After taking the lead in the Handball Bundesliga (HBL), the Füchse Berlin suffered a setback on the international stage.
Coach Jaron Siewert’s team lost in the European League against Sporting Lisbon in their own stadium after a weak second half with 31:32 (19:13) and now has to worry about a direct place in the quarter-finals.
Martim Costa ended the Foxes’ streak of 15 games without defeat with his twelfth goal ten seconds before the final siren. On the host side, Danish top star Mathias Gidsel (eight) hit the goal most often. Sporting took over the lead in the main round group IV from the Berliners, who were now tied on points.
In contrast, SG Flensburg-Handewitt celebrated an important success with a clear 36:26 (14:13) against the Serbian representative Vojvodina Novi Sad and consolidated their lead in Group III. August Baskar Pedersen was the North Germans’ best thrower with eight goals.
Meanwhile, the Rhein-Neckar Lions around national player Juri Knorr (four goals) ended their series of seven defeats in a row with 27:26 (11:13) in a duel with league rivals TSV Hannover-Burgdorf. David More, just 19 years old, stood out for the Lions with eight goals. In the table, the German teams are in second place (Hannover) and third place (Löwen), two points behind leaders HBC Nantes.
Only the first in each of the four groups of four advances directly to the round of the last eight. The teams in second and third place qualify for the play-offs, in which the other quarter-finalists are determined.