Montpellier HB kept their winning streak in EHF Champions League Men group A going in round 9 on Wednesday, but had to overcome fierce resistance from HC PPD Zagreb: 24:23.
The French side's longest winning run lasted for eight matches, from the 2016/17 season.
GROUP A
Montpellier HB (FRA) vs HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) 24:23 (14:12)
- Montpellier won just like in Croatia (25:22), but Zagreb pushed them hard throughout the match
- the biggest gap in the first half was four goals at 11:7, but thanks to the goals of youngster Davor Cavar, the visitors reduced the gap at the half-time buzzer
- two goals from wing Hugo Descat paved the way for the first and only five-goal advance for Montpellier to stretch their lead to 20:15
- Zagreb continued to compete and closed to 22:21, but they couldn’t avoid the defeat - their fifth in a row against Montpellier
- Montpellier’s 22-year-old Karl Wallinius led scoring with five
The team is the star at Montpellier
Seven victories in a row, first place in their group - what makes Montpellier so strong this season?
Of course, coach Patrice Canayer’s 27 seasons’ worth of experience has helped the French club to two Champions League trophies, but on court, this group of young guys are a unit. Already 10 players had their name on the score sheet for Montpellier at half-time, a proof for the depth of the squad.
Both games against Zagreb have been defensive games, and in both matches Zagreb have posed us problems. Even when we were winning by five goals they stayed in the match. Overall I am very satisfied with this win in what was an intense encounter.
