Since yesterday, and Kielce’s win over Dinamo Bucuresti, the equation was quite simple for the Barça players. They needed a win against Flensburg in order to finish second in the group.
They did not disappoint against Flensburg, keeping their perfect home record intact, against a side that has never taken a point in the Palau Blaugrana.
It took Barça 15 minutes to take set rhythm of the game, before cruising away on the scoreboard as half-time approached. Having secured a small safety net, they played with more confidence in the second half. Backed up by a stunning performance from Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, they cruised to another home win.
GROUP B :
Barça (ESP) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) 29:22 (15:11)
- it took a while for Barça to warm up, but once the hosts had gone on a 4:0 run between the 15th and 21st minute, thanks to fastbreaks by Aleix Gomez, they took an advantage that would last them until the break
- with Gonzalo Perez de Vargas pulling out a great performance, with 18 saves overall at a 44% efficiency rate, Barça took maximum advantage of seven goals at the 44th minute
- Barça finish the group phase second in the group, level with Kielce, but having been defeated twice by the Polish side
- Flensburg finished sixth and will face Pick Szeged in the Last 16
- in the quarter-finals, Barça will face the winner of the Last 16 match between Flensburg and Pick Szeged
For Barça, quarter-finals have become a habit
In the last 10 years, Barça only twice failed to go through to the Last 16 of the EHF Champions League.
Otherwise, the Spanish side always managed to qualify for the quarter-finals, by finishing first or second in its group. Of course, that does not imply anything for the future, but it still shows how consistent Barça are at the the top level no matter which players have been on the court in the last 10 years.
