Pick Szeged defeated SC Magdeburg in a high-energy premiere, aided by Roland Mikler´s goalkeeping masterclass. Telekom Veszprem made it two-nil for Hungarian teams versus German, with Füchse Berlin narrowly beaten in the opening night race.
Hosting a recent Final four contender for the season start wasn’t exactly a dream for Szeged with new coach Michael Apelgren. But the experience within the team and the atmosphere in the arena interacted with Apelgren´s tactical dispositions to success. As for the individual stars, Mikler´s effort to stop Magdeburg scoring for nine minutes in the second half shone through. Szeged was seven goals at one point and could afford a tougher approach from Magdeburg toward the end and still win, 31-29.
Füchse Berlin returned to the Champions League eleven years after the last appearance, just to find Telekom Veszprem slightly better in many parts of the game. Mathias Gidsel produced perfect hits for the home team (ten goals) but Veszprem their own right back to count on, Nedim Remili with eleven goals.
Rodrigo Corrales had the last word with a save that denied Berlin an equaliser.
Dinamo Bucharest worked at great pace and ran away from Fredericia. Newcomer Haukur Thrastarson scored six times and it was all well in the Romanian capital when the coach David Davis changed the tune several times in the distance setup and still kept a good margin.
Industria Kielce teared RK Zagreb down after the break, when the Croatian attacks faded away. The game was decided with around ten minutes to go, Kielce produced 6–2 in a convincing period and controlled the action until the end.
Champions League
Group A, Dinamo Bucharest–Frederica HK 37–28 (18–14)
Füchse Berlin–Telekom Veszprem 31–32 (16–16)
Group B, Pick Szeged–SC Magdeburg 31–29 (17–18)
Industria Kielce–RK Zagreb 30–23 (13-13)