GROUP A REVIEW: The Spanish powerhouse look unstoppable in attack this season and their prowess brought them the fifth win in a row, 31:27, against Kielce on Sunday night
Sturdy attack brings Barça fifth straight victory
Barça Lassa became the second team to pass the 200 mark in the goals scored column this VELUX EHF Champions League season, after another dominant outing against PGE Vive Kielce. The Polish side had their four-game winning streak snapped by an offensive juggernaut from coach Xavi Pascual’s side, which saw nine players on the scoring sheet.
• Barca Lassa join Vardar on 10 points after five wins; Kielce stay on eight
• Wing Aleix Gomez is Barça’s top scorer, with seven goals
• Spanish back Alex Dujshebaev scores six goals for Kielce
• Barça will be tested next week against Vardar, in Skopje, in the battle of the top two teams in the group
GROUP A
Barça Lassa (ESP) vs PGE Vive Kielce (POL) 31:27 (14:11)
The last VELUX EHF Champions League game on Sunday pitted two of the most in-form teams in the competition – both with four consecutive wins that propelled them to the top two places in the ranking – against each other. But it was Barça who had the better start, jumping to a 6:2 lead and scoring at free will, underlining once again that they have the best attack in the competition.
With wings Aleix Gomez and Casper Mortensen in fine form, Barça kept in front, but a 5:1 run spurred by the Dujshebaev brothers Alex and Daniel brought back Kielce into the game, 11:10.
However, the Spanish champions still looked much stronger and took advantage of Kielce’s technical faults to open a decisive 19:14 gap after 36 minutes. There was nothing that Kielce could do in attack that Barça did not replicate, as the Spanish side expertly maintained the lead and finished with a comfortable 31:27 win.
Barça are now back at the top of the group, level with Vardar, ready for the game between the two powerhouses in Skopje next week. Kielce remain third, with eight points, and are travelling to Brest for the next round.
TEXT:
Adrian Costeiu / cg