Györ claim first Match of the Week in 2025, Metz remain unbeaten

• Ludwigsburg fell short of avenging their 31:36 defeat in round 6 as Esbjerg's impressive second-half performance secured a dramatic draw, still their back court players performed good with centre back Mareike Thomaier leading with five goals
• Esbjerg’s Anna Kristensen, the MVP of the EHF EURO 2024, showcased her skills, especially in the second half with 12 saves at 54,54 per cent to fuel the comeback, Henny Reistad overall contributed 11 goals despite Ludwigsburg's best defensive efforts to stop her
  
  
• Metz beat CSM for the second time this season and reclaimed their top position in group A; this is fourth defeat in a row for CSM
  
  
• right wing Andrea Aagot's 12 goals were not enough for Odense to beat Györ in the Match of the Week for the second time, and had to accept their first defeat in five games
  
  
• this was Györ's tenth win against Odense in the EHF Champions League Women with former Odense' player Dione Housheer leading the attack with eight goals
  
  
• centre back Estelle Nze Minko received the Player of the Match award, after netting six times for Györ in their seventh win of the season

GROUP A

Metz Handball (FRA) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 27:24 (13:12)

Once again, Metz and CSM delivered a tense battle, but Metz rose to the occasion in the closing stage of the game. CSM started off good with Metz not having a lead until Anne Mette Hansen netted for 8:7. From then on, they were holding onto the minimal lead while CSM were trying to shift the momentum with Cristina Neagu making the difference for her side even though it was not enough. The all-time top scorer of the EHF Champions League added another six goals to her remarkable tally, now at 1,174 goals. In the final ten minutes, Hungarian international Zsófi Szemerey came up clutch for Metz, making eighth saves that stopped CSM and secured a three-goal win to remain at the top of the group.

GROUP B

MOTW: Odense Håndbold (DEN) vs Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) 32:34 (15:18)

Györi Audi ETO KC threw off the 2025 in the European competition in the best way— winning away against Odense, avenging their earlier, and only defeat, to Odense and maintaining their dominant form. It was a promising start by Odense, but when Györ took over the lead ten minutes in, it was a cat-and-mouse game with the Hungarian side holding the advantage. Andrea Aagot and Kari Brattset Dale were pulling the strings for Odense and Györ respectively, as both sides did not have their attacking efficiency at the highest.

Changes came with the second half. Odense upping the tempo and Gyor's defence struggling resulted with teams being in a deadlock (23:23) as the clock hit the 40th minute. But it seemed like the Danish side wanted too much, too soon, as their technical errors soon saw them down by four. It was a decisive moment of the game, adding Hatadou Sako's seven-metre penalty save in the 55th minute. Odense tried to shake things up late in the game with seven-against-six play but could only soothe the defeat, keeping in mind the goal difference.

Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs HB Ludwigsburg (GER) 30:30 (12:20)

Esbjerg mounted a comeback, setting a new record for the biggest deficit overcome after losing the first half to draw a match. The Danish side could not find their form early on, with only Henny Reistad keeping the team in the game. Their two-minute exclusions and thus playing without a goalkeeper left Esbjerg vulnerable. And saw Ludwigsburg scoring easy goals that built them an eight-goal margin by half-time, led by wing player Dorottya Faluvégi. It was a completely new game in the second half — Anna Kristensen's saves pushed Esbjerg to narrow the gap, setting 19:22 after ten minutes. Henny Reistad and her teammates kept pouncing and levelling the game three minutes before the buzzer. Ludwigburg had a chance to win, but their last attempt was once again stopped by Kristensen.