DAY REVIEW 1: Three German teams start group matches with wins
The EHF European League Men is back, as 18 teams starred in the first clashes of the group matches on Tuesday. Füchse Berlin got their title defence off to a shaky start, only securing a 24:22 home win over Chambéry Savoie Mont Blanc Handball in the closing minutes. Two other German contenders, Rhein-Neckar Löwen and TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, also had a winning start to their group matches campaign.
Elsewhere, RK Gorenje Velenje and Bjerringbro-Silkeborg had a perfect start at home with convincing wins. In their first group match appearance, Górnik Zabrze beat AEK Athens HC, but HC Lovcen-Cetinje returned to the European competitions with a defeat against Elverum Handball.
We knew they are a very fast team that finishes attacks quickly. Technically, we played this game well, we came back well and brought the game to an end in a disciplined manner. We celebrated thanks to a good defence and good execution today on our home court.
I am very satisfied with how we played. It was my first game in a European group phase, and it was great fun. All victories are important, but this was very important; it was really nice to have a great start in the group matches.
It was a really tough and hard game, it was maybe the biggest struggle we had in this young season. We are not satisfied with how we played today, but we got two points and this is what matters in professional sports at the end of the game.