Less than six months ago, Vipers and CSKA met in the DELO EHF Champions League semi-final, and the Norwegian side won 33:30 on their road to the title. On Saturday evening, however, the Russian side took revenge, earning a hard-fought 27:24 victory in Norway.

GROUP B
Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) vs CSKA (RUS) 24:27 (11:11)

• it was the first home defeat of the season for Vipers, who have four points after five games
• in contrast, CSKA claimed their first away victory in the current competition after losing at Györ
• Vipers' goalkeeper Katrine Lunde made 10 of her 13 saves before the break, keeping her team in fight
• her teammate Nora Mørk ended the match with nine goals and Markéta Jerábková scored six times, so this duo combined for almost two thirds of Vipers' goals
• between the 40th and 46th minutes, CSKA enjoyed a 5:0 run to take a 19:15 lead, which played a crucial role

Mikhaylichenko in good shape

Last autumn, Elena Mikaylichenko enjoyed a bright debut in the continental top flight until a severe injury sidelined her for the majority of the remainder of the season.

But with the 20-year-old now in good shape again, Mikhaylichenko proved against Vipers why she is seen as the next big thing in Russian handball. In the absence of the injured Ana Gros and Polina Vedekhina, the young left back scored 10 goals and played a key role in CSKA's win.