15.03.2015, 07:00
Barcelona crush Aalborg with gigantic win

MATCH REVIEW: A next-to-perfect performance against Aalborg Handball puts FC Barcelona on the brink of quarter-finals qualification.

Barcelona crush Aalborg with gigantic win

A next-to-perfect performance from FC Barcelona in the first leg of their Last 16 double-header against Aalborg Handball on Sunday afternoon means the Spanish side are almost guaranteed a spot in the VELUX EHF Champions League Quarter-finals.

A huge 31:11 score against Denmark’s second best team made it clear Barcelona were the better side in Jutlander Bank Arena on Sunday.

Last 16

Aalborg Handball (DEN) vs FC Barcelona (ESP) 11:31 (5:16)

The match was decided in the first half, when it took Aalborg ten minutes and 48 seconds to score their first goal of the match thanks to right back Martin Larsen, who took the score to 1:6.

At that point, Aalborg coach Jesper Jensen had already called his first time out, but it did not help his team; and neither did his repeated attempts of playing seven against six in the attack.

Instead, this tactic enabled Barcelona keeper Moreno Perez de Vargas to score his team’s 12^th goal (12:3) from inside his six metre line.

For the rest of the match, Vargas was able to focus on keeping his save percentage above 70.

Leading by 11 goals at half-time did not mean Barcelona relaxed after the break. Even though coach Xavier Pascual gave match practice to some of his substitutes, the visitors continued in high gear and finished 20 goals ahead.

“We had almost decided the match after a quarter of an hour. Our defence and our goalkeeper did really well, and we continued that way, which is also shown by the fact that we kept Aalborg on 11 goals,” Barcelona’s Danish international Jesper Noddesbo told Danish TV.

“We were far below Barcelona’s level. Many of our players will have look inside themselves after this. Maybe we had too much respect ahead of the match,” Aalborg coach Jesper Jensen admitted.

TEXT: Peter Bruun / cg