Veszprém win key duel in Berlin, four teams with clean record
HBC Nantes, Sporting CP, Industria Kielce and One Veszprém HC kept their clean records on the opening night of round 2 of the EHF Champions League Men 2026/27.
Veszprém beat 2025 and 2026 finalists Füchse Berlin in Germany (35:29), while GOG took their first win of their international campaign, defeating OTP Bank – PICK Szeged 36:34. HC Vardar 1961, Kolstad Håndball and IFK Kristianstad remain on zero points after being beaten by HBC Nantes (32:33), Industria Kielce (29:36) and Sporting Clube de Portugal (29:37), respectively.
We didn’t get off to a good start and the energy wasn’t where it needs to be in a home match against Veszprém. We improved as the game went on, but it’s incredibly difficult to come back from behind against such a high-calibre side. We did have our chances, though; it was just those little moments that meant we couldn’t close the gap or equalise.
We had some trouble in the second half. In the end, we put in another great performance in the final 10 minutes. Our energy on offence was really good today. I'm proud of our guys—they did a great job.
It was a really crazy game — a real rollercoaster. Of course, we are disappointed in the end. Maybe Nantes were a little luckier and perhaps a little more experienced than us in the Champions League, but ultimately, they deserved the two points.
It was a crazy game. It was my first time here at Vardar, and I had been looking forward to playing here and experiencing this atmosphere. It was truly amazing — the supporters, the atmosphere and the team. It was a very tough and physical game from beginning to end. We are very happy with the victory.
It wasn’t an easy game, but the most important thing is getting our first Champions League win of the season. We showed great mental strength, stayed together and never gave up. Playing here in front of our fans and feeling this atmosphere is always special.
After the opening 10 minutes, Paris built a big lead, and I’m proud of my team for managing to fight our way back into the game. In the second half, we even had a chance to take a two-goal lead, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Paris showed their quality and ultimately took the two points.
It was a tough game. We fought for 60 minutes and managed to get the game played on our terms. I think we showed a great all-round team effort today and that we can stand up to the best teams.
It was a difficult game. We knew it would be two tough 30-minute periods. We played well against them, but in the end they took control of the game. It’s a bit bitter from our side, but it was a really good game against GOG.
We are very happy to be back in the Champions League and to play this level of handball in front of our home crowd in Kristianstad. Tonight, we were punished for our mistakes, and although we showed confidence in periods, we struggled to maintain it for 60 minutes. We need to learn from this and move forward.
We are very happy with the win, but we have a lot of respect for Kristianstad. They fought hard and made us work for the result. Today we were the better team and managed to get the two points, which is what we came here for.
We were not on the right place today, delivering a too weak performance defensively. A bit too many simple mistakes offensively, which means Kielce gets a lot of easy goals.
This was a very important game for us, and we have prepared well. Everything we talked about before the game we did in the first half, and we scored a lot of goals. Proud of the team.
