Barça win MOTW thriller, Kiel on top again

• Three saves by Tomas Mrkva and a 3:0 run in the final minutes secured Kiel’s home win against PSG 
• Barça took revenge in the MOTW against Veszprém with Dika Mem’s winning strike ten seconds before the end
• In group A, Kielce are second in the table – equal with Aalborg - after a clear win against Eurofarm Pelister 
• Like RK Celje in group B, the Macedonian champions remain without a point after nine group matches 
• Magdeburg got their seventh victory in a row as they won the duel of former Champions League winners against Montpellier for the second time 

GROUP A 

THW Kiel (GER) vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) 26:24 (15:10) 

THW Kiel remain on top and Paris Saint-Germain matched their longest streak without a victory as they only have one point from their last four games. Thanks to a sensational performance from Samir Bellahcene, who saved 12 shots in the first half and 17 in total, Kiel dominated the first half. In the second half, however, they started to see the match slip from their hands. Paris were eager to take revenge for the 28:34 home defeat in the reverse fixture and in the first 12 minutes of the second half they went on a 10:2 run to take a 20:18 lead. From that moment on, it was a 100% thriller. In the end, a change of goalkeeper decided the match: Tomas Mrkva saved three crucial shots in a row in the last minutes, Kiel scored a 3:0 run for a 26:23 lead and the eventual 26:24 win. They now lead group A again after their sixth victory. Top scorers were Matthieu Grebille with six goals for Paris and Niclas Ekberg with five strikes for Kiel.

Industria Kielce (POL) vs HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD) 35:25 (18:13)

This season, Industria Kielce have been the experts for close results as their biggest win in the EHF Champions League had been a 28:24 victory against HC Zagreb. But on Thursday, the 2022 and 2023 EHF Champions League finalists left no doubt as to the outcom against Eurofarm Pelister. From the first to the last minute the Polish champions had full control of the one-sided match. All 13 court players were on the score board at the end, topped by Icelander Haukar Thrastarson, who netted seven times, as did Nejc Cehte for Bitola. When Thrastarson netted for a 10:6 lead in minute 12, Keilce were on the winners' way; the biggest gap was 11 goals at 27:16 in the middle of the second half.  

GROUP B 

MOTW: Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs Barça (ESP)  30:31 (15:17)

Barça are back at the top after avenging their painful 36:41 home defeat in round 6: But, those two points were only decided with the final buzzer. Ten seconds before the end, Dika Mem scored to make it 31:30 and five seconds later at the other end of the court, he blocked Sergej Kosorotov's shot to secure the record winner's eighth victory and the first home defeat for Veszprém this season. The match was definitely MOTW worthy as both sides showed an intense fight for every centimeter. Barça had the better start, leading by three goals several times before the break. Then, the hosts accelerated their game and in the second half, the lead changed six times, with Barça's 20:18 lead in minute 34 becoming the last two-goal lead in the match. In the 51st minute Verprém's took a 28:27 lead, but it would end up being their advantage as Barça closed out the match for the 30:31 victory. One big reason for their win was the outstanding performance of goalkeeper, Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, who saved 13 shots and was awarded Player of the Match.

SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Montpellier HB (FRA) 28:24 (14:11) 

SC Magdeburg are currently unbeatable in any competition: Winning their seventh group match in a row, the defending champions are now level on points with Telekom Veszprém for second place in Group B, two points below Barça. Montpellier HB are now in fith place as they were passed by GOG. The French side, which had lost the reverse fixture on home ground 25:28, were on an equal level for 24 minutes, but then Magdeburg took control with a 3:0 run – and easily extended the gap to six goals right after the halftime break thanks to their strong defense and fast breaks. Montpellier managed a great comeback, reducing the gap to 24:26 – and just missed on a chance to cut the lead to 1 goal. In the end, top scorer Janus Smarason (eight goals) and Lukas Mertens secured the deserved victory with a double strike in the last minute.