SC Magdeburg and FC Barcelona ready for Cologne!
FC Barcelona will compete for the seventh consecutive time, and SC Magdeburg for the third, at the EHF Champions League Final4 tournament in Cologne on June 14 and 15. Two spectacular matches were seen in the remaining quarterfinal clashes after Füchse Berlin and Nantes secured their places on Wednesday.
One Veszprém will end the season without qualifying for the Lanxess Arena for the third consecutive year. The Hungarian team led for most of the match, even holding a 26:22 advantage in the 50th minute. However, the phenomenal Swedish center-back Felix Claar turned the game around with a few crucial goals, and Gisli Kristjánsson secured the victory in the final attack, triggering great celebrations for Bennet Wiegert’s squad (the first match ended in a 26:26 draw).
ONE VESZPRÉM HC–SC MAGDEBURG 27–28 (13–13)
VESZPRÉM: Corrales – Marguc, Remili 6, Fabregas 7, Ligetvári, Kosorotov 6, Elísson 4 (2). Substitutes: Cindric 3, Pálmarsson, Pechmalbec, Casado 1, Sandell.
MAGDEBURG: S. Hernández – Hornke 1, Magnússon 3 (2), Kristjánsson 5, Saugstrup 5, Claar 7, Mertens 4. Substitutes: Portner (goalkeeper), Serradilla, O’Sullivan, Lagergren 3.
Barcelona suffered its first home knockout-stage defeat in the EHF Champions League since 1997, when they were defeated by Celje PL. Still, it was a Pyrrhic victory for Pick Szeged, 29:30 (16:14), as they only managed a maximum two-goal advantage. Barcelona led 21:17 in the 36th minute, but the motivated Hungarian side turned the score around, led by the scoring of Frimmel (10) and Šoštarić (7), achieving a +2 lead (27:29). A goal by Domen Makuc in the 59th minute and an offensive foul committed by Lazar Kukić, after which the Hungarian team protested to Serbian referees Boričić and Marković, decided the fate of the match.
The top scorer for the victorious Barcelona side was Dika Mem with six goals.
