Live blog: Three dramatic home wins; one tense draw
Round 5 of the EHF Champions League Men started with a bang on Wednesday night, with Kiel handing Aalborg their first loss of the season in the Match of the Week and Celje clearly winning at Zagreb in their classic derby.
Four matches remain to be played tonight, all in group A, all live on EHFTV.
- round 5 closed with four group A games tonight: Meshkov Brest beat Szeged 26:24; Kielce won again, 35:33 vs PSG
- Vardar drew 25:25 with Porto and Flensburg saw off Elverum, 37:35
- round 5 action opened on Wednesday with THW Kiel defeating Aalborg 31:23 (17:9) in the Match of the Week and Celje earning their first points of the season with a clear win, 30:22, over Zagreb
- Kielce and Barcelona are still group leaders heading into round 6 next week
THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER
23:32
That concludes tonight's Live Blog coverage on a breath-taking night of EHF Champions League action.
I'll leave you with some of the best photos of the evening that we're sharing across social media!
Join us on Saturday for the next round of the DELO Women's Champions League, before round 6 in the men's EHF Champions League on Wednesday.
23:30
Last but not least, our review of Flensburg's win over Elverum! So many goals around tonight!
23:13
You just simply do not go to Kielce and win these days! PSG were the latest team to find this out, despite pushing the hosts all the way.
Here's our review of the match which saw Kielce stay top of Group A.
22:57
Just in case you've missed anything over the last two days... (if so, where on earth have you been?!)
22:48
A real smash-and-grab finish to the game in Skopje, where FC Porto stole a point with seconds to spare!
But I won't give you all the info here... when you can read our review of the game.
22:43
Rather subdued celebrations from Flensburg! I'm sure they're happy to get the job done nonetheless.
22:35
Of course it would be Igor Karacic who sealed victory for Kielce! He scored 13 times today in this thriller!
22:33
I don't know how Antonio Areia squeezed this past Borko Ristovski with just seconds to spare, but he did! Earning a precious away point for Porto.
22:24
And here is what tonight's results have done to the Group A table.
Kielce and Flensburg stay in 1st and 2nd respectively, now on 8 points each.
Meshkov have overtaken Porto and Vardar have leapfrogged PSG.
Elverum and Szeged stay as they were after tonight's losses.
22:17
RESULTS from around Europe tonight
Lomza Vive Kielce 35:33 Paris Saint-Germain
HC Vardar 1961 25:25 FC Porto
SG Flensburg-Handewitt 37:35 Elverum
22:08
Lovely powerful finish from Marko Vujin to finish off this Vardar move.
They currently trail 23:24.
21:56
Also around Europe, Vardar are clinging on to a one-goal lead against Porto (20:19) and Kielce are now ahead against Paris (29:26) in another goal-fest!
21:54
Pretty high scoring tonight in Flensburg... 27:23 with still over 15 minutes to go!
EHFTV is where to watch the conclusion of this one.
21:47
Flensburg had to work for their 4-goal lead at the break but shots like this from Jim Gottfridsson made life easier...
21:42
Nikola Mitrevski putting that right leg to good use not once but twice...
21:30
Another topsy-turvy match in North Macedonia! Vardar holding the narrowest of leads in this one.
21:26
Flensburg are on course for another home victory... but Elverum won't be giving up any time soon!
21:21
Well well well, that home record is under threat! PSG have plenty of talent in the squad (understatement of the year!) and they seem to be coping well despite the recent injuries.
21:10
We are back live in Flensburg on EHFTV! What do you think about that, Luc?
21:07
Currently 12:12 in Kielce! The home team will need a few more of these to keep that great record...
20:57
You can also follow the matches on our live tickers.
Flensburg have started the brighter over in Germany.
20:53
Unfortunately, we are having some technical difficulties with the live stream of the Flensburg vs Elverum match. We are trying to fix it as quickly as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
20:48
Meshkov Brest kept up their 100% home record in this season's Champions League, read our review of how they managed to see off MOL-Pick Szeged
20:42
Live updates of the three 20:45 matches will be found right here, but if you would rather watch live, EHFTV is the place to be
20:32
Eeeeeeeeeeeasy does it for Jaka Malus!
20:30
Ready to pounce on any slip-ups from Kielce are 2nd-placed Flensburg. They host Elverum at 20:45.
When the two sides met last season it was Flensburg who triumphed both times. Elverum are in good form in the Norwegian league but can they bring that form into tonight's clash?
20:24
PSG will be without Nikola Karabatic and Kamil Syprzak tonight in Poland after they both suffered injuries in the French league at the weekend.
Kielce have not lost at home in over a year in ALL competitions and sit atop Group A.
This is all pointing towards a home win... but the EHF Champions League is never that simple!
20:19
All over in the first match of the evening! HC Meshkov Brest move on to 6 points in Group A while MOL-Pick Szeged remain at the foot of the standings.
Szeged scored a few consolation goals in the final minutes but the damage was done by the lead Brest put together early in the second half.
20:10
Time to get excited about our 3 games at 20:45!
First off, Vardar are looking for a second straight win as they host Porto. The Portuguese side are in 3rd in Group A as things stand.
20:05
His team may be trailing, but here's Dean Bombac being Dean Bombac...
19:55
About 15 minutes remaining over in Brest.
The home side have extended their lead to six goals
Watch the closing stages on EHFTV
19:44
And all of a sudden, Meshkov are 4 goals up at 17:13! Szeged have been forced to take a time-out after back-to-back empty net goals
19:34
19:27
Reminder!
Tonight at 20:45 CEST we have the other three Group A matches from round 5...
Flensburg-Handewitt vs Elverum
Kielce vs PSG
Vardar vs FC Porto
19:24
Half-time in the early match. A marginally better scoring % for MOL-Pick Szeged has given them a marginal lead
19:17
Time-out taken with 2 minutes left in the first half, scores tied at 11:11. I have a feeling this one is going to the wire!
19:10
Those two goals for Joan Canellas means he has already reached 20 for the season after less than two and a half matches! Impressive going!
19:02
Approaching midway through the first half, 6:8 to Pick Szeged! They have a 5:1 overall lead in the previous meetings between these teams and will be looking for another to knick-start their season
18:45
We're about to get underway in Belarus! If you want to watch it live on EHFTV, just click RIGHT HERE
18:38
Home side Meshkov Brest have 2 wins and 2 defeats so far in Group A, with both wins coming at home! Will they be able to continue that form tonight?
Szeged have had a tough start with 2 defeats (against Kielce and Porto), plus they haven't played in the Hungarian league for over a month! Is victory in Brest too much to ask? Let's find out.
18:26
We have all the details you need about tonight's matches in our round preview. Maybe you read it yesterday before Match of the Week... but... maybe you could rejog your memory with another read!
18:23
Good evening EHF Champions League fans! Our Group A extravaganza is less than 30 minutes away as 8th place MOL-Pick Szeged visit HC Meshkov Brest. Plenty of time to head on over to EHFTV where you'll find all 4 matches LIVE
16:50
Now to Germany, where Flensburg will welcome Elverum Handball. The German side will be looking to recover from their first loss of the season, to Vardar, in round 4, as well as their Bundesliga derby defeat to THW Kiel on the weekend.
Elverum are hoping to recover from a much longer streak of results against them, as they have not won a Champions League match since round 1, when they defeated Porto away.
Last season, Flensburg won both group phase clashes against Elverum.
16:15
Over to Skopje, where Vardar are getting ready to host Porto in what is the two-time Champions League winners second game at home and the Portuguese side's second away match of the season.
Depending on the other results in the group, Vardar could have the chance to leapfrog from sixth all the way to third with a victory, so the two points are of huge importance to the hosts.
Vardar take the court on the back of their first win of the season, versus Flensburg in the previous round. Can they continue their form and make it a series?
Vardar and Porto met in the group phase in 2019/20, with each team winning the home leg.
15:47
And now let's take a closer look at each of the upcoming clashes. First up, let's go to Poland.
Kielce are set to host PSG in a critical match, as the French side have won just one of their three Champions League games so far this season, while the 2016 Champions League winners are one of the group frontrunners with six.
For either side, a misstep could be dangerous, as Kielce could lose their position in first on the table while PSG would see the distance to the group leaders grow.
Even without spectators (as was the case in their last home match), Kielce seem to have the advantage ahead of the clash, and not only because of their great form so far or the fact that PSG's Nikola Karabatic has been ruled out for several months following an injury in the French league over the weekend. The Polish side have not lost a home match in any competition since Montpellier beat them in October 2019.
15:40
After Szeged battle Meshkov, hoping for their first win of the season, round 5 will conclude with three games throwing off at 20:45 CEST: Kielce vs PSG, Vardar vs Porto and Flensburg vs Elverum.
Kielce and Flensburg enter their respective clashes with six points apiece, while Porto bring four points into theirs. PSG, Vardar and Elverum are all on two points ahead of their round 5 encounters. See all the points standings here.
The 20:45 matches are therefore a series of battles between group leaders and those near the bottom of the table. Will any of the lower-ranked teams be climbing the ladder tonight?
14:50
Let's turn our attention to tonight.
We start at 18:45 CEST with Meshkov hosting Szeged. Here are some of the key facts on that clash!
- Meshkov have beaten Szeged only once in six confrontations. Their victory occurred in the latest meeting between the sides, in 2017
- Szeged opened their Champions League season with two losses in their two games played so far, while Meshkov have won twice and lost twice so far in 2020/21
- two Meshkov Brest players are among the Champions League top scorers: after the opening games of round 5, Marko Panic is fourth on the list with 23 goals while Mikita Vailupau is sixth with 22
- despite only playing two games in the Champions League 2020/21, Joan Canellas also features in the top 10 scorers. With 18 goals, he shares 12th position with several others
14:35
The majority of EHF Champions League matches see at least a few friends becoming rivals for 60 minutes.
After the whistle in Zagreb last night, Celje's Croatian back Josip Sarac was snapped offering some words of comfort to Zagreb's Matej Hrstic. The pair won the EHF EURO 2020 silver medal together in January.
14:20
Four teams took the court for the opening night of round 5, and each had some stand-out performances from individuals.
Cast your vote for who stood out the most for their team last night!
13:30
Courtney Gahan here to guide you through the afternooon, leading up to a big evening of action to close round 5.
With four group B matches tonight, eight teams are now in their final stages of preparation.
We will take a look at some key facts regarding these encounters shortly!
12:00
Good afternoon, welcome back to our coverage of round 5 of the EHF Champions League Men 2020/21. After yesterday's focus on group B, today it is all about group A.
Before we dive deeper into the action that awaits us tonight, let's look over the shoulder to Wednesday's play, which saw Sander Sagosen star for Kiel against his former club, Aalborg, in the Match of the Week.
Kiel called Sagosen's return to the court of his former club "very successful," and rightly so, as the Norwegian standout picked up the Player of the Match award presented by IQONIQ.
22:50
That’s it for tonight! We are back on Thursday with four more round 5 clashes, as group A take the court.
Check out what’s on the line-up for tomorrow below and read all the key facts on the upcoming matches here.
22:47
Time to enjoy the best photos of the night! Visit our Facebook page to see the full gallery.
22:36
So how did Celje pull off their biggest win ever against Zagreb? Björn Pazen takes you through the derby here.
22:21
As the other two group B matches were postponed, tonight's points will be the only movement on the table for this round.
While Kiel stay put in fourth position but have inched closer to the group leaders (Veszprém, Barça and Aalborg, all on eight points), Celje make a big jump from eighth to sixth. The Slovenian side pass Motor and Zagreb, who both remain on zero points, and are now level with Nantes on two points.
22:18
Coming up against his former club, Filip Ivic had a solid performance for Celje tonight. This save was one of the best from the Croatian keeper.
22:14
FULL-TIME IN CROATIA
Zagreb suffer their fifth straight loss of the season while Celje finally taste victory and open their group B account.
22:08
It's all smiles and fist pumps for Celje, as they stay clear in front, 28:20, as we pass the 55-minute mark.
With seven goals so far, Gal Marguc is the top scorer of the match alongside his Celje teammate Tilen Kodrin.
21:59
Great to enjoy matches live when possible, but important to be responsible, just like these wonderful Zagreb fans. Looks like there are smiles hiding behind those masks!
21:52
Quick fact courtesy of our group B journalist Björn Pazen: in the previous seven Champions League seasons, Celje had an average of one away victory. Are they on the way to their first away win of 2020/21?
It's 25:16 to the visitors with just over 15 minutes left on the clock.
21:47
10 minutes into the second half and things are not looking good for Zagreb. The Croatian home side have fallen behind Celje 15:21.
Enjoy this rocket of a shot from Celje's Croatian back Josip Sarac, who fired the Slovenian team into one-goal distance with the goal scored in the first half.
21:37
It's your last chance to enjoy some unscripted drama tonight! Zagreb and Celje are now back on court for the second half, with the hosts facing the challenge of a comeback in the battle for first points of the season.
Watch now on EHFTV.com.
21:22
HALF-TIME IN CROATIA
Gal Marguc leads Celje with four goals in the first half as the Slovenian side hold onto the lead at the break vs Zagreb.
21:11
The momentum is staying with Celje, as they hold the edge at 11:9 with eight minutes left in the first half.
This great goal from Zagreb's Aleks Vlah was one of the strong moments for the hosts before the tables turned.
21:05
From 5:3 behind in the 10th minute, Celje have now fought back and grabbed the lead vs their Croatian hosts.
20:55
It was Kiel's second MOTW triumph this season, the second time the MOTW ended with a big score line in their favour, and the second time Sagosen led his new club to the win in the highlight match of the round.
Björn Pazen takes you through the Kiel vs Aalborg clash here.
20:50
The second match of round 5 is now underway in Croatia, with Zagreb opening a 2:0 lead vs Celje after five minutes.
Both teams are fighting for their first points of the season. Watch live on EHFTV.com or follow the score and stats on the live ticker.
20:35
Could Sander Sagosen have enjoyed a better homecoming to his former club? The Norwegian superstar earned the Player of the Match award for his impressive MOTW display tonight.
20:24
It was the first defeat of the season for Aalborg, but we still enjoyed some sweet moments like this great in-flight goal.
20:19
Time for a look at what Kiel's MOTW win means for group B!
With what is their third victory of the season, Kiel move up to six points however, they stay put on the standings and cement their place in fourth position on the table.
Aalborg stay among the frontrunners (alongside Barça and Veszprém) with eight points, in third position based on goal difference.
20:11
FULL-TIME IN DENMARK
THW Kiel come away from this EHF Champions League Men Match of the Week with the points, finishing with a huge victory vs Aalborg.
20:09
Before Aalborg fought back, Kiel reached a lead as clear as 10 goals. And here's how they did it, with an absolute hammer from Miha Zarabec.
20:05
Aalborg reduce the score line to five goals, 22:27, prompting Kiel coach Filip Jicha to call a timeout with five minutes remaining.
Could we see a late comeback from the MOTW hosts?
19:51
Aalborg are left chasing to close the gap after their lowest scoring first half of the season, but the Danish side are yet to decrease the deficit. It's 24:15 to Kiel as we enter the final quarter of the MOTW.
19:39
The MOTW is back with Kiel still clear in front as the opening minutes of the second half tick past.
Niklas Landin has been replaced by Dario Quenstedt between Kiel's posts, but we had some time to enjoy moments like this great save from the Danish world champion in the opening half.
19:30
As we wait for the MOTW to resume, let's look ahead to the second match of the night, Zagreb vs Celje, starting at 20:45 CEST. And there is plenty to look at, as this derby has seen a total of 22 prior clashes!
- both sides wait for their first point after four defeats apiece
- in the overall history between these sides, Zagreb won 11 times, Celje 10, including the last three encounters. The old rivals have drawn only once
- Zagreb play their 27th Champions League season; for Celje is it the 26th appearance
- the match will be the home debut of new Zagreb coach Vlado Sola after the 27:45 defeat at Barcelona last week in his premiere
- former Zagreb and Croatia goalkeeper Filip Ivic (now Celje) will face his former teammates, while Josip Sarac will touch home ground
19:20
HALF-TIME IN DENMARK
Looks very much like Aalborg's dream start to the season is about to come crashing down, as THW Kiel have created an emphatic lead as we go to the break in the MOTW.
Sander Sagosen is feeling very comfortable in his old arena, scoring six goals in the first 30 minutes to lead the half.
18:59
Kiel have opened an early advantage vs Aalborg as we get underway with round 5 and the MOTW.
If you can't follow on EHFTV.com, keep an eye on the live score and statistics using the live ticker.
18:47
The MOTW is live now! Head over to EHFTV.com to watch.
18:30
Courtney Gahan here to take you through the first night of round 5!
We open with the Match of the Week, presented by IQONIQ, live at 18:45 CEST on EHFTV.com.
While we wait for throw off, check out the head to head between Aalborg line player Magnus Saugstrup and his Kiel counterpart Hendrik Pekeler.
14:35
Kiel have comfortably won their two away games so far, beating Zagreb and Celje by 10 and 11 goals, respectively.
And the German champions have arrived in style for their third away game, travelling the distance of nearly 400 kilometres to Aalborg in Denmark in a black team bus with 'KI-EL 1' on the number plates.
12:55
Following their strong start, Aalborg are feeling very confident this season, and have no hesitation stating publicly that they feel no opponent is out of reach.
Chris O'Reilly caught up with Aalborg line player Magnus Saugstrup ahead of the MOTW, speaking about this confidence and much more. Saugstrup is currently the second top scorer in the competition, with 23 goals. Read the feature here.
12:35
Let's dive in to the Match of the Week! Here are some key facts about the upcoming clash between Aalborg and Kiel.
- Aalborg Håndbold have won their first four matches in the EHF Champions League 2020/21 – their best ever start to a season
- THW Kiel have collected four points from three games so far
- dating to last season, Aalborg are on a five-match winning streak in the Champions League – the longest in the club’s history
- Kiel won three of the four previous matches against Aalborg, and the other ended in a draw. The Danish side have never won a European cup match vs the German powerhouse
- Kiel’s Sander Sagosen faces his former club, having played for Aalborg from 2014 to 2017 before joining PSG. It will be Sagosen’s fifth Champions League match against Aalborg. He won the previous four with PSG
- two generations of Danish goalkeepers clash in the MOTW: Kiel’s experienced Niklas Landin meets Aalborg’s talented 23-year-old Simon Gade
- Landin has just returned from knee surgery; Sagosen is also back for Kiel after a minor injury
- Kiel are ranked third in the all-time Champions League standings, with 195 wins, 20 draws and 78 defeats from their 293 matches
- Aalborg are competing in their sixth Champions League season and have so far played 66 matches (21 wins, 7 draws, 38 defeats)
10:20
Knowing precisely what every clash means can only make the round tastier, so brush up on all the facts with our round preview.
Journalists Kevin Domas and Björn Pazen guide you through each of the clashes and the key points of note right here.
10:00
We are back with the EHF Champions League Men! Here's what's coming up over the next two days of round 5 action.
