Montpellier HB have repeated last week's triumph against Elverum in the EHF Champions League Men 2021/22 on Wednesday.
The first match in Norway was straightforward (37:30), at home the 2003 and 2018 champions had to work hard for most of the match but ended on a seven-goal advantage again, with Hugo Descat scoring 11 for the hosts.
GROUP A:
Montpellier HB (FRA) vs. Elverum Handball (NOR) 39:32 (19:16)
- Montpellier claimed their sixth straight victory and are on 13 points in the group, while for the first time this season, Elverum lost two straight matches and remain on eight points
- Montpellier's total of 39 goals was their most in a match since the 41:22 win against Macedonian side Zomimak in the 2013/14 group phase of the EHF Cup
- after 7:7, Montpellier grabbed the upper hand thanks to the outstanding Hugo Descat, who helped the French side to an 8:3 run
- Montpellier were tested intensely by Elverum who closed the gap to 28:25, but they recovered and extended the gap in the final stages, as goalkeeper Marin Sego improved to 11 saves
- Tobias Grøndahl was Elverum’s leading scorer with seven goals, to raise his season tally to 45
Elverum is Descat’s favourite opponent
Before the doubleheader against Elverum Handball, Hugo Descat had scored 13 goals in the Champions League group phase, with six against Kiel his best outing. In Norway, the French international was top scorer with nine goals, on Wednesday the wing did even better with 11. The 39:32 win allowed Montpellier to consolidate first place in the group, after Kiel lost the MOTW to Aalborg. They are now two points ahead of THW and three ahead of Aalborg and Szeged.
I’m satisfied with the win tonight, it was an important match for us. We’ve now had two interesting matches against Elverum. On a night like tonight, it’s easy to coach the team, as they stuck to the plan we’d set out. These are two similar teams, and sometimes rather than considering the result as a defeat, you have to treat it as part of the learning process.
