Blockbuster individual outings as Berlin and Plock start with powerful away wins

• 12 goals from new arrival Melvyn Richardson paved the way to Plock’s win at Szeged, where spectators saw 67 goals
• Füchse Berlin continued their high-speed handball as they defeated Nantes, scoring 24 goals in the second half and an overall of 40 goals
• who else but EHF Excellence Awards 2024/25 MVP and current IHF World Player of the Year Mathias Gidsel was responsible for Berlin’s opening win, with 10 goals
• Barça had decided the match against GOG before the break, when they led 25:14, then allowed the Danish side to get closer
• new arrival Aleks Vlah was Kielce’s top scorer in the more-than-dominant win against Kolstad; another match winner for the Polish club was his Slovenian compatriot, goalkeeper Klemen Ferlin

GROUP A

HBC Nantes (FRA) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 34:40 (17:16)

H2H: 3-1-4
Top scorers: Valero Rivera 7/7 (HBC Nantes), Mathias Gidsel 10/15, Tim Freihöfer 7/8 (Füchse Berlin)

What a difference four days makes: Last Saturday, in the first match after sacking coach Jaron Siewert and sports director Stefan Kretzschmar, Füchse Berlin were shocked by SC Magdeburg, losing 39:32 on home ground in the Bundesliga. But in the rematch of this year’s EHF Champions League semi-final, the German side were back on track in an impressive way. In the first international match of new head coach Nicolej Krickau, Berlin were almost as dominant as in the 34:24 win in Cologne in June, especially looking at the second half.

The first 30 minutes were more or less equal, with Nantes taking a narrow advantage to the locker room. After the break, Berlin extended the gap minute by minute — and finally a 5:0 run from 25:23 to 30:23 decided the match. Despite a strong goalkeeper in Ivan Pesic, HBC Nantes could not come closer, as the Füchse goal machine was in full speed, again topped by last season’s top scorer Mathias Gidsel, who netted 10 times.

Industria Kielce (POL) vs Kolstad Håndball (NOR) 38:27 (16:12)

H2H: 5-0-0
Top scorers: Aleks Vlah 7/10, Szymon Sicko 5/6 (Industria Kielce), Magnus Søndenå 4/5, Martin Hovde 4/5, Adrian Aalberg 4/6, Simon Jeppson 4/10 (Kolstad Håndball)

In December 2024, Kielce took a lucky 31:30 home victory against Kolstad, which ultimately secured their spot in the play-offs. 10 months later, it was a completely different picture in Hala Legionow —mainly after the break. Backed by outstanding Slovenian goalkeeper Klemen Ferlin, who was intermediately on a save rate of over 50 per cent, Kielce had a dominant opener. A flying 7:1 start was the base for the success, though the Norwegian champions managed to reduce to 13:16 right after the break. Finally thanks to a 4:0 run for 20:13, with goals from the Dujshebaev brothers Alex and Daniel and new arrival and top scorer Aleks Vlah, the hosts took full control. After 40 minutes, the gap was 10 goals for the first time, at 25:15. Kolstad lacked efficiency in attack, while Kielce were extremely strong in defence and goalkeeping — and kept their clean record against Kolstad with their fifth win in the same number of matches.

GROUP B

OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) 33:34 (16:16)

H2H: 5-0-2
Top scorers: Mario Sostaric 9/11 (OTP Bank - PICK Szeged), Melvyn Richardson 12/16 (Orlen Wisla Plock)

An incredible performance from new arrival Melvyn Richardson was the key for Plock’s successful start — and the first setback for a highly ambitious Szeged side, after they narrowly missed the chance for their first EHF FINAL4 appearance last season.

The match was on the edge for 60 minutes, but the Polish champions were never behind after the score of 12:12. The biggest margin before the break was two goals and the draw after 30 minutes a fully deserved result. After a strong restart, Plock pulled ahead to 20:17, but could not cast off the strongly fighting hosts. Finally, three-time Champions League winner Richardson took the responsibility, with his 10th strike for 30:27 seeming to be the decision. With their top scorer Mario Sostaric (nine strikes in total) on fire in the final stages, the hosts reduced the gap to 33:34 with 17 seconds left, but time was ticking against them. Like eight years ago, when they won 25:24, Plock took Szeged’s fortress with the narrowest possible victory.  

Barça (ESP) vs GOG (DEN) 37:32 (25:14)

H2H: 13-1-1
Top scorers: Daniel Fernández 6/6 (Barça), Lasse Vilhelmsen 5/10, Óli Mittún 5/6 (GOG)

For 17 years, since the magic match of a talented young player called Mikkel Hansen, GOG have been waiting for their second victory against mighty Barça — and after less than 30 minutes, the Danish side knew that their wait would be extended. A Dane between Barça’s post was one reason for the early decision: Emil Nielsen not only saved more than 40 per cent of the shots he faced in the first half, but netted for the first five-goal advantage at 10:5. GOG’s resistance was broken at 22:12, when the gap was double-figured for the first time, and the rest was an easy-going cruise for the record EHF Champions League winners.

Barça showed a well-balanced performance, with new arrival Daniel Fernández as top scorer. After a one-year absence from the top-flight competition, GOG were taught a lesson in efficiency and also what a strong and movable defence can do. When everything was said and done, Barça allowed GOG to polish the result, but were never endangered.