The German top clubs experienced a very different Champions League opener: Flensburg scored two points, the lions saved a draw against Barcelona, Kiel lost to Paris.
Work victory for Flensburg, respectable draw for the lions, false start for Kiel: While the SG Flensburg-Handewitt defeated the Danish handball champion Aalborg Handbold 30:27 (13:15) at the start of the Champions League, record champion THW Kiel won at 22:25 (10:12) against the title favourite Paris St.Germain cross-competitive already the third defeat of the season.The champions Rhein-Neckar Löwen saved a 31:31 (12:18) against FC Barcelona in the last second.
“We’ve made too many mistakes to jeopardize the Paris victory.The THW’s best scorer, who last won the top-of-the-range title in 2012, was Marko Vujin with five goals.Sander Sagosen met six times for the French world team.
Kiel did not find any remedy against the tough Parisian defence against the two Karabatic brothers Nikola and Luka in the middle block in front of 10,000 spectators in the almost sold-out arena.In addition, the THW attackers repeatedly failed to break free on the guest keeper Rodrigo Corales, so that the first goal scored by Kiel on goal 10.I had to wait a minute.
Even after that, the team supervised by former keeler Noka Serdarusic dictated the pace and rhythm of the game.When Gensheimer scored a 12:7 for the guests after 25 minutes, the champion of 2007,2010 and 2012 was threatened with a debacle.As hard as Kiel struggled, they couldn’t get any closer than they could get to three goals.
The Rhine-Neckar lions experienced a ascent and descent against Barcelona.The team of coach Nikolaj Jacobsen made a 23:23 out of the clear 12:18 gap after the break.Also the 28:30 three minutes before the end didn’t throw the hosts off course, Patrick Groetzki scored two seconds before the final whistle for the cheered equaliser,”We can live with the point, considering that we were almost out of time,”said Jacobsen.
Flensburg did not go through a period of weakness 48 hours after the home game against HC Erlangen (29:21) after a clear lead at the end of the first half of the game, but was now even four goals behind at the beginning of the second half.Led by the strong goalkeeper Rasmus Lind and top scorer Holger Glandorf (eight goals), the North Germans, the last German Champions League winner in 2014, came to an important opening victory.
Meanwhile, the managers of the European umbrella organisation EHF covered themselves with regard to the forthcoming reform of the royal class, according to which the elite class will be played in the form of a single-track European league with twelve teams from 2019 onwards.”No comment”, it was said on the verge of an EHF date immediately before the Kiel game on demand from SID.