It took no time for Nantes to set in motion. With Ivan Pesic locking the door behind his defence, the French side cruised away early and retained a five-goal advantage at the break. Barça tried to come back using every tactic possible, but Pesic and his 14 saves prevented the title holders from ever turning the situation around. With the help of Kauldi Odriozola and his six goals, Nantes remained in control and finished the game with their first victory over Barça since 2017.
3/4 PLACEMENT MATCH
HBC Nantes (FRA) vs Barça (ESP) 30:25 (14:9)
- with Pesic in great form, making four saves in the first quarter, Nantes had the better start and took an early four-goal lead after 15 minutes, 8:4
- despite many rotations and a change of defence, Barça were never able to turn things around, resulting in a 14:9 lead for Nantes at the break
- Nantes used the opportunity to open their bench to the maximum, and every player who made it onto the score sheet netted at least two
- Barça managed to close the gap to three goal a few times in the second half, but never less, despite key Nantes back Thibaud Briet being sent off in the 55th minute
- left handers were in the spotlight, with right back and MVP of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2024
- Melvyn Richardson scoring eight for Barça while Nantes right wing Odriozola netted six times
- the third-place finish was the second-best ranking for Nantes in the EHF Champions League, behind their second place in 2018
Nantes lead from start to finish
Nantes were clearly able to rid themselves of sadness from the semi-final loss, judging by their start to the game. Thanks to a couple of saves from Pesic, the French side took the lead and forced Barça to take their first timeout at 8:4. The Croatian goalkeeper was key for the French team throughout the first half, while Barça’s defence could not find any solution to stop Nicolas Tournat. Not only did the line player score four in the first half — he also got one penalty shot, which was enough to bring his team’s advantage to six goals at various points.
The half-time break clearly was not enough for Barça to find a strategy to turn things around. Despite Dika Mem’s best efforts to help his team close the gap, the Spanish side never managed to get their own pace. While it is difficult to tell whether the problem for the 2024 title winners was defensive or offensive, Nantes definitely made the most of it. With players that had barely played in the semi-final, such as Ayoub Abdi and Romain Lagarde, having an impact, the French side never lost the control of the game. And when Odriozola scored to put “Le H” five goals ahead with five minutes to go, it was clear that they would finish third.
It’s great to finally win here on a Sunday! The last two times we either lost the final or the 3/4 placement match, so it’s great to finally win. Yesterday was really a disaster, so we had to show character to have a better outcome in this game. I am proud we did, especially against a team like Barça. Even in a game that does not count for anything, you know that beating Barça is not a walk in the park, so what we did today is still great.
It was hard. We struggled defensively and we were not able to stop them. They put a lot of energy into everything they did. We told ourselves we would play to our maximum to finish the season on a high, but sometimes, the legs struggle to do what the mind wants.
