After a painful loss at the hands of CSM Bucuresti last Sunday in the DELO EHF Champions League, Metz Handball bounced back admirably and handed SG BBM Bietigheim their second defeat in as many games, 36:27.

Having also lost last week in round 1 against Team Esbjerg, 33:26, the German side are in last place in group A.

GROUP A
Metz Handball (FRA) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) 36:27 (18:8)

• Bietigheim called a timeout after Metz started the game with a 5:1 run, but they could not prevent the French side extending their lead to 9:1
• in the first half, Bietigheim equalled their fewest goals (eight) scored in a half in a Champions League match
• Metz line player Olga Perederiy had her best ever game in the DELO EHF Champions League, scoring 11 times from 13 shots
• for the third time in four seasons, Bietigheim have started the competition with two consecutive losses
• Bietigheim will try to win their first game of the season against Vipers Kristiansand next week, while Metz travel to FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

Key start lifts Metz past Bietigheim

It was game over after the first 10 minutes. Metz jumped to a conclusive 9:1 lead and never looked back, taking advantage of Bietigheim’s struggles at both ends of the court and low 7.41 save percentage in the first half. Metz’s convincing performance in the first 40 minutes of the game will surely boost their confidence.