Montpellier HB have picked up only one point from the last three matches, after seven victories in a row until the end of November, and on Wednesday night they lost second position in in group A to THW Kiel.
The four-time EHF Champions League winners took more than only revenge for the 30:37 defeat at Montpellier by beating their French rivals 35:26 on Wednesday. Thanks to their second victory after the EHF EURO break, Kiel are second ranked now, one point ahead of Montpellier and one point below Aalborg.
GROUP A
THW Kiel (GER) vs Montpellier HB (FRA) 35:26 (19:13)
- the win was the clearest victory for THW Kiel this season and the biggest Champions League defeat for Montpellier since the 27:37 loss to Rhein-Neckar Löwen on 7 November 2018
- THW goalkeeper Niklas Landin made the difference in the crucial minutes of the first half, and at the other end of the court, his teammates scored from all positions to take the first six-goal advance in the 25th minute (16:10). Landin ended the match with 14 saves
- the first half was a true goal-fest with 32 goals and nine THW and eight Montpellier players in the scorer list - and a fully deserved 19:13 lead for the hosts, as Montpellier’s defence was not able to stop Kiel’s shooters
- Kiel led by 10 goals in the 42nd minute when youngster Sven Ehrig scored for 27:17. The biggest gap was12 goals
- the best scorers were Hugo Descat with six goals for Montpellier and Steffen Weinhold, who scored five for Kiel
Kiel’s perfect re-start after the break
Six matches after the EHF EURO break, six victories - this is the balance of THW Kiel since 10 February. They beat Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the German cup quarter-final, had three wins in German Bundesliga and won both matches in the EHF Champions League.
Although many players were part of the EHF EURO, and despite the Covid infections of both coaches Filip Jicha and Christian Sprenger, Kiel had a dominant re-start - despite being lucky to beat Elverum 31:30 last week.
