Handball: Lions are defeated in the top game

The German champion Rhein-Neckar Löwen has suffered an expensive defeat in the fight for a group victory in the Champions League.

The Mannheim team were defeated in the top match by the group leader and defending champion HC Vardar Skopje from Macedonia 26:30 (13:17). It was the first defeat in the current Champions League season for the lions, who remain in second place with eleven points for the time being. However, Skopje is already five points behind Skopje.

In Macedonia, the hosts were in the lead from the outset and did not give them up. The guest team of coach Nicolaj Jacobsen, whose game was marked by technical mistakes and inaccurate finishes, had no chance.

Andy Schmid and Rafael Baena Gonzalez, with five goals each, were the lion’s most successful shooters, who were defeated in the Bundesliga on Thursday at MT Melsungen (26-29) after nine consecutive victories. The group leader skips the round of sixteen and qualifies directly for the quarter-finals.