After nine wins in a row, the Füchse Berlin lost for the first time in the current Champions League season. On Thursday evening, the weakened German champions lost to the Norwegian team Kolstad. Mathias Gidsel was missing injured.
- Füchse Berlin lost for the first time in the current Champions League season after nine wins in a row
- World handball player Mathias Gidsel was missing injured
- The Foxes remained top of the table in Group A, but missed out on an early quarter-final place
The series is broken: The Foxes Berlin suffered their first defeat in the current competition on Thursday evening in the Handball Champions League after nine wins in a row. The reigning German champion lost to the Norwegian representative Kolstad 24:28 (12:15). The best Berlin thrower was Matthes Langhoff with seven goals.
In Group A, the Berliners remain leaders with 18 points, ahead of Aalborg (17 points). However, they missed the early quarter-finals.
Foxes prone to errors in the first half
In the absence of the ailing world handball player Mathias Gidsel, the Füchse Berlin, who were extremely weak in terms of replacement, got off to a good start in Trondheim. The home team failed in their first attack on the crossbar – and Matthes Langhoff scored 1-0 for the Berliners on the other side.
However, coach Nicolej Krickau’s team was unable to pull away and so it was Kolstad’s Magnus Søndenå who scored the equalizer (3:3). The Norwegians took the lead for the first time in the eighth minute: Simen Ulstad Lyse made it 4:3. Shortly afterwards the hosts extended their lead to 6:3.
The Foxes acted erratically in this phase and repeatedly failed in the offensive due to Kolstad keeper Andreas Palicka. With the score at 4:8 from Berlin’s perspective, Füchse coach Krickau took the first timeout of the game after just under a quarter of an hour.
The Foxes fought their way back into the game by half-time – even if they had to overcome the next loss when Lasse Andersson had to go into the dressing room injured around three minutes before the break. Lasse Ludwig made several strong saves and Langhoff shortened the score to 12:14. However, Erlend Johnsen scored the final point of the first half (15:12).
Kolstad keeps the foxes at a distance
After the break, the Füchse acted too incorrectly, so Kolstad was able to maintain their lead. But the Berliners remained stubborn and got within 18:20 with goals from Max Darj and Tobias Grøndahl a good quarter of an hour before the end.
The Foxes fought against the defeat and the end of their winning streak for a long time, but ultimately had to admit defeat to Kolstad 24:28.
Broadcast: rbb|24, December 4th, 2025, 8:48 p.m
