The Bundesliga quartet around defending champions SG Flensburg-Handewitt started the Handball European League with victories.
League leaders Flensburg beat Saint-Raphael Var HB from France 32:20 (16:15) three days after their championship win against THW Kiel (36:34). Lasse Kjaer Möller and Emil Jakobsen each scored six times.
Record champions Kiel won 30:28 (16:9) at Montpellier HB after an outstanding first half and a small drop in performance after the break.
Veron Nacinovic (6 hits) was Kiel’s best thrower. MT Melsungen beat Benfica Lisbon 28:26 (14:12), eleven Hesse players scored. The Danish backcourt player Mads Kjeldgaard Andersen led TSV Hannover-Burgdorf to a 31:29 (15:11) win against his former club Fredericia with nine goals.
The Final Four in the “small” European Cup will take place again in Hamburg on May 30th and 31st. Defending champions are SG Flensburg-Handewitt, which starts the season on Tuesday evening against Saint-Raphael Var HB.