EHF Champions League Men quarter-final table set after clear wins in play-offs

08 Apr. 2022

EHF Champions League Men quarter-final table set after clear wins in play-offs

The quarter-final pairings of the 2021/22 season in the EHF Champions League Men are now complete after the play-offs did not provide a big surprise, with the favourites taking their lion’s share.

Two teams from France and Germany each and one from Denmark, Hungary, Poland and Spain will compete for the title in the European premium competition this season, after four more teams exited the race this week.

In the most passionate double-header of the play-offs, SG Flensburg-Handewitt clinched a 60:57 aggregate win against Hungarian champions Pick Szeged. With a 25:21 win in the first leg, Flensburg kept their calm and entered into a high-octane second leg with Szeged, leaving the new Szeged Arena with a 35:36 loss.

The German powerhouse, who were led by the All-star left wing of the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship – Sweden’s Hampus Wanne, scoring 14 goals in the two matches – qualified for the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League Men for the 14th time in 17 seasons, despite a rough patch to start the group phase due to their injuries and positive COVID-19 cases.

Despite missing the MVP of the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, left back Mikkel Hansen, Paris Saint-Germain Handball qualified for their ninth quarter-finals in a row in the European premium competition after a 67:60 aggregate win against Norwegian champions Elverum Handball.

Norwegian centre back Tobias Grondahl tied Aalborg’s back Felix Claar as the top scorer of the EHF Champions League Men with 81 goals this season, but failed to make an impact against PSG, who are still eyeing the only trophy which evaded them in the past decade.

Another French side, 2017/18 winners Montpellier HB, secured an impressive 64:56 aggregate win against FC Porto after Hugo Descat, the All-star left wing of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, scored seven goals in the second leg, which was won by the French side 35:27, after the first match ended in a 29:29 draw.

There was little drama in the tie between Telekom Veszprém HC and HC Vardar 1961, after the Hungarian side took a 30:23 win in the first leg, as Vardar’s coach, David Davis, had little success in blocking his former side.

For the 22nd time in the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League Men and the ninth time in the last 10 seasons, but still vying for their first European premium competition’s title, Telekom Veszprém HC will face last year’s runners-up Aalborg Håndbold in the quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League Men will take place in a double-header, with the first leg scheduled on 11 May, with the second leg being played one week later.

The EHF FINAL4 Men, which will be held in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany for the 12th season in a row, is scheduled for 18 and 19 June.

EHF Champions League Men – Quarter-final pairings

Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs Aalborg Håndbold (DEN)
Montpellier HB (FRA) vs Łomza Vive Kielce (POL)
Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA) vs THW Kiel (GER)
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs Barça (ESP)

For more information on the EHF Champions League Men, visit eurohandball.com.

Photo: Pick Szeged / Eliza Sólya