Esbjerg, Brest and CSM claim wins in first round of 2026
The EHF Champions League Women 2025/26 first round of 2026 closed on Sunday with four exciting clashes. Three away teams — Team Esbjerg, Brest Bretagne Handball and CSM Bucuresti — were successful in their quests, while Sola HK also celebrated their first point in their maiden Champions League season with a draw away at Krim.
We struggled in the first half, and then we had phases when our attack was clicking, but defense wasn't. We made too many mistakes, and Esbjerg were of course there to punish us.
We’re very happy with the two points. We played a solid game, especially defensively, with two strong goalkeepers.
The result reflects what happened on the court. We weren’t sharp enough in the areas we prepared for. We started the game too soft and lacked focus. We didn’t create many chances, and we missed the few we had. While our defensive plan started to work later in the first half, our attack was a different story. Our shooting was under 50% and we weren’t brave enough to run with them. We didn’t score enough goals—our defense was okay, but our offense certainly wasn’t.
I think that we should be proud of our first points. We played many close matches in previous rounds and deserved these points today. We played a really good game. The first few minutes were excellent; we were level until the end and just wanted to avoid losing points again, as happened against FTC and Brest. We can be really proud that we scored this point; history has been written for Sola.
I think this was a very good game. We fought. It’s always a shame when you lose by one goal. It’s hard to find words after a defeat like this. I would like to congratulate the girls. I think we showed again that we can handle everyone, especially since we had very big problems during the preparations after the national team meetings. I don’t know what to say. Maybe technical errors cost us. But they had so many seven-metre throws, and we only had one. It’s a frustrating number. It’s simply very difficult because it’s a shame that we didn’t at least get the point we deserved.
First of all, I would like to thank Podravka for a very good game. They did really well today. From our side, of course, I’m not really satisfied. I’m satisfied with the win and the two points, but it was not our best game. We weren’t calm or relaxed, and we were not at our best in terms of speed or spirit. We woke up in the second half, and that was enough.
Still, this is a lesson for us to stay focused from minute one to minute 60, and not to give away something that belongs to us, because we know what we are capable of. I hope that from now on, we will show that from the very beginning. Also, we must not give the opponent any chance, so they don’t feel they might get something. A win is a win. Great game from Podravka, but we can do better.
We didn't stick to our plan and we didn't hit our level, which we have to, if we want to compete in this tournament.
We showed a very strong physical performance today. From the start, we delivered a good attitude and fought as a team. Today, we delivered a good game in both offense and defence, which we have to carry into the next game as well.
