The best offence of the EHF Champions League

After 10 rounds, group B of the EHF Champions League Women has emerged as the group of extremums. Group leaders Györi Audi ETO KC have the most effective defence of the competition with just 23.19 goals conceded per 50 possessions, although they are only marginally ahead of their compatriot club FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, who stand at 23.22.

On the other hand, the second-ranked team in group B, Odense Håndbold, have the most effective attack, with 28.0 goals scored per 50 possessions. Their difference to third-placed Team Esbjerg (27.2) is a bit bigger than Györ’s lead over FTC in the defensive statistics.

Using statistics that are adjusted for possessions played is significantly more meaningful than just the raw number of goals (conceded) because it makes the teams actually comparable, given the raw number of goals is not only influenced by efficiency, but by the number of possessions (whether a team and their opponents play rather fast or slow). Since a game has roughly 50 possessions on average (56.4 this season), the values here are calculated on 50 possessions so that they roughly reflect those of a game.

On the other ends of the court from their respective dominant areas, both Odense and Györ are only just above average. With 25.3 goals per 50 possessions, Györ are the seventh best team in offence, while Odense rank only 10th in defence, with 25.3 goals conceded per 50 possessions.

Both goals scored and goals conceded per 50 possessions are shown in the following chart. The further to the right a team appears, the better they are in attack, as they have scored more goals per 50 possessions. The higher up a team, the better they are in defence, as they have conceded fewer goals per 50 possessions.

Odense and Györ both won the away matches in their head-to-head clashes this season. The recent game in Denmark was particularly noteworthy: Györ won 32:34 and had by far their best offensive performance of 2024/25, with 31.5 goals per 50 possessions — the fourth best of all teams this season. However, they were also very lucky, as they kept possession of the ball after 40.0 per cent of their missed shots. Only Ludwigsburg achieved a higher figure, with 41.2 per cent against Buducnost.

In the same game, Odense even had the best shooting percentage of any team in any game this season, at 76.2 per cent. But it wasn’t enough, as they also had far fewer second chances and slightly more turnovers.

Outstanding shooting efficiency

Despite the defeat for Odense, the loss reflects the strengths of Ole Gjekstad’s team quite well. Their clear problem area is their defence, while their strength is their shooting efficiency. Against Esbjerg in September, they conceded 33.6 goals per 50 possessions — the highest figure of any team in a game this season. In turn, their shooting percentage of 66.1 is higher than that of any other team. Excluding seven-metre penalties, Odense’s shooting efficiency is 65.4 per cent — also clearly the best of the EHF Champions League.

There are several players who stand out for Odense. Among all players with at least three non-penalty goals per game, line player Maren Aardahl is the most efficient, with 87.1 per cent.

Among high-volume shooters that attempt at least six non-penalty shots per game, Odense are the only team with two players in the top six. In first place is Mie Højlund, who has had an outstanding season so far. She has been scoring 4.7 goals per game on 6.6 attempts, which equates to 71.2 per cent. This puts her ahead of several wings and line players. Thale Rushfeldt Deila is in sixth place, with 64.2 per cent.

Shooting-wise, it is only on seven-metre penalties that things are not going so well for Odense. With 73.6 per cent accuracy, they sit in 12th place. Their main shooter from the seven-metre line, Andrea Aagot Hansen, scores well, with 81.6 per cent. She also has the second highest number of seven-metre goals in the competition. However, Aagot’s replacements have overall only scored eight out of 15, which is 53.3 per cent.

The heart of the Danish side’s attack is Rushfeldt. So far, she has ended 22.2 per cent of her team's attacks with a non-penalty throw, a received seven-metre penalty or a turnover. Only three players in the EHF Champions League have a higher offensive responsibility. Of course, it is her high efficiency that impresses, but she is also hard for opposing defences to stop. With 2.0 seven-metre penalties received per game, Rushfeldt also leads the competition here.

Apart from shooting percentage, Odense’s other offensive values are also good, albeit not as outstanding. 9.7 turnovers per 50 possessions and 4.5 seven-metre penalties taken per 50 possessions are both fourth best. Second chances have not been on their side all season — they were only awarded an offensive rebound after 14.3 per cent of their missed shots, which puts them in 11th place there.

If Odense are to go far this season, they will definitely have to take a big step forward in defence. Of course, it does not help that Althea Reinhard (34.6 per cent saves; fifth highest), who is clearly their best goalkeeper this season, is currently out. But all in all, they do not need much more to play for the title, as the games against Györ showed.

However, returning to the last article, where the rest of the season was simulated 10,000 times, Odense’s chance of winning the title is still slightly less than eight per cent. Györ's chance has even increased slightly. But Odense have already shown that they can stand up to the Hungarian side this season.

More from data analyst Julian Rux can be found at Handballytics.de. There you can read his latest articles, in which he analyses all kinds of handball topics from new, data-based perspectives. You can also find him on Instagram, Bluesky, Threads and WhatsApp Channels.

Photos: Lau Nielsen/Torben Adresen/Rudi Buhl; Kovács Anikó/Győri Audi ETO KC