Telekom Veszprem passed Aalborg in a last second drama. Barca was very convincing against Paris Saint-Germain and may have claimed a final four spot with one quarterfinal effort to go.
Both of Thursdays winning teams acted dominantly in the second half. Still there was a huge difference between Barca’s power performance and Veszprems boost to a narrow win.
Yahia Omars buzzer-beater was allowed and meant 32–31 as the final step in Veszprem´s comeback on home ground. Aalborg led by six goals with 25 minutes to go when the red team started to roar and got superb hang of it offensively.
An exciting return will follow, but Barca seems already like a solid candidate for another weekend in Cologne. The second half in Paris was excellent and the Spanish giant ran away with 19–8 as soon as the guests found a way to the goal behind Andreas Palicka. The Swedish keeper was overshadowed when Gonzalo Perez de Vargas stepped in for Barca after the break. Dika Mem and Melvyn Richardson combined for many goals as Barca extended their lead all the way to the end.
– This was a game of two completely different halves. We were missing a lot, Andreas Palicka was outstanding, and things simply weren’t working well for us. In the second half we were looking like a completely different team – our 5-1 defence was functioning well, and Dika helped us open the gap, said Barca coach Antonio Carlos Ortega to eurohandball.com.
Champions League
Telekom Veszprem–Aalborg HB 32–31 (12–17)
Paris Saint-Germain–Barca 22–30 (14–11)