defeated Nantes in the stage of the competition in a penalty shootout following a draw on home ground. Now, they travel to France with a three-goal advantage.

Backed by their fans, the hosts were clearly dominant in the first half, leading 7:3 and 11:6, while Nantes had big problems in getting through the best defence of the group phase. Up until the 46th minute, when they led 22:16, Plock seemed to be cruising to a win, but then Nantes improved and bridged the gap goal by goal. Although Przemyslaw Krajewski was unstoppable in Plock’s attack, scoring an overall of eight goals, the match was on the edge in the final minutes. After a 6:2 run to close the gap to 22:24, Nantes were close to turning the match around. But Plock hung on and when Leon Susnja scored with 90 seconds left to make it 28:24, the home win was secured, despite Leopold Noam’s last-minute strike for Nantes.

Photos © Eliza Sólya, Jerzy Stankowski