First defeat: Magdeburg handball players lose to Barcelona

Defending champions SC Magdeburg have suffered their first defeat in the Handball Champions League and missed out on group victory for the time being. The team from the city on the Elbe lost 29:36 (16:16) against record winners FC Barcelona in front of 6,480 spectators. Magdeburg's top scorer was Felix Claar with seven goals. SCM will have to hope for some help on the final matchday if it is to finish first after all.

There were unusual mistakes on both sides in the opening minutes. SCM goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez - in Barcelona from the summer - got into the game well and had an advantage in the goalkeeping duel. Nevertheless, the visitors led (3:4/10th) and were initially unable to pull further ahead in an evenly-matched game. Barcelona led by three goals shortly before the break (13:16/25), but Magdeburg fought back until the half-time whistle.

Magdeburg too error-prone in offense

The visitors came out of the locker room more focused and pulled two goals ahead again, as the club in green and red made technical mistakes in attack. SCM then kept up with the visitors, but had problems against their aggressive cover and had little grip in defense (20:22/38). However, SCM worked its way back into the tie (24:24/44). Magdeburg kept the game open for a long time, but a double strike brought the visitors back to within three goals (29:32/54) and SCM ended up losing by a clear margin.