In the first encounter of the season between two top teams, the winner was decided in the last ten minutes of the match. Magdeburg won 32:20 after thriller last two minutes which ended with an in-flight goal by Tim Hornke.

It was an interesting match with a chance we don’t see a winner tonight. The German team had a four-goal lead in the first-half, melting it in the second. Patrice Canayer’s team stepped up the pace and almost took the point but in the end welcomed their first defeat this season.

Montpellier HB (FRA) - SC Magdeburg (GER) 30:32 (15:16)

• German side with a better start had a four-goal lead (9:5), but Montpellier’s defence put strong pressure, resulting in a 3:0 goal streak for trailing only by one after 30 minutes
• Montpellier had their first lead in the match at 19:18 and a three-goal lead at the 47th minute for 27:24with Jannick Green’s saves Magdeburg changed the momentum (29:27), but almost let go of the win
• Omar Ingi Magnusson once again was the strong shooter of Magdeburg, upgrading his season statistic to 43 goals; on the other side, Hugo Descat scored seven times
• at half-time, Montpellier had a scoring efficiency of 71 per cent, while Besiktas’s recorded 59 per cent. By the end, both teams were on 67 per cent
• Magdeburg now sits on top of Group C with 12 points

Magdeburg on Nordic wings

Magdeburg had a thrilling match in France, having and losing lead in the match couple of times. They celebrated the fourth win in a row in the EHF European League and three Nordic names are the reason why. Omar Ingi Magnusson and Christian O’Sullivan scored 16 times in total, first one scoring ten, including in crucial times when Magdeburg reduced the deficit and later took over. There was still hope for Montpellier at the end, but Dane Jannick Green woke up and saved the day with crucial saves. That’s the Nordic connection in the German team.