In May, both sides were part of the inaugural Men’s EHF Finals in Mannheim and both were beaten by SC Magdeburg. Wisla Plock in the semi-finals, Fuchse Berlin in the final.

Now, both previously unbeaten sides in the European League Men this season, clashed in the top duel of Round 3 and Berlin kept their clean record after three rounds to remain on top, while Plock were defeated for the first time in the group phase.

The main reasons for the result were Berlin’s defence and goalkeeping (12 saves from Dejan Milosavljev), a strong 15 final minutes and eight goals from Dane, Jacob Holm.

GROUP A

Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs. Füchse Berlin (GER) 24:28 (14:15)

• After two Bundesliga defeats against Flensburg and Magdeburg, Berlin turned the tide on international ground to remain on top of the group after winning their first-ever duel with Plock
• Füchse hit by injuries; three right backs missing (Fabian Wiede, Marko Kopljar, Nils Lichtlein)
• Defensive stars Viran Morros and Paul Drux could not travel to Poland, the German side played many youngsters from their youth programme
• The biggest gap before half-time was two goals, Plock ahead (13:11, 14:12) but still, Berlin led 15:14 at the break
  After Jacob Holm’s sixth strike (22:20, 49th minute), Berlin were ahead by two goals for the first time
• In the final stages Berlin pulled ahead easily for a decisive 25:21 score, backed by goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev

Goal record and defeat for Abel Serdio

When you talk about the Spanish at Wisla Plock, mostly it is about coach Javier Sabate, experienced playmaker Niko Mindegia or right back David Fernandez. But there is another Spaniard, one who made it into the spotlight on Tuesday night, despite the defeat: line player Abel Serdio.

Last season, the powerful fighter scored 36 goals for Plock, this season it was already 15 - but his seven strikes from seven attempts against Füchse were his personal high score in the group phase.