Group leaders Györ and Esbjerg start 2024 with home wins

• Györi Audi ETO KC, who are the only team with a perfect record in the competition, extended their winning streak to nine matches, defeating IK Sävehof 39:20
• Team Esbjerg now have seven straight victories under their belt, and they've managed to make another step towards the quarter-finals, beating MKS Zaglebie Lubin 32:26
• both Sävehof and Lubin failed to take their first points in the tournament, as they continue to sit on the bottom of their groups
• Kristine Breistøl scored Esbjerg's 2,500th goal in the EHF Champions League in the 13th minute of the match against Lubin (the Danish team now has 2,525 goals)
• Brest Bretagne Handball took their 40th win in the continental top flight, beating DVSC Schaeffler 38:28
• Jovanka Radicevic's last-second goal secured Krim Mercator Ljubljana a narrow 25:24 win against CS Rapid Bucuresti

GROUP A

Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs IK Sävehof 39:20 (19:7)

Györ opened their season with a nine-match winning streak for the third time in the history, as their defence - the best in the competition so far, allowed only 20 goals against Sävehof. With nine wins in a row, Györ remain the only unbeaten team and the only side with a perfect record, as all their outfield players all scored at least one goal, while goalkeeper Silje Solberg-Oesthassel had a magnificent first half with 13 saves stopping 65 per cent of shots heading her way. On the other hand, Sävehof conceded 39 goals and their opponents had a 78 per cent shooting efficiency, with the second-best goalkeeper in terms of saves, Johanna Bundsen, finishing the match without a single save.

Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs DVSC Schaeffler (HUN) 38:28 (19:14)

Brest finally took their first home win in the EHF Champions League Women this season, beating DVSC Schaeffler by 10 goals. The teams were tied in the standings with seven points each before the match, but the difference between them on the court was quite evident. Brest somewhat struggled early in the game, but managed to take control of it soon establishing a five-goal lead already at the half. The French team did well in attack, scoring from all angles. Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa, Valeria Maslova and Paulina Coatanea were on fire, combining for 22 of 38 Brest's goals in the game. After the break, this lethal trio continued to push the hosts to a comfortable and well-deserved victory, as Schaeffler failed to find any solutions.

GROUP B

Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs MKS Zaglebie Lubin 32:26 (19:11)

Dealing Lubin their ninth loss in a row, Esbjerg sealed their eighth win in a row in the EHF Champions League Women and their 19th win in a row in all competitions, consolidating their position on top of Group B. Once again, Lubin, who have conceded the largest number of goals this season in the European top competition with 317 – or 35.2 on average, proved to be unable to stop Esbjerg. Left back Kristine Breistøl scored four goals, becoming the top goal-scorer of the season with a 54-goal tally. In the second half however, Zaglebie delivered their best performance in the competition so far, in the end celebrating 15:13 in the second half.

Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) vs CS Rapid Bucuresti (ROU) 25:24 (11:12)

The opponents were levelled having seven points each before the clash, and their game proved to be by far the most exciting one in the Saturday programme of the EHF Champions League Women. Each side could have snatched a win today, but it was Krim who earned two points as Jovanka Radicevic scored the winner in the last second. Actually, it was only the Slovenian team's second lead in the game, after they were up 2:1 in the opening minutes. Rapid had a slight advantage for the biggest part of the encounter, but they were unable to pull away by more than two goals. Two minutes from full-time, Romanians were still in front 24:23, but Itana Grbic equalized, while Radicevic in the end secured her team an important victory.