After securing a seemingly comfortable five-goal away win in the first leg, Olympiacos SFP escaped a shock exit. AHC Potaissa Turda went to Greece to deliver a great comeback fight, which went down to the very last second. The visitors had the better start, leading by two goals early in the contest. Olympiacos drew level in the middle of the first half but saw themselves trailing by two again at half-time. The visitors led by two to four goals throughout the second half and had the chance to force a penalty shootout. However, Daniel Pop’s shot was saved at 59:59 minutes to send Olympiacos SFP to the last 16, winning 59:58 on aggregate.
- Besiktas turned around their two-goal deficit from the first leg against Pölva Serviti, winning the return match 32:27 at home; a 4:1 run in the last five minutes saved the Turkish side from elimination in a very tight second leg
- CS Minaur Baia Mare booked their last 16 ticket despite losing the return leg against KH Rahoveci, 35:40 at home; the Romanian side could rely on their seven-goal advantage from the first leg; Victor Alonso Garcia scored ten goals for the guests from Kosovo
- RK Partizan AdmiralBet erased their one-goal deficit against Förthof UHK Krems in dominant fashion, winning the return leg in Serbia 30:20; Lazar Andjelkovic scored nine goals from nine attempts, while goalkeeper Saeid Heidarirad saved 12 shots for a 40 perc cent save rate
- HC Alkaloid, Haukar, and AEK Athens HC comfortably won their double-headers this weekend; Alkaloid won 70:56 on aggregate against Handball WEST WIEN, winning the first leg by eleven goals; Haukar defeated Kur in Azerbaijan 68:52 with a dominant eleven-goal win in the second leg; AEK Athens HC beat HC Lovcen-Cetinje 85:57 on aggregate, after winning by 19 goals in the first leg; the Greek side scored more than 40 goals in both matches
- former EHF Champions League winners RK Celje Pivovarna Laško exited the competition in round 3 despite winning the return leg against Runar Sandefjord 32:30; Runar won the first leg by 13 goals; goalkeepers Gal Gaberšek (13 saves – 31.7 per cent) and Mats Bjørnstad (18 saves - 40 per cent) delivered outstanding performances
HC Izvidac reach Last 16 in dramatic penalty shootout
HC Izvidac and HC Motor met one week after their intense first leg, which ended in a 25:24 win for the Ukrainian side. After 20 minutes, the hosts took control of the return fixture and had built a six-goal lead by half-time. Izvidac seemed to be heading to the last 16, leading 30:25 with five and a half minutes to go. Yet, HC Motor climbed back into the tie, cutting their deficit to two goals with two minutes to play. After Izvidac missed a penalty shot, the visitors used an opportunity of their own from seven metres to make it 32:31 and force a penalty shootout. Twenty shots were needed to find the winner. HC Motor missed two penalty shots, while HC Izvidac only missed once, securing a 9:8 score in the penalty shootout and a 73:72 victory on aggregate.
