Perfect start for three new coaches on night of the goalkeepers

• the first victory against Magdeburg ever for Szeged came thanks to a world-class performance from goalkeeper Roland Mikler, who saved 16 shots and prevented SCM from scoring for nine minutes in the second half
• it was Magdeburg’s first defeat in this stage of the competition since their series of 12 straight victories in the 2023/24 group matches began in September 2023
• by winning 37:28 against Fredericia, Dinamo Bucuresti were close to breaking two records: Their biggest Champions League win was a 34:23 result against Chekhovskie Medvedi, and their highest score in a Champions League match is 38 goals
• Kielce remain unbeaten against Zagreb, winning the fourth of five duels, as the Croatian side only scored one goal in the last nine minutes
• 11 strikes from Nedim Remili and 17 saves from Rodrigo Corrales were Veszprém’s keys for the 32:31 victory at Berlin

GROUP A
Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) vs Fredericia Håndbold Klub (DEN) 37:28 (18:14)

Kasper Andersen made history by scoring for 1:0 — the first goal ever in EHF competitions for Fredericia — and his side even dominated the first 20 minutes, intermediately pulling ahead by three goals. But thanks to 6:2 run in the last seven minutes of the first half, the hosts made their frenetic fans happy. Then, backed by strong goalkeeper Vladimir Cupara and rock-solid defence, Dinamo took full control of the game. New arrival Haukur Thrastarson had a brilliant international debut for Dinamo. Bucharest’s new coach David Davis could started his rotation earlier than expected and 10 different Dinamo players were noted on the scoreboard as early as 35 minutes. Fredericia lacked the means for a comeback, while Dinamo put the pedal to the metal until the end.

Füchse Berlin (GER) vs Veszprém HC (HUN) 31:32 (16:16)

The 17th and final save from Rodrigo Corrales provided Veszprém HC with two deserved points after a true thriller, which seemed to be decided two minutes before the end, when the Hungarian side were ahead 32:28. Füchse Berlin fought back and scored three goals in 100 seconds, but Lasse Andersson missed the chance to secure a last-second draw as Corrales saved the shot. Veszprém’s new coach Xavi Pascual could celebrate a perfect start.

After an 11-years absence from the EHF Champions League, Füchse Berlin started impressively, with a 9:5 advantage. Veszprém were not shocked, but put their stamp on the first half, which both sides played in high-speed mode. Turning a 10:14 deficit into a level score of 15:15 was the turning point, as, after the break, the visitors took the upper hand. Corrales improved, Nedim Remili was the key factor in attack — scoring nine of his 11 goals after the break — and the defence was stable, though Mathias Gidsel was almost unstoppable in Berlin’s offence. The second half became a kind of one-on-one duel between EHF EURO 2024 top scorer Gidsel and EHF EURO 2024 MVP Remili — and like the match, this duel was won by Veszprém, as Gidsel scored 10 times to Remili’s 11. Veszprém repeated their opener from last season, when they also won in Germany, beating SC Magdeburg in their den.  

GROUP B
OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN) vs SC Magdeburg (GER) 31:29 (17:18)

The first half went back and forth, with narrow advantages for the hosts until minute 27, when Magdeburg struck with a 3:0 run to be ahead at half-time. The key factors for both teams were their goalkeepers, Roland Mikler and Nikola Portner, with the latter enjoying his Champions League comeback after a suspension. But in the second half, Mikler closed his goal completely. Magdeburg did not score for nine minutes, and Szeged ran over the EHF Champions League 2022/23 winners to lead 28:21. In the first 18 minutes of the second half, Mikler had saved 10 shots — and was on an intermediate percentage of more than 50 per cent. Although SCM found their rhythm again and reduced the gap to 28:30 in minute 58, the time was ticking in favour of Szeged. And, like in the previous season when they lost on home ground against Veszprém, SCM were defeated by a Hungarian team in the first group match.

Industria Kielce (POL) vs HC Zagreb (CRO) 30:23 (13:13)

Kielce overran Zagreb with a brilliant start and a 7:3 advantage, but then the record Croatian champions managed to come back quite quickly. Counting on a strong defence, Zagreb levelled the result for the first time at 9:9 and took their first lead right after the start of the second half at 14:13. The young back court aces Miloš Kos and Luka Lovre Klarica took control in Zagreb's attack, while Kielce obviously missed their former goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who returned to Kiel this summer. Only in the final stages did his successor, Croatian Sandro Mestric, have an impact on the match. But Kielce’s individual class, mainly from Daniel Dujshebaev and Benoit Konkoud, turned the tide again. After a 6:2 run, the gap was five goals for the first time at 27:22 with only six minutes left. And as Zagreb only scored once in the last minutes, they could not endanger the hosts anymore.