Icelander Gisli Kristjansson took the 2022/23 title winners back to Cologne with a buzzer-beating goal, while One Veszprém HC missed the EHF FINAL4 for the third straight time.
The top scorers in the true thriller were Felix Claar with seven goals for Magdeburg and Ludovic Fabregas for Veszprém. Nedim Remili, who netted six times for the Hungarian side, was awarded Player of the Match.
Magdeburg, who joined Füchse Berlin and HBC Nantes in the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2025 line-up with the victory, now wait to learn their opponents through the semi-final draw on Friday 2 May at 14:00 CEST.
QUARTER-FINALS, SECOND LEG
MOTW: One Veszprém HC (HUN) vs SC Magdeburg (GER) 27:28 (13:13)
Magdeburg win 54:53 on aggregate
- like in the first leg, SC Magdeburg took their first lead three minutes before the end — but in contrast to the draw last week, they stayed ahead at the final buzzer
- thanks to a strong goalkeeper performance from Rodrigo Corrales and unstoppable line player Fabregas, Veszprém started much stronger and took a four-goal advantage at 10:6
- with a goalkeeper change from Sergey Hernandez to Nikola Portner, Magdeburg strengthened their defence and managed to score some easy goals to level the result with a 4:0 run
- after the equal half-time score, Remili took the responsibility for the hosts; his impact intermediately provided Veszprém with several three-goal advantages
- like in the first leg, Magdeburg struck back — right when it seemed the hosts were on track for a win, a 5:0 run from 22:26 to 27:26 turned the momentum of the match, and Kristjansson ultimately netted the winning goal
Magdeburg: Experts of thrillers
Two years ago, SC Magdeburg were shaken by Wisla Plock in the quarter-finals, but made it to Cologne for the first time and raised the trophy. Last season, coach Bennet Wiegert’s team needed a penalty shootout against Kielce to book their ticket to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4. And in 2025, Veszprém seemed out of reach of the two-time EHF Champions League winners several times.
In the first leg, Magdeburg were hit hard by an early injury to top scorer Matthias Musche, who tore his Achilles tendon. It took the hosts 57 minutes until they were ahead for the first time and they secured a lucky draw. In the reverse fixture, the deal seemed to be sealed for Veszprém, when they were ahead 26:22 — but you should never write off SCM. The home side got nervous and made several mistakes. Two Swedes punished the hosts with a 5:0 run, as Claar struck four times and Albin Lagergren once. After both coaches took their final timeouts in the last 100 seconds, Agustin Casado and Luka Cindric missed Veszprém’s last chances — and Kristjansson sent SCM back to Cologne.
It was an emotional, intense battle, and I enjoyed every minute of the atmosphere that welcomed us. My respect to the Veszprém fans — it was incredible. I’m very proud that we’ve made it to Cologne again — not just of the players, but of everyone in the club, and not only because of this recent success. Right now, there are only happy people in our locker room, but I can also understand Veszprém’s situation.
The atmosphere was simply unbelievable. I’ve been playing in the Champions League for 10 years, but I’ve never experienced anything like this. The fans supported us the entire time, which makes it especially disappointing that we didn’t achieve what we aimed for. But handball can be this dramatic. I want to thank our fans and my teammates — I’m proud of them and of how we fought together.
