In what could easily be a preview of the final, Magdeburg and Barcelona faced off in the penultimate round of the EHF Champions League group stage. The Spanish champions delivered a top performance, winning convincingly 36–29 to take the top spot in the group.
It was first against second as two of the tournament’s biggest favorites clashed yesterday. Both teams came out firing from the start, trading goals back and forth with neither side able to build an advantage.
For the home team it was Felix Claar leading the way offensively, with the duo of Luis Frade and Blaz Janc answering for Barça. The 16–16 score at the break was followed by a tight battle at the start of the second half.
Until the 50th minute, no more than two goals separated the teams, and when Lukas Mertens tied the game with less than nine minutes on the clock it looked like the match would go down to the wire.
But Barcelona had other plans. Mertens’ goal was the last Barcelona allowed Magdeburg to score, completely shutting down the German attack in the final minutes. This opened the door for a 7–0 scoring run, with Alex Gómez — the game’s top scorer — finding plenty of success from the wing.
The win takes Barça to the top of the group, but most importantly it was a real statement victory for the Spanish giants.
EHF Champions League – 5/3
Dinamo Bucuresti – Kolstad 33–23
Pick Szeged – GOG 34–37
Nantes – Veszprem 33–31
Magdeburg – Barcelona 29–36