Kielce and PSG had not met each other in the EHF Champions League since those legendary quarter-final matches of the 2018/19 season, and the Polish champions came out on top again on Thursday night.

Kielce’s 35:33 win, led by a 130goal outing of Igor Karacic, followed a stellar performance which handed PSG another shock, just days after their star player Nikola Karabatic suffered a serious knee injury which put him out for six months.

GROUP A

Lomza Vive Kielce (POL) vs Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) 35:33 (18:18)

• only once were Kielce ahead in the first half as they opened the scoring; otherwise PSG led by two or three goals most of the time
• Kielce raced into a four-goal lead early in the second half to take control of the game
• Igor Karacic netted 13 times for Kielce, Mikkel Hansen 10 for PSG
• Kielce are tied with Flensburg at the top of the group with eight points, while Paris remain at the sixth place with two points.

Igor Karacic scores when it matters most

Kielce’s Croatian centre back was key in the Polish champions’ win tonight. Not only did Igor Karacic score 13 goals, he netted four of them in the last five minutes, exploiting every tiny hole in Paris’ defence. He also scored what was one the highlights of the evening: A jump shot that he managed to slip under Vincent Gérard’s leg. Kielce’s collective performance was one to remember, but Karacic was the cherry on the cake.