6816 goals, 76 Lazarov strikes and a Kielce clean sweep

Zagreb had the best defensive record and the highest number of spectators, Kielce took the maximum 20 points, Barcelona had the best scoring record and Kiel the clearest win of all, just a few of the facts and figures to enjoy from the VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase, which ended on Sunday night.

Educate yourself with some of the most interesting numbers prior to the draw event for the Last 16 on Tuesday in Vienna (live on www.ehfTV.com and the live ticker on www.eurohandball.com).

1 team won all ten of their group phase matches: Vive Tauron Kielce. The Polish champions achieved this feat for the second time and it is only the third occurrence since the implementation of the current playing system in the 2009/10 season. In 2009/10 it was Ciudad Real (ESP) and Kielce managed it the first time around in the 2012/13 season.

1 point in ten matches for Russian Champions Chekhovskie Medvedi saw them hold the weakest record of all 16 teams and the only one without a single win on their account. In contrast, Schaffhausen finished sixth in their group with six points, the best of all bottom ranked teams.

2 Last 16 debutants are on their maiden voyage in the knockout phase of the VELUX EHF Champions League: Dunkerque (FRA) and La Rioja (ESP).

2 nations are represented by three teams each in the Last 16: Germany and France. In the 2013/14 Last 16 four German teams were part of this stage, only one French side (PSG) had made it that far.

3 teams managed to be part of all Last 16 rounds since the 2009/10 season: THW Kiel, FC Barcelona and MKB-MVM Veszprem.

3 duels between teams from the same country can possibly be drawn for the Last 16 on Tuesday: Barcelona vs La Rioja (ESP), Kiel vs Flensburg (GER) and PSG vs Dunkerque (FRA). No Hungarian, Danish or Polish derbies are possible.

3 goals scored by Metalurg in the first half of their match at Kiel (3:17) was the worst first half scoring performance this season.

7 points was the lowest needed to clinch a berth for the Last 16. Two victories and three draws were enough for Aalborg to finish fourth in Group D. Back in 2009/10, five points was enough for Bosna Sarajevo to reach the Last 16.

8 teams scored 300 or more goals in their respective ten group matches. The best attack ranking is headed by Barcelona (338) ahead of Kiel (322). Medvedi are the only team with at least 300 goals and did not qualify for the Last 16.

8 nations are represented in the Last 16: Germany and France (three teams each), Hungary, Poland, Spain and Denmark (two each), Croatia and FYR Macedonia (one each). In the previous season it had been nine different countries. Slovenia and Ukraine are out in this year, while Croatia is in.

9 of the 120 group matches ended in a draw. Aalborg were involved in three tied matches.

11 teams which had been part of the Last 16 last season are back again: Kolding, Aalborg, Barcelona, PSG, Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Flensburg, Kiel, Veszprem, Vardar, Kielce and Plock.

12 matches ended with a goal difference of +10 or more, five of them in Group B. But the biggest margins occurred in the matches between Kiel and Metalurg: After a 42:27 Kiel away win at Skopje, the Germans beat Metalurg 35:16 on home court, giving them an aggregate winning margin of 34 goals. The 21:35 loss for Flensburg at Kolding was the biggest defeat for a defending champion in their opening match.

16 times FC Barcelona were or are among the 16 best teams of the EHF Champions League. Kiel and Veszprem follow with 15 participations, ahead of Zagreb’s 13.

19 goals was the biggest margin in one group matches, occurred in the Kiel vs Metalurg duel (35:16).

20 points out of a maximum 20 were won by Kielce in the group phase. Kiel and Veszprem dropped just one match each and earned 18 points, ahead of Barcelona (17) and Vardar (15).

36 goals was the lowest total score of the group phase. It came in Zagreb vs Metalurg (19:17).

37 group matches had an attendance of 5,000 or more spectators.

42 group matches ended with an away win.

+63 was the best goal difference of all 24 teams, scored by THW Kiel, ahead of Barcelona (58) and Kielce (41).

69 group matches ended with a win for the home team.

73 goals, scored in Medvedi vs Vardar (34:39), was the highest scoring match.

76 goals from Kiril Lazarov (FC Barcelona) saw him end the group phase as top scorer ahead of Timur Dibirov (Vardar, 69) and last season’s overall top scorer Momir Ilic (Veszprem, 67).

248 goals conceded by RK PPD Zagreb in ten group matches was the lowest in the competition. The Croatian champions are followed by THW Kiel (259) and MKB MVM Veszprem (262).

6,816 goals were scored in the 120 group matches, which mean an average of 56.8 goals per match. 1,792 goals were scored in Group C (average of 59.7), 1,711 in Group B (57.0), 1,665 in Group A (55.5) and 1,648 in Group D (54.9).

9,500 spectators on average attended the home matches of RK PPD Zagreb to top this ranking ahead of THW Kiel (8,491).

13,000 spectators attended the match Zagreb vs Paris Saint-Germain, the highest so far this season. Two more matches in Group A, Zagreb vs Kiel (11,000) and Kiel vs PSG (10,170) reached the 10,000 fans mark.

Rankings after the group phase

Points:

20: Vive Tauron Kielce
18: THW Kiel
18: MKB MVM Veszprem
17: FC Barcelona
15: Vardar

Goals scored:

338 goals: FC Barcelona
322 goals: THW Kiel
313 goals: Vardar
312 goals: Vive Tauron Kielce
305 goals: Naturhouse La Rioja
302 goals: Rhein Neckar Löwen
300 goals: MKB MVM Veszprem, Chekhovskie Medvedi

Best goal difference:

+63: THW Kiel
+58: FC Barcelona
+41: Vive Tauron Kielce
+31: Paris Saint-Germain
+24: Vardar Skopje, MKB MVM Veszprem

Best defensive record:

248 goals conceded: RK PPD Zagreb
259 goals conceded: THW Kiel
262 goals conceded: MKB MVM Veszprem
263 goals conceded: Dunkerque HB
264 goals conceded: Pick Szeged
266 goals conceded: Paris Saint Germain
269 goals conceded: Aalborg Handball
271 goals conceded: Vive Tauron Kielce
273 goals conceded: KIF Kolding Kobenhavn

Biggest winning margins:

+19: Kiel vs Metalurg (35:16)
+15: Metalurg vs Kiel (27:42)
+14: Kolding vs Flensburg (35:21)
+14: Montpellier vs Veszprem (20:34)
+13: Barcelona vs Alingsas (42:29)
+11: Vardar vs. Medvedi (39:28)
+11: PSG vs. Metalurg (35:24)
+11: Kiel vs Brest (33:22)

Highest goal totals in a match:

73 goals: Medvedi vs Vardar (34:39)
71 goals: Barcelona vs Alingsas (42:29)
70 goals: Flensburg vs Barcelona (33:37)
70 goals: La Rioja vs Brest (39:31)
69 goals: Metalurg vs Kiel (27:42)
69 goals: Kielce vs Szeged (37:32)
69 goals: Schaffhausen vs Zaporozhye (32:37)
69 goals: Medved vs Veszprem (32:37)
69 goals: Veszprem vs Medvedi (38:31)
68 goals: La Rioja vs PSG (35:33)
68 goals: Kielce vs Dunkerque (36:32)
68 goals: Montpellier vs Vardar (34:34)

Lowest number of goals in a match:

36 goals: Zagreb vs. Metalurg (19:17)
42 goals: Alingsas vs. Kolding (19:23)
42 goals: Metalurg vs Zagreb (20:22)
43 goals: La Rioja vs. Zagreb (22:21)
43 goals: Szeged vs. Dunkerque (23:21
44 goals: Zaporozhye vs. Dunkerque (21:24)
45 goals: Celje vs Veszprem (21:24)
45 goals: Alingsas vs Plock (22:23)

Top scorers:

76 goals: Kiril Lazarov (Barcelona)
69 goals: Timur Dibirov (Vardar)
67 goals: Momir Ilic (Veszprem)
62 goals: Alexander Dereven (Medvedi)
62 goals: Dragan Gajic (Montpellier)

Spectators:

13,000: Zagreb vs PSG
11,000: Zagreb vs Kiel
10,170: Kiel vs Paris
9,500: Zagreb vs Metalurg
8,700: Kiel vs Metalurg
8,487: Kiel vs Zagreb
8,000: Kiel vs La Rioja
8,000: Zagreb vs La Rioja
7,270: Löwen vs Veszprem
7,100: Kiel vs Brest
6,963: Metalurg vs Paris
6,300: Flensburg vs Barcelona
6,000: Besiktas vs Kolding
6,000: Zagreb vs Brest