It is only a matter of time.
Only one, precisely, the one that corresponds to the match against Istres, this Tuesday afternoon.
As usual, PSG will play for the win, and it is hard to imagine how the 13th in the standings, who took ten at home on the first leg, could prevent the French champion from winning his 20th consecutive success, the absolute record since 2000. A record that Montpellier still holds for the 2011-2012 season, a year before the Parisian club changed status after its acquisition by the Qataris.
Since 2012, the figures of PSG in the elite show its almost flawless superiority (only Dunkirk stole the title from it in 2013-2014).
In nine seasons, those are 194 wins (89%), 7 draws (3%), and 18 losses (8%).
Since September and the inaugural victory against Aix (34-31), Raul Gonzalez's players have scored at least 30 goals in each outing (and even 40 on three occasions).
Only Nantes (26-24 victory, smaller gap in favor of the Parisians) and Créteil (28-24) were more defensive.
In addition to the best defense (25.42 goals conceded on average), Paris inevitably has the most powerful attack (34.58 goals scored, exactly as during the 2016-2017 season as a whole).
Not the top scorers
Paradoxically, in the scorers' ranking, you have to go down to 13th (Nedim Remili, 82) and 14th (Mikkel Hansen, 81st) to find a Parisian.
“This shows the homogeneity of this group and its collective domination,” explains Jérôme Fernandez, quadruple world champion and top scorer for the France team, now a consultant for Eurosport.
This is due to Raul Gonzalez's project, where everyone has a say.
Paris of course has its big individuals, like Hansen, who are nevertheless capable of making an impact on others.
This remains a false
problem
.
The clubs that dominate their championships like PSG, Barça or Veszprem play every match to win it and break records.
"
In 2011-2012, which marked the end of its hegemony (13 titles in 15 seasons!), Montpellier had in its ranks several future Parisians (Nikola and Luka Karabatic, Samuel Honrubia, Mladen Bojinovic).
In Patrice Canayer's group, Rémi Leventoux, a youngster from the training center, who was celebrating his twentieth birthday, remembers the already extraordinary series of 19 consecutive victories: “When you are young and you have this role of replacement, you do not see it the same, says the future ex-Toulousain, who has just ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament.
But from having lived with them, I know what it means when the record arrives.
The euphoria is still there, but it only comes afterwards.
"
60 ': Paris wins, continues its flawless and equalizes the record of victories to start a season!
More info to come!
#USDKPSG pic.twitter.com/5n6JiWueid
- PSG Handball (@psghand) April 11, 2021
If the outcome of the championship is beyond doubt, especially if PSG dominates Montpellier (current 2nd and only competitor for the title) on Saturday, Jérôme Fernandez nevertheless thinks that the French championship remains homogeneous: “With its big starts (Sagosen, Corrales, Abalo), we had the feeling at the start of the season that the club could have had more difficulties, nevertheless the collective project of the staff made the difference.
There is still rivalry, I am thinking in particular of teams like Montpellier, Nantes, Aix, Nîmes, Saint-Raphaël.
Paris knows that the title is played especially at home.
Finally, its domination is relatively logical.
"" The strength of Parisians and very large teams is that they adapt to their opponents, adds Leventoux.
They sometimes let their guard down… but never for too long.
"
Barring an improbable accident, PSG will therefore beat a record.
Which is good for the numbers, but also for the mind: “Psychologically, it's something very beneficial, concludes Jérôme Fernandez.
They find themselves at a crucial moment with a big fight against Kiel in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and a squad in full confidence.
I had the chance to do a 30 out of 30 with the Ciudad Real (in 2010).
It's a pride, even more beautiful than a title.
This never happens, especially in a league as tough as the Starligue, unlike Barça which has no rival in Spain.
"