31.03.2021, 08:45
Kiel take first win at Szeged since 2011

PLAY-OFF REVIEW: The four-time EHF Champions League winners powered past Szeged on the back of a near-faultless first half

In October 2011, THW Kiel had taken their one and only away victory at Szeged (38:26), but since then they had lost three away encounters against the Hungarian side.

On Wednesday night, in the opener of the EHF Champions League Men 2020/21 play-offs, the defending EHF Champions League champions conquered Szeged in their fortress in Hungary, winning 33:28 to take a huge step towards the quarter-finals.

PLAY-OFFS, FIRST LEG
MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN) vs THW Kiel (GER) 28:33 (13:21)

• for the fourth time in this season – after both matches against Zagreb (14:6 and 23:15) and their away match against Aalborg (17:9) – Kiel were ahead by eight goals at the break
• THW Kiel's brilliant 6:2 start forced Szeged coach Juan Carlos Pastor to take an early timeout
• Szeged’s superstar line player, Bence Banhidi, did not play much more in defence after receiving two suspensions in the opening 19 minutes 
• in the second half, Szeged reduced the gap a bit – but did not come closer than five goals behind
• while Kiel goalkeeper Niklas Landin (12 saves) showed his extra class again, two former THW players in Szeged’s squad did not have a perfect day: Joan Cañellas (two goals) and Marko Vujin (one goal)
• the winners of this duel will face either Paris Saint-Germain or RK Celje in the quarter-finals 

Sagosen and Duvnjak – a perfect match

Many doubted what THW Kiel would do with Domagoj Duvnjak and Miha Zarabec after they signed Sander Sagosen as their new playmaker, but this season has shown that all of them can combine perfectly – either by scoring or assisting.

On Wednesday at Szeged, Sagosen scored eight goals to finish as THW's top scorer, while Duvnjak bagged four goals and Zarabec netted three times. In total, this trio has scored 124 goals in the EHF Champions League Men 2020/21 season.

TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen