Paris Saint-Germain have produced one of the most significant results of the EHF Champions League group phase, dismantling defending champions SC Magdeburg 34-26 to leap into fourth place in Group B and secure direct entry into the knockout rounds. Magdeburg arrived as the team to beat. They left looking thoroughly second best.
PSG dominated from kickoff. Magdeburg were missing several key players and never recovered from a torrid opening 15 minutes. The French side's defensive structure smothered the German champions' favoured midcourt build-up, and PSG repeatedly turned takeaways into transition goals. By half-time the visitors led comfortably and the second half became a procession.
Elohim Prandi was the headline act. The PSG left back scored 11 goals in a performance that combined elite shooting accuracy with a willingness to take responsibility in every key moment. The haul took his group-phase tally to 111 goals, putting him ahead of Barcelona's Frederik Bjerre on 102 and confirming Prandi as the EHF Champions League's top scorer for the group phase.
"We're very satisfied to finish the group phase on a positive note," PSG line player Luka Karabatic said after the win. Karabatic's understated reaction belied the importance of the result. PSG had endured a difficult start to the season and there were genuine doubts about whether the squad could regain the form needed for a Champions League knockout run. The Magdeburg result settles those questions for now.
The context made the win all the sweeter. Magdeburg's 2024-25 European triumph had positioned them as the new gold standard in European club handball, and the German champions have been quietly favoured to repeat the feat. Losing by eight goals to a side that had been wobbling for months will force a serious internal review at the German club, particularly with the knockout draw now likely to land them in a much harder bracket than they had been hoping for.
For Prandi, the night was the latest chapter in a season that has reaffirmed his status as one of the most lethal back-court shooters in Europe. His combination of arc, raw power and tactical intelligence has been the consistent thread in PSG's recent revival, and the 111-goal group-phase total puts him in elite company in the modern history of the competition.
The wider Group B picture saw Barcelona top the standings after their record-setting win over HC Eurofarm Pelister, with Orlen Wisla Plock claiming third on 18 points and PSG slipping into fourth. The knockout draw will pit the four advancing sides from each group into a tournament-style bracket, and the early consensus is that PSG-Magdeburg has now become a tie that any team would prefer to avoid in the next round.
For Karabatic, who has built a career out of winning when it matters most, the message after the match was as clear as the result. PSG are back, Magdeburg are vulnerable, and the rest of the Champions League field has been put on notice.