The Füchse Berlin surprisingly won the semi-final of the Champions League against SC Magdeburg.
- Füchse Berlin beat Magdeburg 40:35 (19:17) and are in the final of the Champions League
- The Berliners thus managed to take revenge for the defeat in the previous year’s final
- The final takes place on Sunday (6 p.m.) against Aalborg Handbold or Barcelona
In the fight for the Champions League title Foxes Berlin made it to the final. The Berliners secured a 40:35 victory against handball champions Magdeburg and were rewarded for a strong performance in Cologne’s Lanxess Arena. The Champions League title would be the first in the club’s history.
Tight initial phase
After two goalless minutes in this first Champions League semi-final, Hakun av Teigum made the start and scored to give Füchse Berlin a 1-0 lead. Shortly afterwards, colleague Max Darj received an early two-minute penalty, but the Berliners remained calm.
Both defenses were initially very good – offensively, both semi-finalists simply took turns scoring goals, which kept things close. The Füchse gained their first lead after 18 minutes with a 13:10 lead.
Play to strengths on both sides
Nicolej Krickau’s team played powerfully and cleverly exploited Magdeburg’s technical errors. The German champions, in turn, concentrated as usual on one-on-one situations – and changed their goalkeeper early on. Matej Mandic took over for Sergey Hernandez. Just under five minutes before the end, SCM coach Bennet Wiegert called his first timeout after the Berliners had recently changed their defense and played even more offensively.
Goalkeeper not decisive
Above all Lasse Anderson, who will leave the Foxes after this seasonMagdeburg really caused problems. Shortly before the end of the first half, it was Tim Freihöfer who scored Berlin’s last goal before the break: We went into halftime with a narrow 19:17 lead.
The almost 20,000 spectators in Cologne’s Lanxess Arena saw a game in which both goalkeepers were initially hardly a factor. Much more in focus: the star players Mathias Gidsel and Gisli Kristjansson.
Entertaining top game
As the second half kicked off, the game became even livelier and more intense than it already was. Wherever you looked on the field: Lasse Anderson and Mathias Gidsel were everywhere. With the score at 25:23 for the Foxes, both had already scored six goals.
Berlin played worth seeing, but their arch rivals from Magdeburg always stayed close. Particularly impressive: The level of this top game seemed to increase from minute to minute. The foxes impressed with their extremely strong throwing effectiveness and yet the SCM always stayed ahead with at least two points.
SCM comes close
Above all, the individual quality in the duels was, as so often, Magdeburg’s biggest trump card. After almost three quarters of an hour, Magdeburg managed to take the lead again after a long time (32:31). Füchse coach Krickau then called for a time out.
But the roles were only swapped briefly: the Berliners had to follow suit for a few minutes, but it didn’t take long before they got more control of the game again. With just under five minutes to go, Berlin led 36:33.
Magdeburg can’t find a way
Things were now getting really tight for the Magdeburgers – and they simply couldn’t find a solution. Berlin was able to maintain its lead and won this offensive spectacle 40:35.
The second semi-final between Aalborg Handbold and Champions League record winners FC Barcelona takes place this Saturday at 6 p.m. The final will kick off on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Broadcast: rbb UM6, June 13, 2026, 6:15 p.m
Video: rbb UM6, June 13, 2026, Torsten Michels
