After 112 exciting matches, the group phase of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, the premium European competition, is now concluded, with four teams progressing to the quarter-finals, while eight other sides have made it to the play-offs.

There is no unbeaten team in the competition, with three sides – THW Kiel, SC Magdeburg and Barça – conceding two losses, all three making it to the quarter-finals. The other team that made it to the quarter-finals is Aalborg Håndbold, the second-placed side in Group A.

16 teams have started the competition and were divided into two round-robin groups of eight, as the top two sides in each group made it closer to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 in Cologne, with the teams placed third to sixth in each group progressing to the play-offs. Each of the teams placed seventh and eighth were eliminated.

In Group A, THW Kiel, a perennial contender in the European premium competition, erased their performances from the German Bundesliga, and secured the first place in the group with some excellent results, including a seven-match unbeaten run to end the group.

After a 18:27 loss against Aalborg midway in the group, Kiel looked rejuvenated, with some excellent performances from experienced right wing, Niclas Ekberg, who scored 81 goals, as well as the All-Star centre back of the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, who has 48 goals in his first season in the European premium competition.

While Aalborg finished second, Industria Kielce navigated through a flurry of injuries, with left wing Dylan Nahi being forced to play as a makeshift line player and ended on the fourth place, with 16 points, one less than PSG, who are still trying to win their maiden trophy in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League.

The big surprise was HC Zagreb, which finished fifth, with 14 points, as new coach Nenad Sostaric, the former Croatia women’s national team coach, instilled new life in the team that had some amazing performances from right back Luka Lovre Klarica.

Two sides – Eurofarm Pelister in Group A and RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko in Group B – became only the second and third teams to fail to win a point since the current system was introduced in the competition, in the 2015/16 season, conceding 14 losses in a row. The other team to fail to qualify in Group A was Kolstad Handball, as the Norwegian side, who had Sander Sagosen in their ranks, finished on the seventh place.

Barça opened their account with a 32:20 win against Magdeburg and looked like prime candidates for the trophy, but their lack of depth came to bite them in the end, as they lost their last match on their home court, 34:37, against Montpellier HB, to drop on the second place.

Telekom Veszprém HC finished third, therefore will meet OTP Bank – Pick Szeged in an all-Hungarian derby in the play-offs, with Montpellier finishing fourth. While GOG ended up on the fifth place, Orlen Wisla Plock eliminated FC Porto with a 29:27 win in the last round, erasing a three-goal deficit in the first half to clinch their spot in the knock-out phase of the competition, where they face PSG.

However, Celje faced some tough opponents in Group B, one which was won by SC Magdeburg, with their last round win against Telekom Veszprém HC, 30:28.

The reigning champions and the winners of the IHF Men’s Super Globe in 2021, 2022 and 2023, Magdeburg started the season with two losses, but went on the largest winning run of the season, 12 matches in a row, to clinch the first place, a feature which could not have been achieved without a last-round shock.

Two Danish players were on the podium in the top goal scorer standings, with right back Emil Madsen leading the way, with 91 goals. Madsen scored four goals more than Mitja Janc, who featured for Slovenia at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, and six goals more than left back Hans Mensing, Madsen’s teammate, and PSG’s line player, Kamil Syprzak.

Machineseeker EHF Champions League Men – play-offs

M1: Orlen Wisła Płock (POL) vs Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
M2: OTP Bank – Pick Szeged (HUN) vs Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN)
M3: GOG (DEN) vs Industria Kielce (POL)
M4: HC Zagreb (CRO) vs Montpellier HB (FRA)

Machineseeker EHF Champions League Men – quarter-finals
Winner M1 vs Barça (ESP)
Winner M2 vs Aalborg Håndbold (DEN)
Winner M3 vs SC Magdeburg (GER)
Winner M4 vs THW Kiel (GER)

Credit photo: Jozo Cabraja / Kolektiff Images