Live blog: Kiel win VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020

TUESDAY 29 DECEMBER

23:10 | KIEL ARE THE CHAMPIONS

So Kiel are the Christmas EHF Champions League champions, in what is perhaps a surprising end to a unique year. Along with the rest of the 2020/21 participants they are in with another chance of lifting a trophy - the new-look EHF Champions League trophy - next year. 

Thanks for your support of all the teams and we hope you enjoyed every moment as much as we did!

22:43 | PEKELER IS MVP

Kiel's Hendrik Pekeler is named MVP of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020. The line player scored five goals today but was also integral to Kiel's defence both today and yesterday. Well deserved!

22:10 | FULL-TIME THW KIEL 33:28 BARÇA

Kiel celebrate a superb win. It's the first loss for Barça in 23 EHF Champions League matches, and what a time to lose.

Filip Jicha becomes the third person to win the EHF Champions League as both a player and a coach, a decade after he won the first ever VELUX EHF FINAL4 with Kiel against Barça.

22:03 | TIME RUNNING OUT

Aleix Gómez's latest attempt at scoring a penalty hits the crossbar, and Kiel stay three in front. Nevertheless Gómez has played a key role in trying to get Barça back into this.

21:58 | KIEL LEAD BY THREE

Patrick Wiencek makes a high tackle on Luka Cindric and receives a two-minute suspension; Aleix Gómez gets the penalty past Niklas Landin. 

21:52 | GÓMEZ CLOSES 

Aleix Gómez capitalises, twice, on mistakes from Rune Dahmke and Miha Zarabec. They drop the ball and Gómez makes short work of the goals to get it back to 26:23. Steffen Weinhold gives Kiel a small cushion but now it's Barça back with the momentum. 

Xavi Pascual calls a time-out; Filip Jicha tells his team to stay cool.

Now it's Barça's turn to play seven-on-six.

21:48 | KIEL HOLD FIVE-GOAL LEAD

Niklas Landin is performing brilliantly and Kiel are holding a five-goal lead at 26:21 with 12 minutes to go. Ten years ago Kiel produced an eight-goal turnaround in the last quarter to win, but this time they just need to hold on to the lead they already have.

21:39 | CAN BARÇA FIGHT BACK?

Barça closed to two goals again, but once more Kiel have brought it back and it's 23:20 - despite some good saves by Gonzalo Perez de Vargas. Kiel are playing seven-on-six and it's working at the moment.

21:30 | KIEL HOLD LEAD

Kiel have extended to a four-goal lead after Sander Sagosen's fifth goal. There's no sign that Barça have found something new in the break, or that Kiel have lost their momentum. 

21:05 | BARÇA EQUALISE

Dika Mem forces his way through the Kiel defence and it's 15:15. Credit to Barça for stubbornly getting back into the game - this one looks like it's going to be a real fight throughout.

21:00 | KIEL STILL LEAD

Aleix Gómez steals the ball and nets off the resulting fast break, and it's 13:12, before a penalty sees Ekberg make it 14:12 again - then Gómez brings it back to 14:13! Barça are on the attack.

20:55 | EKBERG SHINES

Niclas Ekberg played well yesterday and he's picked up where he left off with four goals so far. Another four by Sander Sagosen and Kiel lead 12:9 after nearly 18 minutes.

20:52 | FIRST TIME-OUT

Kiel lead 10:8 and Xavi Pascual is giving his team a talking-to, pointing out that Sander Sagosen is vulnerable as he's already had two two-minute suspensions. 

20:44 | KIEL IN LEAD

Kiel took a two-goal lead after Kevin Møller saved a shot by Hendrik Pekeler, only for Rune Dahmke to grab the rebound and score. Ludovic Fabregas made it 6:5 but Sander Sagosen then adds one of his trademark bullets to extend the lead at 7:5.

20:38 | 3:3 AFTER FIVE MINUTES

The pace has begun to pick up and it's all square at 3:3. Sander Sagosen and Dika Mem are both serving two-minute penalties.

20:35 | THROW OFF!

Barça receive an early penalty and Jure Dolenec comes on to take it, but misses - no goals so far.

20:20 | 10 MINUTES TO GO

Just 10 minutes to go before throw off. 

As well as the history between the two sides, it's worth noting that referees Matija Gubica and Boris Milosevic of Croatia become the first pair to whistle both a VELUX EHF FINAL4 semi-final and final, after taking on the first semi-final at short notice due to a positive Covid-19 test for the original pair. 

It's also worth noting that Jure Dolenec comes in tonight for Barça, in place of Domen Makuc who played yesterday.

19:30 | FULL-TIME TELEKOM VESZPRÉM 26:31 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HB

The match ends in a slightly lacklustre way as the teams both run out of energy. PSG take third place and Veszprém go home in fourth. 

19:25 | A GOOD DAY FOR PRANDI

The 22-year-old left back Elohim Prandi wasn't used much yesterday, but has played most of today's match and is currently PSG's top scorer with six goals from six attempts. He joined the club from USAM Nimes Gard this year and is definitely making his mark in this game.

PSG lead 28:24 with three minutes left.

19:15 | PARIS IN CONTROL

Veszprém got back to two goals but Paris held their nerve and are five goals up. David Davis has taken Rodrigo Corrales off and put Vladimir Cupara on in goal. He calls a time-out and tells his team they cannot lose any more easy goals.

19:08 | VESZPRÉM EDGE BACK

A bit of luck for Veszprém as a suspension for Dylan Nahi gives them a power play period, and Mate Lekai briefly closes the gap back to 17:20 before Elohim Prandi, having a great day, makes it 17:21 again. Now Dainis Kristopans is handed a suspension for a foul and Lekai brings it back to 18:21. 

Here's an earlier fast break from Lekai that defies logic.

19:04 | PSG EXTEND LEAD

PSG have extended their lead to four goals. Veszprém are looking a little fatigued and although they're still producing some good play PSG just have a bit more energy. It's 19:15 with 20 minutes to go.

18:53 | GENTY DOUBLE SAVE

Yann Genty produced a simply brilliant double save against a Kentin Mahé penalty shot just before the buzzer.

18:30 | PARIS NOW LEAD

With just over 23 minutes gone PSG lead 10:9. David Davis called a time-out after Paris took the lead, and it has helped Veszprém halt their opponents from stretching further ahead.

18:22 | PSG EQUALISE

Elohim Prandi equalises with a lovely goal after a period in which PSG have had the upper hand. A few passes have gone wrong for Veszprém and a few shots high or saved by Yann Genty, who is proving why Raul Gonzalez put him on court for this game.

18:18 | VESZPRÉM LEAD

Despite a couple of two-minute suspensions for Veszprém, giving Paris opportunities for power play, Veszprém still lead by three goals. It's now 6:3 and each of Veszprém's six goals have been scored by a different player!

18:10 | PSG FINALLY ON THE BOARD

It's taken PSG six minutes but they have finally scored, thanks to Nedim Remili. Veszprém lead 3:1 in what is a slow match so far.

18:05 | VESZPRÉM FIRST TO SCORE

Rogerio Moraes is the first to score, in a slow fast break. PSG have put Yann Genty in goal, after Vincent Gerard played the entire match yesterday, and Genty saved the first two shots by Veszprém. Meanwhile PSG have not had a great deal of possession so far.

17:25 | NOT LONG NOW

PSG and Veszprém have arrived at the LANXESS Arena ahead of the placement match. Make sure you're following us on Instagram as our story will be constantly updated tonight with video clips and more!

17:04 | TEAMS PREPARE

Less than an hour to go before the placement match throws off. Meanwhile, earlier today Barça posted a video of their 'activation' session to prepare their legs for the big match ahead.

16:40 | WHERE THE SHOTS WENT IN

We've used tracking technology to have a look at the teams' shooting last night. 

Barça made 56 attempts at goal, scoring 37 (66 per cent), including three out of five penalty shots. They were most successful from the centre and their wing accuracy was poor with neither of the two shots attempted from the left-hand corner going in, and only one from the right wing. 

PSG had more success from the wings, particularly on the right, and more success generally from the right of the court. Overall they netted 32 out of 52 shots (62 per cent), but their efficiency dropped off from 72 per cent in the first half to just 52 per cent in the second.

Kiel struggled from the left of the court too, although were better right on the wing and closer to the net. Of the four teams they made the most attempts at goal, shooting 58 times and netting 36 of them (62 per cent), although their second-half accuracy was down at just 48 per cent as Veszprém came back into the match.

Veszprém scored 35 goals from 49 shots (71 per cent) and achieved an accuracy of 80 per cent in the second half of full time. Their accuracy was pretty good from all around the court, although like the other teams, better on the right than the left.

15:45 | KIEL VS VESZPRÉM HIGHLIGHTS

What a match this was last night - both teams holding comfortable leads, and both losing them. Enjoy the highlights of the second semi-final here.

15:10 | RELIVE YESTERDAY

Get in the mood for tonight's matches with the highlights of yesterday's games! First up, here's Barça vs PSG.

13:30 | SQUADS ANNOUNCED

Here are the squads for tonight's matches. Both Patrick Wiencek and Petar Nenadic are able to play after receiving red cards last night.

11:00 | FINALS DAY DAWNS

It's VELUX EHF FINAL4 finals day in Cologne and the four teams are preparing to send the 2019/20 season off with a bang. PSG and Veszprém will provide the starter at 18:00 CET as they play for third place, and PSG know they have never left Cologne after losing both their matches. 

At 20:30 CET it's the final, a repeat of both 2000 and 2010. Barça won in 2000 and Kiel in 2010 in the first edition of the VELUX EHF FINAL4, and it seems appropriate that these two clubs will meet again as we bid farewell to the famous arm trophy. Check out the match previews.

MONDAY 28 DECEMBER

23:50 | SEE YOU TOMORROW

That's all for tonight - check out the match reviews and the amazing photos from the evening, and be back tomorrow for the placement match at 18:00 CET and of course the VELUX EHF FINAL4 final between Barça and THW Kiel at 20:30! 

23:40 | WATCH THE WINNING GOAL

Here's the key goal that won it for Kiel - stunning stuff from Niclas Ekberg under pressure.

22:25 | FULL-TIME THW KIEL 36:35 TELEKOM VESZPRÉM HC

Niclas Ekberg scores with 40 seconds left and then Kiel's defence holds strong to deny Veszprém the win. Petar Nenadic is awarded a penalty on the buzzer, but it hits the Kiel wall and they go through to the final, for a repeat of the 2010 VELUX EHF FINAL4 final against Barça.

22:16 | VESZPRÉM LEAD IN EXTRA TIME

After the first five minutes, Veszprém lead 34:32. Patrick Wiencek was given a red card after getting his foot in the way of Gasper Marguc's shot, and Veszprém now have a distinct advantage with five minutes left.

22:05 | EXTRA TIME

We're into extra time. Who would have thought this at the end of the first half, or halfway through the second? 

There will be one extra time consisting of two five-minute periods with a one-minute break halfway for the teams to change ends.

22:00 | LEVEL AGAIN

Kiel started playing seven on six and fell victim to an empty goal. It's 29:29 ...

21:57 | SAGOSEN PUTS KIEL UP AGAIN 

Unbelievably, Sander Sagosen puts Kiel ahead at 29:28 with four minutes to go. 

21:53 | KIEL FIGHT BACK

Two empty goals by Domagoj Duvnjak and Kiel are back to a one-goal deficit from being four goals down! There's still seven minutes to go and this could really go either way.

21:46 | VESZPRÉM TAKE THE LEAD

Vuko Borozan equalises and Gasper Marguc takes the lead at 25:24 with 13 minutes left. Veszprém are in control right now, with Rodrigo Corrales saving most of the shots coming his way and Niklas Landin watching balls fly past him.

21:38 | VESZPRÉM CLOSE UP

Suddenly a few mistakes by Kiel as their lack of depth starts to show, and Mate Lekai brings the deficit back to just two goals at 22:20. 

21:35 | SECOND HALF UNDERWAY

Filip Jicha is rotating his bench as much as possible; as Sander Sagosen already having served two suspensions he's being brought on for attack at the moment. Veszprém have so far failed to make a dent in Kiel's lead.

21:02 | SAGOSEN!

Here's a Sander Sagosen classic - long-range and fast.

20:58 | KIEL HAVE FIVE-GOAL LEAD

It's all going Kiel's way right now. The Veszprém defence can't stand up to the Kiel attack, and with Niclas Ekberg and Sander Sagosen in good form Kiel are flying, leading 15:10 after 21 minutes.

20:48 | KIEL MAINTAIN LEAD

Kiel are up 9:6 and David Davis takes his first time-out. The Kiel defence is solid, blocking Veszprém's attempts at scoring, and Kiel are also showing solid teamwork in attack with six players already on the scoreboard.

20:41 | KIEL TAKE EARLY LEAD

Vuko Borozan scores Veszprém's first goal, but an empty goal takes Kiel up 3:1. Gasper Marguc and Petar Nenadic bring Veszprém level at 3:3. 

20:37 | SECOND SEMI-FINAL STARTS

After a shot and a save by both teams, it's Rune Dahmke who scores first for Kiel after nearly two minutes. It's a slowish start to the game but things will surely ramp up soon!

19:33 | FULL-TIME BARÇA 37:32 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HB

Barça are through to another VELUX EHF FINAL4 final and are looking strong - can they win yet another title? PSG played well, but not well enough to defeat the strong Spanish side.

19:27 | TIME RUNNING OUT FOR PSG

For a moment it seemed like Paris had pulled themselves back into the game, but Barça rode it out and have regained a six-goal lead, which was, briefly, a seven-goal lead. With under three minutes to go the Spaniards do seem to have wrapped this up.

19:20 | BARÇA BACK IN CONTROL?

Barça seem to be back in control now. Blaz Janc makes it 31:25 with a fast break as errors cost PSG dearly. The Barça defence and attack are both functioning well, and Paris's attempts at 7-on-6 are not working for them.

19:11 | PSG CLOSE THE GAP

Dylan Nahi is having a brilliant match, now with six goals as PSG make it 24:27. There's still 16 minutes left and Barça haven't yet won this match. Xavi Pascual has called a time-out to try and sort things out.

19:05 | KRISTOPANS + SOLE

Here's that great start to the match for PSG. Plenty of goals since; Mikkel Hansen has just scored his sixth of the game, a penalty shot, and it's 24:20.

19:00 | MATCH RESUMES

A brilliant goal from Ferran Sole opens the second half, and Vincent Gerard has made three superb saves to consolidate a good start for Paris.

18:38 | KEVIN MØLLER SHINING

Since he took to the court Kevin Møller has had a spectacular game and made a real impact, helping to keep Barça ahead.

18:33 | BARÇA IN CONTROL

A suspension for Luka Karabatic proved costly for PSG and Barça have taken complete control of the match, leading 17:13 after just over 26 minutes. 

18:31 | GERARD SAVES

Here's Vincent Gerard's earlier save - although Kevin Møller is currently the outstanding goalkeeper on the court.

18:22 | BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD

A superb fast break from Blaz Janc, followed up by Dika Mem's fourth goal of the game, gives Barça the lead for the first time at 11:10.

18:19 | 15 MINUTES DOWN

A quarter of the match down, and PSG lead 9:8. Aleix Gómez just missed what ought to have been an easy equaliser, but it bounced off Vincent Gerard's foot and went high. 

18:11 | PSG LEAD

PSG have made a great start and after seven and a half minutes lead 6:4, with Dainis Kristopans and Nedimi Remili both netting twice. The scoring was pretty even to begin with, but a fumble by Dika Mem gave PSG a chance to establish a lead.

18:04 | SEMI-FINAL 1 THROWS OFF

Here we go! Dainis Kristopans scores for PSG, quickly followed by Aron Palmarsson making a record ninth VELUX EHF FINAL4 appearance. It's 1:1 with a minute played.

Nearly 80 per cent of fans on Twitter have given this one to Barça. Will they be right?

17:25 | SAGOSEN AND DAVIS INTERVIEWS

The second semi-final features Sander Sagosen, who moved from PSG to Kiel this summer after a breakout performance at the EHF EURO 2020 that made him one of the undeniable stars of the handball world. He faces Veszprém, coached by David Davis who is hoping to bring an end to his team's run of poor luck at the EHF FINAL4.

17:00 | VESZPRÉM BUILDING THE HYPE

This video from Veszprém will definitely get you in the mood for the upcoming drama!

16:40 | HANSEN AND KRISTOPANS INTERVIEWS

Before the competition our journalists spoke to some of the players about their expectations for this year's EHF FINAL4. Paris Saint-Germain have never won the EHF Champions League, but their tall right back Dainis Kristopans has, lifting the trophy last year with Vardar. Meanwhile Danish star Mikkel Hansen has won everything else, but never the Champions League. Check out their stories below!

15:50 | TOM'S BLOG

Many of you watching at home tonight will listen to Tom Ó Brannagáin's wonderful commentary on the matches. We asked him to put together a blog about why this particular VELUX EHF FINAL4 matters so much. It's worth a read before the evening's action throws off.

15:00 | GO BEHIND THE SCENES WITH PSG

Join Paris Saint-Germain on their journey to Cologne yesterday in this great behind-the-scenes video!

14:15 | SQUADS ANNOUNCED

All four teams have named their squads for the semi-finals!

13:30 | HOW TO FOLLOW THE VELUX EHF FINAL4

There's plenty of ways to follow the action today - you've already found the blog, plus we'll have plenty of coverage on social media. Of course the matches will be shown by TV broadcasters around the world, so click here to see who's showing the competition in your country. If there's no broadcaster for where you live, head to EHFTV for online streaming!

SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER

19:30 | VELUX EHF FINAL4 TALKS - KIEL & VESZPRÉM

Hannah Jackson was joined by Kiel's Oskar Sunnefeldt and Gaspar Marguc of Veszprém ahead of their semi-finals tomorrow. She found out what it's like to be playing your first EHF FINAL4, and what it's like to be playing your fifth, regardless of this year's special circumstances, as well as why matches between the two clubs are always so exciting. Watch the video here.

Make sure you check the blog again tomorrow for more build-up ahead of throw-off at 18:00 CET.

18:50 | VELUX EHF FINAL4 TALKS - BARÇA & PSG

Barça's Gonzalo Perez de Vargas and Paris Saint-Germain's Viran Morros got together - virtually - with Face of the EHF Champions League Hannah Jackson to talk about the build-up to the VELUX EHF FINAL4, how they spent Christmas, and their expectations for tomorrow's semi-final. Don't miss their chat! 

18:15 | VIRTUAL ARENA TOUR WITH KARABATIC

Did you miss the virtual arena tour earlier with Nikola Karabatic? Click here to watch on Instagram! He tells us how his recovery from injury is going, his favourite things about the LANXESS Arena, and answers a few fan questions.

17:45 | ALL PRESENT & CORRECT

The teams are now all in Cologne and getting ready for tomorrow. Stay tuned for some special interviews on social media helping to build up the excitement - there's only 24 hours left before the VELUX EHF FINAL4 throws off!

17:10 | VESZPRÉM HAVE LANDED

Telekom Veszprém are in Cologne, flying over a short while ago from Hungary. Their photographer David Vörös sent some shots of the journey, including a stunning overhead image of the LANXESS Arena itself, home to the VELUX EHF FINAL4.

16:35 | UPCOMING: BEHIND-THE-SCENES WITH NIKOLA KARABATIC

Although PSG star Nikola Karabatic can't play the VELUX EHF FINAL4 due to an injury, we've still got him involved with the tournament. At 17:00 CET Karabatic, who is an ambassador for Gorenje, will be live with Face of the EHF Champions League Markus Floth on Instagram for a special behind-the-scenes virtual arena tour, and we want your questions for him. So head on over to our Instagram story and ask away!

15:35 | WELCOME TO COLOGNE!

Barça have landed in Cologne and it's straight on to the bus - the strict hygiene protocols for the next three days mean that they will be whisked to the hotel, where they will stay in team bubbles each with their own floor and their own training venue. They seem to be in good spirits after the journey.

15:15 | RATING THE TEAMS

Earlier this week the EHF journalists broke down the four FINAL4 teams, examining how they rate in six key areas: attack, defence, goalkeeping, their benches, experience, and the X-factor. 

Have a read through their analysis, and vote for yourself in each category to rate the best team in each area.

14:40 | KIEL > COLOGNE

13:20 | TEAMS EN ROUTE!

The teams are on their way to Cologne and later on we'll bring you the best pictures from their arrival. In the meantime, here's some that Barça took as they left Spain a little earlier on.

12:50 | SEMI-FINAL PREVIEWS

Check out the previews of tomorrow's semi-finals. Both promise to be classic clashes, with lots of history between the teams.

12:20 | WELCOME TO THE BLOG

Welcome to the live blog! Keep checking back over the next three days for plenty of insight and fun content from our website and across social media as we build up to throw off for the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020.