Porto were, before this game, one of the two teams to have lost points against Vardar, as the first leg in North Macedonia ended in a 25:25 draw.

But, having played three more games than their opponents, the Portuguese club were better ranked than Vardar prior to this game. In the group phase last season, Porto took the points at home, 30:22

GROUP A
FC Porto (POR) vs HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) 27:24 (13:13)

• Vardar took an early three-goal lead, but a couple of technical errors helped Porto into the game with a 6:1 run
• the home side had a two-goal lead shortly before the break, but Vardar scored twice in the last two minutes of the half to level the match
• Porto came back stronger from the dressing room, taking a five-goal advantage in seven minutes, before cruising through the second half to victory
• Timur Dibirov scored nine goals for Vardar while Diogo Branquinho netted seven times for Porto
• thanks to this win, Porto are currently in fourth place in the group, while Vardar remain last, with three points

Porto come out of the dressing room roaring

During the first half of the game, you could clearly see that Magnus Andersson, Porto’s coach, was not too happy about his players’ performance. And he must have told them as much in the dressing room, given how they played immediately after the break.

More aggressive defensively, running crazy on fast breaks, the hosts made the most of Vardar’s technical errors to take a five-goal lead at 19:14, that would ultimately secure them the two points.