Summary: Flensburg overcome Benidorm scare; Nexe get last-ditch win

• EHF European League Men 2022/23 group phase, round 1
• 12 matches took place across four groups on Tuesday evening
• Balatonfüred 25:30 Granollers
• Skjern 29:30 Nexe, Motor 27:38 Füchse, Göppingen 46:30 Veszprém, Ystad 29:33 PAUC
• Valur 43:39 FTC, Flensburg 35:30 Benidorm, Kadetten 28:30 Montpellier, Presov 25:29 Benfica, Bidasoa Irun 35:26 Aguas Santas, Sporting 31:30 Hard, Pelister 27:30 Skanderborg-Aarhus
• read the round reviews for info on all 12 matches

23:30

And with that we close our coverage for the evening and what a first evening of action to throw-off our season, a lot of new faces, new teams and some tight match and almost big shocks, but we know from experience that this season will pack a huge amount of surprises. 

We wish you a good night, and until next time!

23:10

Here is a round-up for the results from groups A & B with SG Flensburg having to dig deep to overcome their Spanish resistance, Valur flew high for 50 minutes and did enough to take the win and Montpellier did enough away from home to take full points thanks for seven goals from Valentin Porte.

FULL REVIEW LINKED JUST BELOW

And now for the results from Groups C & D: 

FULL REVIEW LINKED JUST BELOW

22:37

It was a huge and perhaps unexpectedly tough test for SG Flensburg tonight when Benidorm came to town. If you missed it, we have you covered with the highlights:

22:30 

RESULTS

22:25

That was a huge effort by Hard tonight against Sporting, doing that away from home was never going to be easy but they pushed one of the strongest teams in the tournament right until the end. And three men put in huge shifts: Ivan Horvat 7/15, Nico Schnabl 7/8 and Luca Raschle 6/6. It wasn't enough in the end with Sporting winning 31:30 and the Costa brother again being key with Francisco and Martim combining for 11 goals. Another great game.

22:21

It took 40 minutes before the SG beast came out to play but when their engines got going there was no stopping them, and just look at this lovely finish from Rød:

22:13

Valur have been loving their first evening in the EHF European League!

22:02

Here is a goal that you need to watch a few times, but it gets better at every single watch. 

The angle, the timing and the final shot. Plus... nobody was gonna stop him. 

21:58

For the first time since the score was 9:8, SG Flensburg have taken the lead through a goal from Magnus Rød to make it 24:23. It has been a hard slog for the German side to get back into this one, you really get the feeling the North-German wind is in their sails now...

21:50

Benidorm have shown up tonight!

21:45

If there is one man who is made for the highlight reel it is Remi Desbonnet!

21:29

Valur came bursting out of the gates to take a seven-goal lead with them into the second half. They want to put down a marker that it will be no easy trip to Iceland for any team this season. SG are struggling to get going and sit three behind a dogged Benidorm and perhaps another big surprise is Alpla Hard's one-goal lead over Sporting. 

Elsewhere we have all the favourites leading their ties with Pelister having a tough start to their season...

21:58

Motor came up short in Germany and Jaron Siewert was happy with his side Füchse Berlin's win.

21:15

The goals are flying in! SG are behind by three at home to Benidorm, yes you are readying that correctly. 

We could be in for a big upset if the Spanish side here can manage this game well, but there is a long way to go still. Jules Lignieres is looking hot with his five so far for Benidorm.

21:07

As casual as extreme flexibility can get... 

21:03

SG Flensburg are feeling the pressure early on here as Benidorm have had a strong start to the game and are currently leading thanks to a goal from Bernatonis. 

Watch it here!

20:45

Join us now on EHFTV.com for the 20:45 (CEST) throw-offs! 

20:44

Highlights from the first rounds of matches are starting to appear on our YouTube channel so go check them out... 

20:38

Up next we have some more tasty action! 

20:25

RESULTS

20:20

RESULT: Skjern 29:30 RK Nexe

Wow, what a game and what a finish! 

One man down, Nexe take the ball up the court, get a free and they lay it off to Tomislav Severec who leaps up with one of the most picture-perfect jump shots off the evening to unleash a rocket of the shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. Next +1 with 30 seconds left. 

Skjern take the ball up the court and fluff it, they attempt to work it to the line (which worked wonders all evening) but the Nexe defence saw it coming and tracked the runner from the wing well and the ball bounces to the Nexe keeper and the clock counts from five to zero, and Nexe get their first win of the season, and boy was it hard work, bravo!

20:16

Huge moment! Skjern breakthrough via 19-year-old backcourt shooter Rasmussen, a lovely bit of one vs one play. Moslavac gets his third 2-minute suspension and sees red. Just one minute to play... 29:29

20:11

Buric gets the ball and turns on the line and is obstructed and is awarded a penalty. The Nexe defence wasn't happy, but the Buric smile and his point to area where the defender stood, disarmed the situation and we see a few smiles from the Nexe defence. A nice break from the tension... 

20:06

Pure drama here, Jelinic with an empty net, and he attempts a full-court shot and it bounces and hits the post... the Nexe bench cannot believe it. We are back to 26:26 now.

20:03

PURE HUSSLE! Dorian Markusic, nets a lovely goal at one end and then throws himself at a pass to the wing (which looked sure to make it to the intended player) to make the interception of the game! It is moments like that which breathe EHF European League!

20:20

Some really great handball on display here in Skjern. Both sides are showing some great one vs one skills. Emil Bergholt benefitting from some excellent backcourt play, the 25-year-old line player spinning the ball in. He's on five goals so far.

19:53

Fake it until you..... lob it.

19:49

Ohhh! Nexe had a chance to open up a three-goal lead after a good save by Kuzmanovic in their goal. Srsen then gets the ball in right back and gets ahead of himself, running into the Skjern defence - he gets called for an attacker foul and Skjern bring the ball up the court. They could have really laid on the pressure.

19:44

Things are really heating up in Denmark. We are STILL tied, both benches are getting very vocal now as each goal is greeted by big celebrations. Big hits are going in on each side of defence. Skjern 17:17 Nexe.

19:36

We mentioned him earlier, here is one of those rockets! 

19:23

HALF-TIME

Skjern 14:14 RK Nexe
HC Motor 10:19 Füchse Berlin 
Frisch Auf Göppingen 23:18 Fejer B.A.L-Veszprem 
Ystads 14:17 PAUC Handball

19:19

PAUC with their noses out in front in their opening tie. They lead 17:13. Check out this underarm shot from their cool Icelander...

19:15

10:10 in Denmark between Skjern and Nexe! Nexe have closed the gap once again, having briefly taken the lead. Feels like this one will go right down to the wire. 

19:11

From a low-scoring tie in Denmark to a high-scoring tie in Germany, where Frisch Auf Göppingen lead 17:15 over newcomers Fejer B.A.L-Veszprem. Benedek Eles is firing for the Hungarian side with the young shooter netting seven goals so far!

19:04

The smallest bit of daylight between the teams in Denmark with Skjern leading by two in a very low-scoring 6:4. We are 16 minutes gone and we have an almost chess match start to the game with both sides being set up with strong defences.

18:49

You gotta be excited about Skjern vs Nexe, the Croatian side were hugely impressive last season making it to the EHF Finals. But they have of course since lost their big star in Halil Jaganjac (signed by Kielce; currently on loan to Rhein-Neckar Löwen). 

Currently, we are stuck at 3:3 between Skjern and Nexe, join us now to see how it develops! 

18:39

Join us on EHFTV.com for the next round of action at 18:45 (CEST)! Some crackers in here, and a big welcome to HC Motor who join us in the EHF European League under special circumstances, you can read more about it HERE. 

18:29

FULL-TIME: Balatonfüredi KSE 25:30 Fraikin BM. Granollers

The Hungarian side finished strongly but the result was never in doubt; this young Granollers side have impressed in their opening tie. The full squad gathering around the 18-year-old Yusef and celebrating with him on his European League debut, he finished with four goals. But the centre piece of the evening was their centre back Valera who finished with 13 goals. 

18:20

Exciting times for Granolles! If you are watching this live with us on EHFTV.com, you will see the exciting mix of young talent, Yusef, Valera and Aregay as a backcourt line with the likes of Garcia, bringing the experience. I must say, I like the look for this Granolles side. Making light work of Balatonfüred.

18:15

Valera keeps on hitting the net! The Granollers centre back is now on 12 goals (6 penalties). Faruk Yusuf, the huge Nigerian talent, who is on loan to Granollers from Kielce, is having a great outing. The right back is looking like a handful for the Balatonfüred, often burning them in one vs one situations. Yusuf is on four goals.

18:05

It is starting to look like a long evening for Balatonfüred; a 3-1 run opened Granollers' lead to 24:16. The eight-goal lead is looking like a serious mountain to climb for the hosts...

17:56

Antonio Garcia, the Spanish legend, has just scored a beauty of an underarm shot to make it 19:13. The Spanish outfit look too good for the Hungarian side. They are a step ahead of him in almost every area and as most Spanish sides do, are sharp on the fastbreak. 

17:37

HALF-TIME: Balatonfüredi KSE 12:15 Fraikin BM. Granollers

The Spanish side will be fairly happy with the first 30 minutes, having only missed three of their shots. Rovira is on fire having scored seven for Granollers, the 24-years-old wanted to make a statement in the opening EHF European League 2022/23 game of the season, and he is doing just that!

17:30

Much improved since that early timeout. The hosts Balatonfüred pulled it back to within three goals 10:7 to Granollers. Pol Valera Rovira for the Spanish side is having a stormer for the visitors he has scored seven of the 15 goals! 

17:07

Ouch, not the start Balatonfüred were hoping for... They are down 5:0 within a few minutes, so coach László György calling his first timeout early.

17:00

Let's go, the 2022/23 group phase starts NOW! Have fun!

16:46

So, we have an early start in Hungary, where Balatonfüred and Granollers will get the 2022/23 group phase underway at 17:00 CEST.

Balatonfüred, third in the Hungarian league last season, failed to qualify for the group phase to two times before: in 2020/21 (against HK Malmö) and in 2021/22 (RK Trimo Trebnje). But now they are here, and like head coach László György said, they face “a huge challenge.”

Granollers qualified directly to the group phase after finishing second in Spain, behind Barça. The wo-time EHF Cup winners beat Balatonfüred twice when the teams previously met in the EHF Cup 2017/18 qualification.

Here is your direct link to Balatonfüred vs Granollers on EHFTV.

16:26

Just over an half hour until throw-off...

... as new this season is that each round we have a home match from one of the three Hungarian teams already starting at 17:00 CE(S)T; today that is Balatonfüred against Granollers. The other time slots remain the same: 18:45 and 20:45.

Here is the round preview with details on all 12 matches:

16:07

You surely remember from previous seasons that European League nights are packed with 12 matches. In other words: it is almost impossible to squeeze them all into one visual, so we have made two for you:

16:00

Your weekly Tuesday night handball party is here again: the group phase of the EHF European League Men is back for a new season!

Welcome to the live blog for round 1, crammed as usual with 12 matches. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a flying start into the group phase.