THW Kiel won the first leg against Ciudad Real by 39:34 (18:12). Nevertheless, THW players and coach Alfred Gislasson are not celebrating. They know well that they need to play the second match in Spain.

“We knew before that this will be a very tough fight. We started well, but we lost the rhythm after the break. As Ciudad Real punished every mistake we made, the match became very close,” Gislasson said. “I’m satisfied that we won the first part of the final, but I believe that the five goals are too many if you think about the whole game. But we were very lucky in the final stage of the match and our goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer showed some great saves.”

On the other hand, Ciudad Real coach Talant Dujshebaev was disappointed:

“Five goals are big burden before the second game and we did not deserve such a big defeat. But we’ll have to wait and see what we can do on home court.”

Ciudad Real’s Viran Morros added:

“We started badly, but then we improved as we scored five consecutive goals. After the break we came closer and had the chance to get a better position for the second leg. What’s happened in the last five minutes was disappointing.”

THW captain Stefan Lövgren played his last international match in Kiel. He was also prudent:

“The two best handball teams of the world met. Every match against Ciudad is the same. You have to be careful for 60 minutes. Whether five goals will be enough we’ll see next week.”

Dominik Klein agrees:

“No congratulations, please. It’s only halftime. Our spectators were great and this fantastic atmosphere was a big motivation for us. Even when we were leading by six at the break, we knew that Ciudad Real will stand up. At the end we were lucky to score decisive goals, but I cannot tell if this will be enough to win the title.”