Dream debut for Gloria, Györ survive scare and win MOTW

• CS Gloria 2018 had a dream debut at home in Europe's top-flight competition, winning against CSM Bucuresti 30:26, while their biggest lead in the game was by seven
  
  
• the MVP of the EHF Finals, Gloria 2018 BN's goalkeeper Renata De Arruda capped off her best performance, closing the day with 15 saves at 42 per cent save efficiency
  
  
• for the second time in five years, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria opened their EHF Champions League Women campaign with a win, beating Nykøbing Falster Håndbold after a six-goal outing by newcomer Daria Dimitrieva and Katrin Klujber
  
  
• Györi Audi ETO KC won the rematch of last season’s semi-final, winning the first Match of the Week of the season with the help of Dione Housheer's 11 goals and Sandra Toft's 12 saves
  
  
• the Player of the Match award went to the hands of Esbjerg's Henny Reisted - centre back netted 15 goals out of 17 attempts and added five more assists
  
  
• for the first time in the past three seasons, Brest Bretagne won their maiden match with the help of Clarisse Mairot and former Viper Kristiansand player Anna Vyakhireva
  
  
• Krim Mercator won a thriller game in Koprivnica after Podravka Vegeta missed their chance in the closing minutes

Group A

CS Gloria 2018 BN (ROU) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 30:26 (16:13)

CS Gloria 2018 BN made their dream come true and with the help of their fans, defeated CSM Bucuresti just a little over two weeks after losing the Romanian Super Cup to the same opponent. CSM were off to a good start, leading for 14 minutes. However, Gloria's goalkeeper Renata De Arruda intervened and boosted her side to a 3-0 goal run, giving them the first lead in the game. From that point on, it was a cat-and-mouse game with Gloria being the dominant side all the way to the end. Only Elizabeth Omoregie (nine goals), Emilie Arntzen (five goals) and Cristina Neagu (four goals) were up for the task, as CSM struggled in the attack. On the other side, Asuka Fujita, Valeriia Kirdiasheva and Seynabou Mbengue all scored six times for their team.

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN) 31:22 (15:14)

After a six-year hiatus, Nykøbing returned to the EHF Champions League Women and showed good fighting spirit, but they could keep up with FTC for only 30 minutes. With a good defensive display, the Danish side were in the lead for most of the first half, but when FTC equalised in the 26th minute it was all over. As the second half commenced, FTC spurred a 4-0 goal run and set a decisive 19:14 lead with the help of Katrin Klujber. They imposed their rhythm which Nykøbing had trouble following. Hasty attacks led to mistakes on Nykøbing's side, but still right back Alberte Madsen managed to net six out of eight attempts.

HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) vs Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) 23:24 (9:12)

Podravka Vegeta and Krim Mercator Ljubljana are well-known rivals and you could feel it throughout the game. Both sides know each other, and even though Krim had 12:9 at halftime and further extended it to a four-goal lead, Podravka narrowed down the gap to one after strengthening their defence. It turned out to be a goal for a goal game, both teams had their say and a lead, but Podravka's mistakes in clutch time, by missing two important penalties, secured Krim's eighth overall victory against Croatian champions. While Grace Zaadi and Tamara Mavsar led Krim with five goals each, Katarina Pandza was Podravka's first name with seven goals.

Group B

MOTW: Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 28:26 (16:12)

Team Esbjerg never won against Györ in their previous seven encounters and the Hungarian side made sure that remained the same. Esbjerg had a good opening with the 2022/23 competition top scorer Henny Reisted netting six out of Esbjerg's seven goals. However, reigning champions were inspired by Sandra Toft's nine saves at 45 per cent save efficiency in the first half and propelled to a 16:12 lead. The same later extended to 24:19 and it seemed like the Hungarian side would score an easy win. Esbjerg's new coach Tomas Axnér tried to shake things up and succeeded. His team came from an eight-goal trail to first a three-goal game, ten minutes before the final buzzer, then to being down by one with Reisted still leading the team. New Györ's goalkeeper Hatadou Sako saved the day when she stopped Reisted scoring from seven metres two minutes before the end and Bruna De Paula sealed a 28:26 win.

Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) 30:27 (13:10)

The last time Brest Bretagne won the opening match of the EHF Champions League Women was in the 2020/21 season, and more over, the 2022/23 season, started with a 24:31 loss against Vipers Kristiansand. Now, they got their revenge for the perfect start of new coach Raphaëlle Tervel. Former Vipers' player Anna Vyakhireva, who netted four times, and five goals of Clarisee Mairot helped Brest in that cause. The Norwegian team had a lead only once, at 2:1, but still, they managed to level later on in the game and never let Brest to rest. It was Annike Lott who gave new momentum to the French team as she scored three in a row to secure a victory with goalkeeper Floriane André saving some important shots.