Defending champion from the role
FC Barcelona gave Magdeburg a rough beating
September 21, 2023, 10:27 p.m
The great triumphant last season, but off track in the new season: SC Magdeburg is not yet up to speed in the Champions League and also loses the second game – and very, very clearly. Meanwhile things are going better at THW Kiel.
Defending champion SC Magdeburg has made a complete false start to the new Champions League season. Coach Bennet Wiegert’s team also lost their second group game at FC Barcelona with 20:32 (8:14). The German handball record champion THW Kiel celebrated their second victory in the second game with a 35:32 (16:15) win against the Hungarian runner-up Pick Szeged.
Only Paris St. Germain and the Danish top club Aalborg Handbold achieved this maximum result in Kiel’s Group A. In Group B, however, Magdeburg is already lagging behind the top, and next Wednesday they absolutely need their first win against RK Celje from Slovenia, who are also still without a point. At the end of the preliminary round, the two best teams in each group of eight will advance directly to the quarter-finals. The teams in third to sixth place take the detour via the play-offs.
Magdeburg lost at the start against the Hungarian champions Telekom Veszprem (28:33). Now the Wiegert team couldn’t find a way to beat the Champions League record winners Barcelona, who had finished the previous season in third place in the SCM’s triumph, over the entire season. Matthias Musche and Philipp Weber were the Bundesliga club’s best throwers with just three goals each. On the Catalans’ side, the French Olympic champion Dika Mem (8 goals) stood out.
Kristjansson’s absence cannot be compensated
The Magdeburgers failed several times in the starting phase due to goalkeeper Emil Nielsen and fell behind early on. That grew to four goals before the SCM scored its third goal. And even if the Elbestädters shortened the score, they remained too harmless in attack. Only eight goals scored in the first half spoke volumes, even if the defensive performance was generally decent. The defending champions went into the break six goals behind.
After the break, the team tried to gain more speed and consistency in attack, but the team simply didn’t manage enough that evening. His teammates were unable to compensate for the lack of depth runs by the long-term injured Gisli Kristjansson with other qualities, especially since Nielsen felt like he saved every long-range throw. So after 38 minutes the deficit was already ten goals – and the game was practically decided.
Kiel had won the group opener against Croatian champions RK PPD Zagreb without any danger (30:23), but the team now faced a more difficult task against Szeged. Only after the break did the Kiel team pull away a little; right winger Niclas Ekberg (7 goals) and backcourt player Harald Reinkind (6) were the Bundesliga club’s best throwers. Circle runner and defense chief Hendrik Pekeler made his comeback for THW and contributed three goals. The 32-year-old had to undergo surgery on his heel in June.