Summary: European glory for "very emotional" AEK
Today, with this crowd, with this team, we believed in it so much, we could not lose. It was a very emotional moment for me, I am so happy for everybody. This crowd deserves a European cup, my players are absolutely fantastic.
22:21
Watch THE moment AEK have been waiting for..:
22:02
... and this is what it means when you can celebrate it with your fans!
21:58
This is what it means to win your first European cup...
21:33
RESULT | YSTADS IF VS AEK ATHENS HC 20:24 (11:11)
AEK WIN 54:46 ON AGGREGATE
Congratulations to AEK Athens HC, the proud EHF European Cup Men 2020/21 champions!
21:26
What. An. Assist. Sheer brilliance as AEK are so, so close to winning their first European trophy!
21:19
Oh, AEK have one hand on the trophy now! They lead Ystad 19:16, so that's a seven-goal aggregate lead, with just 10 minutes left on the clock... What can the Swedish side still do?
21:14
Team timeout! This final remains very close, with neither side building a significant lead. That favours AEK for the title, as they have that four-goal buffer from the first leg. Still 15 minutes to go!
20:59
The second half is running, quick flash back to two beauties from the first half:
20:43
HALF-TIME | YSTADS IF vs AEK ATHENS HC 11:11
AEK have been ahead for most of the first half - even by as much as three goals. However, it is all square at 11 all at the break in Chalkida so Ystad have only 30 minutes left to wipe out that four-goal deficit from the first leg.
20:31
What about THIS to finish a fast break? Well done, Christos Kederis:
20:18
Early advantage for AEK, but a nice opening goal for Ystad:
20:11
With 10 minutes on the clock, AEK lead Ystad 4:2, thanks to three (!) goals from Christodoulos Mylonas. That makes for a Greek six-goal lead on aggregate.
20:00
We are off and running! Here is your DIRECT LINK TO YSTAD VS AEK ON EHFTV.
19:45
Ystads coach Oscar Carlén says it was a good game and he thinks his team still has a opportunity to win the final, after finding some chances towards the end of the game. He says Ystads haven't played at all for five or six weeks, so were perhaps a bit rusty initially.
Dimitrios Dimitrioulas says winning was important, and he thinks it was enjoyable for the spectators. "Four goals are four goals, but it's nothing if we don't perform," he adds. "It's so important for our club and for Greek handball to bring home the European Cup."
19:42 | FULL-TIME
AEK ATHENS 30:26 YSTADS IF
Jesper Pedersen nets for Athens as the clock ticks over to 59 minutes to big cheers from the crowd, but Ystads earn a penalty which Jim Andersson easily nets. The match ends with a direct free throw for Athens, taken unsuccessfully by Christodoulos Mylonas - but the hosts have a four-goal victory, which gives them a decent advantage going into the second leg on Sunday.
19:37
Nobody has scored for quite some time, and the score stands at 29:25 to Athens inside the last two minutes.
19:31
Not many goals in the last few minutes, so here's one from earlier as Jakob Nygren showed some pace to score for Ystads.
19:26
And the time-out worked. Athens score, and score again when Patrick Toniazzo steals the ball and sends it to Evangelos Arampatzis to slot into the empty Ystads net. Athens now have a 29:24 lead.
19:22
Ystads are back to within two goals of Athens. With the score 26:24 Athens have called a time-out, with coach Dimitris Dimitrioulas asking his team for more in attack. "Relax, we just want to win," says Dimitrioulas.
19:16
Did we speak too soon? Ystads are proving tough nuts to crack, and are repeatedly pulling back Athens' lead to three goals despite Thomas Bauer's best efforts in the Greek club's goal.
19:02
Five minutes into the second half, and after a good start from Ystads it's Athens back in control with a 19:13 lead. Their fans are singing enthusiastically, clearly sensing a victory is on the cards.
18:55
The second half is about to resume, but first, enjoy this 9m rocket from Jonathan Svensson - part of what kept Ystads very much in the match as the first half ran out.
18:45 | HALF-TIME
AEK ATHENS 16:12 YSTADS IF
For a little while there it looked as though Athens were going to run away with the match, and they still have a healthy four-goal lead - but Ystads are not out of it yet!
18:35
Ystads seem to have stopped Athens from stretching further ahead, but Thomas Bauer is playing a great match and is preventing the visitors from scoring much. It's 14:10 now as the first half heads towards its close.
18:26
Two goals from Ystads put them back to a four-goal deficit, after Athens briefly stretched it out to 11:5. However, it's the home team still very much in control right now.
18:20
This early goal from Christos Kederis was a nice effort, just getting past the Ystads goalkeeper. Athens seem to be stamping their authority on the match and Ystads have called a time-out at 8:4.
18:15
A little pause to sort out a small problem with one of the sponsor stickers on court, as Athens lead 5:4. When play resumes Athens goalkeeper Thomas Bauer makes a decent save and his team then score off the rebound to give them their first two-goal lead at 6:4.
18:07
It took both teams a little while to find the net, with Athens eventually scoring first before Ystad struck back. It's now 2:2.
18:00
As the teams throw off, here are their squads.
17:55
Only five minutes now until throw-off. A reminder of how the two teams got here - Athens won six out of eight matches, eliminating KH Prishtina, CSM Bucuresti, HC Neva SPb and RK Gorenje Velenje. They beat Velenje in the semi-final double-header after winning at home and drawing away.
Ystad have won seven out of eight matches. They only lost to Sabbianco Anorthosis Famagusta in the first leg of the semi-final but earned a four-goal win at home in the second leg to book their spot in the final.
The final was postponed from its original date due to positive Covid-19 tests in the Ystad team.
