Away tests for Sporting and Berlin; Magdeburg fight for top spot
Round 3 of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2025/26 brings high-octane duels on Wednesday 24 September and Thursday 25 September, as teams are still on the hunt for points.
I was surprised by the way Sporting entered the competition last season. It is different to play in the Champions League where you meet a lot of strength and psychical opponents, and I think they really found a way to come across in their own way with their speed and two brothers who play very well.
Aalborg are one of the great teams in Europe, with a lot of individual and collective quality. We expect a game of enormous intensity, in which the details will be decisive. We have to be solid defensively, control the pace and be effective in the opportunities we create. Only then will we be able to challenge for victory in Denmark.
Veszprém are a great team that have high quality and a lot of experience. It's going to be a difficult match, but we are playing at home with our fans. This can help us in our attempt to win the game. We are aware of the last game and we really want to improve our image and to demonstrate what is the true value of Dinamo.
For us, it will be a difficult match, as it always is in the Champions League when you play away. Of course, such a game is never easy, and I know what it’s like to play in Bucharest. It will be a hellish experience for us. It’s a small arena with a fantastic, intense atmosphere. Every opponent who goes there will suffer if they want to win.
I am expecting a tough away match against Nantes. Last season, our worst result was in his exact game, and we hope to change that in this week's match.
The loss in Lisbon hurt us, it even made us angry. On Thursday, we expect a match of similar intensity. Füchse plays fast, plays combination handball, and also excels in one-on-one situations. Every position is filled with excellent players. Füchse knows how to play against aggressive opponents. We need to stay focused, and that’s exactly what we lacked in Lisbon.
We will certainly face challenges with the ball against their offensive and flexible defence. It will be more hard work than technique. We can take a little more confidence with us and we know that when we get into the flow, we have a good chance. Kielce look better, with more sharpness and accuracy in their play, than last season.
We’re really looking forward to playing in what will be a fun and intense atmosphere. We have a lot of respect for Pelister, who have made a great start to their Champions League campaign. But we also believe we’ve got some strengths that can cause them problems.
Every home match in the Champions League group phase is extremely important. Our goal is to finish as high as possible in the main round. The win against GOG gave us enough strength to win against the great French team.
I know Hungarian arenas well. Szeged is loud and demanding. They had a good Champions League last year, so we expect high intensity. But we believe in our togetherness and we won here last season, so we are confident that if we control the tempo and keep our standards for 60 minutes, we give ourselves a real chance.
We are facing the current Champions League winners, who recently won in Barcelona and are now considered to be a team with enormous potential, these days the best in Europe. We know very well how difficult the challenge ahead of us is, but we have the same number of points as Magdeburg. We are going there with the belief that we can surprise them and fight for the lead in the group.
A challenging task awaits us. Two teams are facing each other that both started the Champions League without losing a game and have already earned big points. Sabaté has been working with this team for years, and you can see that in the versatility of their game and in their stability. This is an international top team and a club which has the opportunity to reach the FINAL4 and win the title. We know what's before us, but we want to continue our series and take the points home.
