SUMMARY: Barça survive scare as Nantes, Kiel and Plock win
Round 3 of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2022/23 group phase included eight high-profile games on Wednesday – including the Match of the Week between SC Magdeburg and Paris-Saint Germain HB (22:29) – and Thursday.
22:40
Are coverage may be starting to wind down but we just had to include this! What a stop!
22:39
There we have them... the full results from round 3 of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League
22:37
Did you miss any of the action from earlier? Check out the highlights from Plock against GOG and Kiel against Szeged...
22:25
And this is what those late games (and Kiel's win earlier) have done to the group B standings.
Barça return to the summit, with THW just in behind. Nantes stay level on points with the guys from northern Germany while Szeged and Elverum remain rooted to the bottom on zero
22:23
FULL-TIME
71 goals scored in Nantes this evening, 41 of which belong to the home team, meaning none of the visitors from tonight's matches go home with points
Although, it was an Elverum player, Kassem Awad, who top scored in the match!
22:14
FULL-TIME
In the end they made it look easy!
The result doesn't reflect the scare provided by Celje, who remain on two points, while Barça move on to a maximum of six - which only they and Veszprem hold
22:08
Elsewhere, Nantes really are cruising now! They are 35:26 up against Elverum with eight minutes remaining
22:06
But, within a few minutes, the home side stamp their authority on proceedings and retake a healthy lead.
That's why they're champions
21:25
Will we have four home wins out of four this evening?
It's looking possible, as Nantes hold a decent advantage over Elverum, 20:14
21:22
FCB maintain their few-goal lead up until the half-time buzzer.
As it stands they will return to the top of group B and Blaz gets the bragging rights in the Janc household
21:15
No way through early on but Nantes are starting to find their goalscoring form, seven minutes to go until the break at they lead 13:9
21:10
No one finds it easy going to the Palau Blaugrana, and Celje are working hard not to fall too far behind.
This attack led to a goal, making it 15:12
21:03
It's level-pegging in our other match at the 15-minute mark.
21:00
The score in Janc vs Janc is... 0:0 so far!
But in the match, it's been the home side with the better of the opening minutes, Barça lead 11:7
20:42
What's on the line tonight in our late matches?
Barcelona have the chance to retake the lead in group B having just lost it to Kiel, while Elverum have a chance to get off the mark in the same group.
The teams they're taking on are both looking for a second win of the campaign, respectively.
Watch the action live on EHFTV
20:40
Wanted to catch your breath did you? No chance!
We have the battle of the Janc brothers as Barça welcome Celje AND Nantes taking on Elverum
AND they throw off in just 5 minutes!
20:35
And in the other game, here is the top scorer; Niklas Ekberg found the back of the net 6 times, while Szeged's highest scorer was Miklos Rosta with 5.
20:32
Only one goal for Daniel Sarmiento tonight, but what a cracker!
Talking of goal stats; Tin Lucin top scored for Plock with 7 from his 8 attempts, while Simon Pytlick and Jerry Tollbring scored 6 each for GOG.
20:24
FULL-TIME
All over too in Kiel, where THW have reached the top of the group B standings
A superb second half showing against Szeged earned them a five-goal win, 34:29
20:19
FULL-TIME
Celebrations can begin on the court now as well as in the stands for the home side
Orlen Wisla Plock take the victory over GOG, 31:27
20:13
They have been in terrific voice tonight!
The eighth man for the men in blue this evening and they are just a couple of minutes away from two more points!
20:11
7m goals making the difference in Plock!
Sergey Kosorotov just nabbed his side's fourth of the evening to regain a three-goal lead with 4 minutes remaining... has that sealed things?
20:06
Everything's coming up Kiel! After such a tense first 30 minutes, this half has belonged to the black and whites!
They are 33:25 up now against their visitors from Hungary.
19:57
A few more of these needed for GOG... or even just a few goals from normal shots!
They take a time-out with 14' remaining, still trailing by three, 24:21
19:53
It's okay Filip, you can look at the scoreboard!
His side have begun the second half strongly, and have opened up a 22:18 lead
19:50
No mistake here from Tin Lucin, extending the Plock lead to four goals with just under 20 minutes remaining.
GOG will need a response but they still have time.
19:45
Never doubt the mind control powers of a goalkeeper...
Kiel have edged back in front, 17:16, against Szeged, and as we can see that's no mean... feet...
19:40
So much emotion! Here are just a handful of the photos from the first halves of our opening matches.
Catch the second 30 minutes over on EHFTV
19:30
HALF-TIME
Top 'keeping by Tomas Mrkva has given the Zebras the edge in the first 30 minutes, Kiel lead 15:14 in what's looking like an epic battle.
19:22
HALF-TIME
We've reached the midpoint in Poland, Plock have gone back in front and taken one of the biggest leads of the whole match.
19:19
Despite this from Mykola Bilyk it's Szeged who have their noses in front now just before the break, 12:13
19:09
Both teams involved in the early highlight reel between Plock and GOG!
GOG have levelled things back up at the 20-minute mark, it's 10:10
19:03
The more times you shoot, the more times you score!
That might not always be true, but it certainly is so far in group A between Plock and GOG. The home team with the advantage.
GOG have just used a time-out, midway through the first half.
18:59
Ten minutes in the books in Germany and as you can see it's as close on the scoreboard as it is between opposing players!
A win by a decent margin takes THW to the top of group B, at least for a couple of hours.
18:48
The face of a man who would much rather be on court than in the stands! If you aren't lucky enough to be sat with Sander, you can watch Kiel vs Szeged on EHFTV, or stay right here for updates!
0:0 after 2 minutes
18:42
Warm-ups completed... throw-off minutes away! Plock and GOG are ready to go head-to-head in group A
23:06
There has been no doubt about the winner of the Match of the Week. There has also been no doubt about the Player of the Match: PSG goalkeeper Jannick Green, returning to his former club Magdeburg for the MOTW tonight, has been outstanding the whole game. A key factor in PSG's big win tonight!
23:01
Both group leaders knew they had tough tests coming up – and they both failed to pass tonight. Read how PSG dominated MOTW in Magdeburg, and how Kielce became the first team in nearly two years to take both points home from Aalborg:
I am very proud of my team. After our defeat in the French league, we played a very good game today.
22:31
The MOTW tonight has been a lot – but not the expected close battle between Magdeburg and PSG. With the game all but decided at half-time (18:10 for PSG), the second half has certainly been a more balanced affair, but the final results speaks for itself: 29:22.
Here are the best moments (and you will find the highlights of all matches tonight on the YouTube Home of Handball channel):
22:24 RESULTS |
- MOTW MAGDEBURG VS PSG 22:29 (10:18)
- AALBORG VS KIELCE 28:30 (15:17)
The two unbeaten group leaders before tonight both suffer their first loss. Magdeburg improved in the second half but had already lost the MOTW against PSG in the first half.
And Kielce take an important win in Denmark, handing Aalborg their first home defeat in nearly two years – a loss against eventual champions Barça on 2 December 2020.
22:14
It is one-way traffic most of the time in Magdeburg tonight...
22:02
Magdeburg might not have played against PSG since 2004, they certainly have met other French clubs in the meantime. As a matter of fact, they have a very positive balance against French teams, with just four losses in 25 matches.
OK, that will become five in 26 tonight – their first defeat against French opponents since losing to St. Raphaël Var in the semi-final of the EHF Cup Finals in 2018:
21:58
This MOTW is certainly not what Magdeburg have expected from their first duel with PSG in almost 18 years... Remember, in 2004, the German side had two easy wins against the then up-and-coming team from France. How different is tonight going to pan out...
21:47
Power and precision in perfection:
20:23 RESULTS |
- VESZPRÉM VS DINAMO 33:30 (15:17)
- ZAGREB VS PORTO 29:23 (16:15)
What a match in Hungary: Veszprém have a terrible start to the first half and fail to really recover until the break; Dinamo have a terrible start to the second half and fail to really recover until the end of the match.
And congrats to Zagreb, who take a clear win over Porto, thanks to Timur Dibirov's 10-goal outing, to get their points of the season (what Porto are still waiting for...)
20:17
Watch this goal from Yahia Omar. Watch it again. And again. You won't regret it.
20:08
In the other match, saves like these keep Zagreb in front against Porto:
19:59
Rasmus Lauge certainly one of the driving forces behind Veszprém's resurgence tonight:
19:50
Seven minutes, 24 seconds.
That is the time it has taken Dinamo to finally score their first goal in the second half. And it takes them another penalty shot, from Andrei Negru, to finally do so.
Meanwhile, Veszprém storm ahead and lead 21:18 after nine minutes.
19:46
We are over five minutes into the second half and Veszprém enjoy their first lead of the night. Rodrigo Corrales has been stepping it up during the game, and Dinamo are yet to score after the break (and missing a penalty also doesn't help them..).
19:23 HALF-TIME |
- VESZPRÉM vs DINAMO 15:17
- ZAGREB vs PORTO 16:15
Dinamo keep Veszprém behind after their strong start, with Ante Kuduz, Stanislav Kasparek, and Andrii Akimenko all scoring four times for the team of head coach Xavi Pascual.
In the other game, Timur Dibirov has netted five times in the first half to give Zagreb the edge over Porto.
All to play for in the second half (which you can watch live on EHFTV)!
19:17
"..."
19:10
They might have zero points so far, but Zagreb can always count on their fans! And the support seems to help tonight: Zagreb lead Porto 11:9.
19:06
Team timeout Veszprém! They have more shots on goal, but Dinamo are leading 10:8, so coach Momir Ilic needs to talk to his players.
18:57
Strong start for Dinamo in Veszprém. While the hosts have suffered a very slow start, the guests from Bucharest are using their chances and, after 10 minutes, are still ahead by two: 6:4 – also thanks to three Ante Kuduz goals.
18:40
EHFTV is your place to go tonight for watching the games. Here are the direct links to the streams:
18:33
The MOTW between Magdeburg and PSG a clash between Germany and France? Not quite!
There are a lot of players from different nationalities involved. Both sides have a Danish line player (Magdeburg’s Magnus Saustrup and PSG’s Toft Hansen), a Dutch back (Magdeburg’s Kay Smits and PSG’s Luc Steins), and a Polish international (Magdeburg’s Piotr Chrapkowski and PSG’s Kamil Syprzak, who were teammates at Wisla Plock).
18:27
Have a look at this comparison: PSG score more goals on average than Magdeburg, but concede more, too. So, what will be key for victory in the MOTW?
18:18
Speaking about that Magdeburg vs PSG clash in 2004, maybe you check out who was playing back then:
This is only one cool piece of information out of our media pack we produce for the MOTW each week. Download the media pack for Magdeburg vs PSG here to find tons of interesting stuff about the game.
18:14
Many eyes tonight will be on our Match of the Week, featuring Magdeburg and PSG. What probably not many handball fans realise, is the fact that those two big teams have never met in the EHF Champions League before!
Even more so, they have only met in one European season so far – in the EHF Cup 2004/05, when Magdeburg won both at home and away. Of course, those results have no significance for the MOTW tonight...
... but interestingly, one Magdeburg player from almost 18 years ago will also be involved in this MOTW: Yves Grafenhorst was left wing in November 2004, and is assistant to head coach Bennet Wiegert anno 2022. EHF journalist Björn Pazen recently spoke with Grafenhorst for this MOTW interview:
16:45
It is Wednesday, and you know what that means... the best men's handball competition of the continent is on again! Only two hours until throw-off, so welcome to the live blog covering round 3 of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2022/23.
Tonight and tomorrow, we have eight sparkling matches coming your way. This is the full schedule, so quickly check when your favourite team is playing:
