Day review 1: German and French sides stay victorious in round 2

From the Top 5 matches

GROUP B: Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) vs Montpellier Handball (FRA) 24:28 (11:14)

Granollers led only twice in the match, 1:0 and 2:1, before the visitors from France took a steady control of the match. The goalkeepers of both sides had a special impact – in particular in the first half, as both Roberto Rodriguez and Charles Bolzinger boasted a 42 per cent save efficiency. Still, Montpellier were better as a unit and more clinical in attack, and despite some inconsistency, they led by three goals, 14:11, after 30 minutes. After the restart, the goals from the veteran Antonio Garcia helped the Spanish team to draw level at 16:16, but soon the visitors used a 4:0 run to take a 21:17 lead, and they maintained a four-goal lead until the end. 

GROUP D: Ystads IF HF (SWE) vs Bidasoa Irun (ESP) 23:29 (14:13)

Both sides were level on one point after the opening games, but it was Bidasoa who took a win at Ystad despite trailing by one goal at half-time. Powered by Erik Hvenfelt's saves, the home team had the upper hand in the opening 30 minutes, as their advantage reached three goals at times. The tight battle continued well into the second half, as the rivals were level at 21:21 with 11 minutes to play, but Bidasoa enjoyed a late 8:2 surge, spurred by good goalkeeping, as Leonel Maciel ended the game with a 42 per cent save efficiency. 

GROUP H: IK Sävehof (SWE) vs FENIX Toulouse (FRA) 31:37 (11:18)

In Partille, the French team looked like they were at home from the opening minutes, taking an early 4:0 lead. However, Sävehof soon woke up and showed some attacking impact, as some goals from Pontus Brolin helped them to cut the gap to just one goal on a few occasions. But Toulouse regained the initiative, and a 41 per cent save rate by their Belgian goalkeeper Jef Lettens saw them pulling clear at 18:11 at the break. Edouard Kempf scored eight goals from eight attempts throughout the match, as his team went on to dominate in the second half and cruised to their second straight win, while Sävehof are yet to take their first points. 

In case you missed it...

• summer signings Bence Imre and Emil Madsen played a key role in THW Kiel's 32:28 win at RK Vojvodina, as they scored eight and six goals respectively
• Melsungen claimed the biggest win of the day so far, 34:18 over North Macedonia's HC Vardar 1961, as their goalkeeper Adam Morawski made 17 saves for a 50 per cent save efficiency
• Kadetten Schaffhausen bounced back from an opening defeat against Benfica, taking a commanding 39:30 win at Tatran Prešov
• in a high-scoring encounter, the Danish side GOG took their first win in the current group matches, defeating HC Kriens-Luzern from Switzerland by three goals, 39:36
• with his 11 goals, centre back Pawel Paterek lifted KGHM Chrobry Glogow to a 37:33 win over CSM Constanta
• Laszlo Bartucz made 18 saves, and Mateo Maras scored nine goals, as MOL Tatabanya KC took their second straight win, 31:27 at MRK Sesvete

Main image Alibek Käsler | Werbeagentur Käsler GbR