Winning eleven league titles in a row will not guarantee success in the cup format. Paris Saint-Germain was defeated by Montpellier HB in the Coupe de France semifinal and will have to wait another year to lift the trophy.
Montpellier secured last year’s gold medals, just a gold better than PSG in the final. This time, the exciting and attack-focused duel took place to advance to the final, with Montpellier again the better team (39–35).
Slightly behind at the break, 18–19 Montpellier gained momentum from the start of the second half with penalty shots from David Balaguer and great saves from Remi Desbonnet. Diego Simonet broke through in the deciding minutes and left PSG trailing by three-four goals.
Kamil Syprzak produced seven goals for Paris Saint-Germain but it wasn’t enough against the defending champion.
– We were a bit nervous at the start, almost not up to scratch, eager to do well. So it was disjointed at the beginning. The end of the first half was a key moment. They went into halftime with a one-goal lead instead of three. That was a good turning point, the coach Erick Mathé told the club webpage.
Montpellier will face HBC Nantes in the final, May 23rd. Nantes kept a stable distance to Usam Nimes through the second half and cheered for the 35–30 win.