Live blog: Kielce defeat Montpellier after Veszprém beat Aalborg in MOTW
The EHF Champions League Men 2021/22 is at the quarter-final stage, with the four first leg matches having taken place on Wednesday and Thursday.
23.15
That concludes our coverage of the EHF Champions League for today. Thanks for joining us, we hope you enjoyed tonight's action.
Just four more matches until we know who will be competing in the men's EHF FINAL4. Two next Wednesday, two next Thursday.
We hope you can join us for another round of thrilling handball matches.
23.12
What a pair of matches we have had today.
First off in the MOTW we had Veszprém delighting their passionate fans with a 36:29 win over Aalborg.
Steered by Kentin Mahe and top scorer Gasper Marguc, awarded Player of the Match, Veszprém were in full control after 15 minutes. After their quarter-final elimination by Nantes in 2021, the four-time Champions League finalists have paved the way to Cologne with a seven-goal margin.
Then we saw Kielce hold off a rampant Montpellier team in the second half to leave southern France with a 28:31 victory.
Alex Dujshebaev and Uladzislau Kulesh were at the heart of the Polish team's performance, and while Hugo Descart sparked a Montpellier fight-back, Kielce didn't relinquish control and took their chances in attack, and worked passionately in defence.
22.39
Here's how the quarter-finals stood at the halfway stage. Four more matches to come before we know the EHF Champions League FINAL4
20.38
While we catch our breath after a phenomenal MOTW, in five minutes time we go again when Montpellier HB take on Lomza Vive Kielce in the fourth and final EHF Champions League quarter-final first leg.
20.26
20.21
RESULT | Telekom Veszprém HC vs Aalborg Håndbold 36:29 (17:16)
It is a huge result for the Hungarian team, and the seven-goal advantage they will take with them to Denmark will give them huge confidence that they will be able to complete the job.
Telekom were the team with the greater pedigree in the EHF Champions League and they made all their experience count in front of a boisterous crowd who added to a vibrant match.
20.16
That looks like the end of the night for Yahia Fathy Omar, who rolls his ankle as he lands and is helped off. He's put in a great performance and at the heart of everything good that Telekom Veszprém HC did, most notably with his six goals .
23:03
Two different matches but the same excitement: the quarter-finals have started in great fashion tonight.
First, we have seen how Barça set course firmly towards the EHF FINAL4 2022 in Cologne on 18/19 June by earning a four-goal away win at Flensburg, whose spirited fightback in the second half was probably not more than damage control: 33: 29
Then we have witnessed how Kiel dictated much of the game in Paris, but failed to keep PSG at distance. Several leads, even up to five goals in the second half, were not enough to take the win. And while a 30:30 draw at PSG is a strong result, it does not guarantee anything for the return leg.
10:58pm
The crowd in Paris was awesome during the match. Even though PSG were chasing a deficit against Kiel almost the entire 60 minutes, they never stopped supporting their heroes.
22:51
PSG and Kiel have served us exactly the spicy meal we were hungry for. Great game, great emotions, and all open going into the reverse fixture next week.
This is what Kiel coach Filip Jicha said after the match:
It was a very tough game, very intense. I think we have to be happy with a draw, even though we were leading almost the entire match. There were a lot of emotions, this was an advertisement for handball.
22:35 RESULT | PSG vs KIEL 30:30 (14:16)
In the end PSG and Kiel settle for a draw. The visitors have been several goals up many times, up to five goals (19:14) early in the second half, but they just can't shrug off the hosts, who have been pushed throughout the match by a loud Parisian crowd.
All to play for in Kiel next week!
22:27
Luc Steins doing Luc Stein things:
22:17
Just when you think PSG have finally found their stride, Kiel edge in front again. Yes, it is a close match, but fact is also PSG have only been in front once: when Kamil Syprzak converted a penalty for 1:0 in the opening minute.
Great goalkeeping from Niklas Landin also helps Kiel, of course..:
22:12
Team timeout Kiel. PSG have come back again and we are back level at 21:21. Can coach Filip Jicha inspire his team to take the lead once more in the last quarter?
22:03
The second half in Paris has started. Can the hosts turn this around in the second half?
Of course they can (which doesn't necessarily mean they will...) but the experience is very different from last year's quarter-final against Kiel.
The first leg was played in Germany, Kiel won it 31:29, but PSG won the decisive home leg by six goals (35:29) to book their ticket to Cologne.
Tonight, PSG are down by four (20:16) on home court just over six minutes into the second half.
It was a really good match from our side. We got a nice advantage, even if we know that Flensburg are an amazing team with a lot of fighting spirit. Our defence was unbelievable today, on a super level. And we played a really smart attack.
21:13
Time timeout PSG. Raul Gonzalez is far from happy with his team in the opening minutes. Meanwhile it is 7:4 to Kiel after just over 10 minutes.
21:00
After a 15-minute delay, we are underway now in Paris... and Kamil Syprzak has given the hosts an early 1:0 lead.
20:58
While we wait... do you think PSG vs Kiel is going to be the closest tie in the quarter-finals this year? At least this one is hard to predict!
20:52
Throw-off in Paris has been slightly delayed because of a spectator in need of medical attention.
We expect to get going anytime soon, though.
20:40
In the build-up to this match, EHF journalist Kevin Domas had a chat with PSG (and former Kiel!) star Nikola Karabatic for this interview on eurohandball.com .
"Of course, when you are playing at top level handball, you appreciate every trophy, but the Champions League remains the Holy Grail among all of them," Karabatic said.
We couldn't agree more!
20:36
Don't go anywhere, as we go straight from Flensburg to Paris for PSG against Kiel. We all remember the teams also met last season, when Kiel were the titleholders but lost their chance to defend their title in Cologne as they lost in the quarter-finals to PSG.
Overall, the head-to-head between the teams couldn't be more even: both had six wins from their 13 previous duels.
And tonight..? Find out live on EHFTV now!
20:23 RESULT | FLENSBURG vs BARÇA 29:33 (13:18)
Barça take a big, big step towards the EHF FINAL4 2022 with this four-goal win Flensburg. But still, well done to the hosts who recover from a dramatic start and a 9:2 deficit after nine minutes to make it a real match in the end.
Emil Jakobsen is the leading scorer with nine for Flensburg, but Youssef Bin Ali impresses with a perfect eight from eight for Barça.
20:19
Flensburg have not beaten Barça since that flensational semi-final win in 2014 – and it is not going to happen tonight, either. Last minute and 33:29 to Barca...
20:12
Closing stages in Flensburg. The hosts missed a few chances to come within two goals from Barça, who have stretched their lead to four, five goals again since.
Still, this is a beauty from Jim Gottfridsson:
19:59
Slowly but surely are Flensburg clawing their way back into this game. The margin is back to just three now: 26:23 for Barça. This is a match again!
19:49
No real difference early in the second half, as Barça look on their way to a more than substantial buffer ahead of the second leg in Spain in the next week.
A penalty from Aleix Goméz has just raised the margin to seven...
19:33
Barça might not have been as dominant this season as they were last season (would that even have been possible..?) but the first half tonight has shown the titleholders back at their best. A dominant performance from the start in an away match, clearly out to make the difference early in this potentially tricky tie with Flensburg.
19:26 HALF TIME | FLENSBURG vs BARÇA 13:18
The half-time buzzer has sounded a while ago but Flensburg coach Maik Machulla remains seated at the side of the court. The disappointment in his face tells the story of the first half: how to stop this Barça?
Five goals each for Emil Jakobsen and Youssef Ben Ali so far, but the dominant visitors are well ahead at the break.
19:12
Told you something before about the goalkeepers in this match. (Just arrived here? Scroll down to 18:17.) Gonzalo Perez de Vargas fully living up to that billing:
19:04
Barça are cruising in this first quarter, and so is Dika Mem – currently with four out of four, which sends him top of the top scorers list for the season with 82 goals.
18:57
Team timeout Flensburg. At 9:2 down after nine minutes, no wonder Flensburg coach Maik Machulla needs to talk to his players so early in the game. "Too naive!" he says about his team's defence.
18:50
Well, make that 5-1 down in four minutes, and with two players off for a two-minute suspension. A nightmare start for Flensburg against Barça...
18:47
We are off and running... but what a horror start for Flensburg, who find themselves 3:0 down within one minute and 40 seconds!
18:26
We start the quarter-finals with two heavyweights, who have been to this stage of the competition numerous times before.
How many times?
Flensburg play their 14th quarter-final in their 17th season in the EHF Champions League, while this is Barça's 22nd quarter-final in 25 seasons; out of these 25 occasions, they reached the semi-finals a stunning 17 times.
18:17
So the fun is starting in Germany tonight. Of course, Flensburg and Barça met as recent as two months ago, when the Spanish side won their group B match on home court 29:22. Earlier in the season, Barça also won the reverse fixture in Flensburg: 25:21.
What does that tell us about tonight? We will find out in less than half an hour, as the teams are already preparing in the FLENS Arena for the 18:45-CEST throw-off.
And with Benjamin Buric and Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, we are about to witness another goalkeeper show:
18:03
While we have plenty in prospect tomorrow, including the Match of the Week in Hungary between Veszprém and Aalborg, tonight's schedule is not too shabby, either.
We are going to see our two most recent champions in action: first the current titleholders Barça, who continue their mission title defense with an away game in Flensburg; followed by the 2020 champions Kiel, who make a trip to Paris for a repeat of last season's quarter-final against PSG:
17:52
As always, the preview here on eurohandball.com from EHF journalists Björn Pazen and Kevin Domas is a good starting point to get informed in detail about the matches coming your way:
