SC Magdeburg wins in Barcelona for the first time

Defending champions SC Magdeburg have won the rematch of the Champions League semi-final. The team from the Elbe city won 22:21 (15:12) at FC Barcelona in front of 1,832 spectators. The best SCM scorer was Omar Ingi Magnusson with six goals, while Sergey Hernandez shone with 15 saves. It was Magdeburg's first-ever win in Barcelona.

SCM's Head Coach Bennet Wiegert opted for Oscar Bergendahl and Tim Zechel in the circle for the missing Magnus Saugstrup. Both teams worked intensively in defense, with Magdeburg usually going ahead, but Barcelona quickly found answers (6:5/11th). The SCM exploited the home side's mistakes in attack to open up a three-goal gap. The Spaniards then adjusted better to SCM in defense, but were not able to reduce the deficit by the break.

Backline dominates both halves

The home side was not able to equalize after the break, even though SCM missed four attacks in a row due to slight mistakes - Barcelona failed to score due to Sergey Hernandez in goal and the SCM defense (16:14/37). Magdeburg struggled in its positional attack and often ran into timeouts. However, Magdeburg stayed ahead because its own defense worked. When Barcelona equalized a few minutes before the end (21:21/56), the momentum seemed to be on the hosts' side, but SCM saved a lead over time: Barcelona's Ian Barrufet hit the post with a seven-meter penalty after the final whistle.