Following a 28:23 defeat in the first leg match at CSM Bucuresti, AEK Athens needed a strong home comeback to go through.

The fight was tight in Athens, and with 17 seconds to go, Christodoulos Mylonas’ seventh goal in the game secured AEK a 29:23 win and a ticket to the quarter-final.

• AEK’s Austrian goalkeeper Thomas Bauer played a huge role in his team’s success, making 20 saves for a 48 per cent save rate
• HC Robe Zubri, RK Gorenje Velenje and HC Neva SPb defended their advantage away from home
• following a 28:28 draw at SGAU-Saratov last week, Polva Serviti booked a quarter-final ticket by winning at home, 28:23
• CS Minaur Baia Mare and Sabbianco Anorthosis Famagusta had the upper hand in the double-headers against Donbas and SC kelag Ferlach respectively
• Ystads IF progressed to the next round without playing due to the Covid-19 situation
• the quarter-final matches will be played on 20-21 and 27-28 March

Eight teams from eight countries stay in race

While Romania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Russia were all represented by two teams in the Last 16, none of them managed to keep both sides in the next round.

Eight quarter-final spots are distributed among eight countries – Russia (Neva), Cyprus (Anorthosis), Estonia (Polva), Czech Republic (Robe Zubri), Slovenia (Velenje), Sweden (Ystads), Romania (Baia Mare) and Greece (AEK).