04.02.2021, 10:50
Barça conquer Veszprém’s fortress again

GROUP B REVIEW: Ten Gómez goals and 16 saves by Perez de Vargas pave the way for the ninth group phase victory

Barça restarted the EHF Champions League Men season as they had ended it before the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020 - victorious. Winning another goal-fest in Veszprém, the Catalan club remain the only team in the current season with a clear record of nine victories in nine matches.

Veszprém were defeated for the second time in this season - and both defeats occurred on home ground.

GROUP B
Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs Barça (ESP) 34:37 (15:19)

• Barça led 16:10 with 23 minutes played, but after the break, Veszprém closed the gap
• the hosts led only once – at 1:0 – but levelled the match at 31:31 and again at 32:32 inside the last 10 minutes, before Barça forged ahead decisively
• wing Aleix Gómez scored 10 goals for the victors, while former Veszprém player Aron Palmarsson was strong in the first half, netting a total of five goals
• this was Barça’s 15th victory in 22 matches against the four-time EHF Champions League finalists
• with 18 points, Barça now lead Veszprém by five points and have a much better goal difference (+70/+43)

Perez de Vargas wins Spanish goalkeeper battle

On Sunday, the had celebrated their bronze medal at the World Championship in Egypt together, on Thursday night they were opponents.

The Spaniards Gonzalo Perez de Vargas and Rodrigo Corrales were the strongest goalkeeper duo in Egypt - but in the EHF Champions League duel the final outcome was completely different. Perez de Vargas was a key for Barça’s success with 16 saves, while Corrales was replaced by Serb Vladimir Cupara after only three saves from 16 shots. 

TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen