Summary: Advantage Montpellier after second half goalfest
22:51
We'll wrap up the blog for tonight with a great picture which I think sums up the European League beautifully. You have the world-class player doing his thing, a good scrap on the line for the incoming ball and something hilariously random going on in the background.
Thanks for joining tonight and be sure to come back next Tuesday for the second act in this quarter-final drama!
22:32
The first leg has not disappointed! Besides Magdeburg's fairly comfortable six-goal cushion, next week's clashes are delicately poised and with some of the surprises we've had in this competition this season, it is really hard to say who will be qualifying for the EHF Finals.
Which game did you enjoy most tonight?
22:21
RESULT: Montpellier HB 32:29 Füchse Berlin
Right at the buzzer, Valentin Porte nutmegs Milosavljev with an underarm shot to add a bit of shine to the final score.
Porte's eight goal of the night ends a much more entertaining second half with a score of 19:18 and a style of play that appeared to suit the home side slightly more.
All things considered, a win for Montpellier feels like a fair result and it gives them something to defend next week in Berlin!
22:10
While Dejan Milosavljev has been the clear winner of the goalkeeper battle with 13 saves, his side are trailing due to the fact that Montpellier have had 10 shots more, a real sign of how strong their defence has been and their speed in attack.
While I type, the keeper and Yannis Lenne get tangled after a shot and square up to each other. Neither man appears to have done anything particularly wrong but their altercation results in both getting a suspension. 28:26 with five minutes left to play.
22:03
Where have the defences gone? Goals, goals, goals in the last few minutes as Valentine Porte parts the Füchse defence like the Red sea to give Montpellier a 26:24 lead with just under nine minutes remaining.
21:52
Montpellier were struggling a bit in goal but the introduction of Marin Sego has had an immediate impact. He makes his first save and Melvyn Richardson scores his second goal in a row to put Montpellier back in the lead, 21:20.
21:44
As the end of the first half suggested, this game has really opened up. Nine goals in six minutes and six of them have gone to Berlin, giving them a 17:16 lead.
21:22
HALF-TIME: Montpellier 13:11 Füchse Berlin
Montpellier will be fairly satisfied with the first half and holding a lead but they know that there is more to come from their opponents.
It was a 30 minutes where defences and goalkeepers were on top and both sides will feel they could have had more joy in front of goal. After relying heavily on their wings, Füchse are starting to create chances down the middle, while Montpellier will be looking for more from their playmakers Simonet and Villeminot.
The game finally started to open up a bit towards the end of the half, giving us plenty to look forward to after the break.
21:14
As well as a hard-hitting yet composed defence, it's all happening for Montpellier on the right side of their attack with 7 of their 11 goals so far. 26 minutes played and they lead 11:8.
21:04
Big Dejan is winning the goalkeeper contest by 5 saves to 2 but his side trail at the 17-minute mark as Berlin are not finding much joy in attack. 7:5 to Montpellier!
20:55
Both sides going hard at each other in the opening 10 minutes and goals are not easy to come by, we're in for quite a physical contest today. 4:3 to Montpellier after 10 minutes thanks to Valentin Porte's second goal.
20:37
After a flurry of three games at once, we can focus all of our attention on one game at 20:45 and what a game!
We have the 2018 EHF Champions League winners Montpellier at home to Füchse Berlin, perhaps the standout team in Europe's second-tier in recent years. This is the big one and it's live on EHFTV.
20:19
RESULT: GOG 30:27 Orlen Wisla Plock
It's a decent win for the young Danes in the end but will they end up regretting it. Having led by 7 at one point, Plock turned it up a gear or two in the second half and came within one towards the end, showing just how good they can be. A really tasty second leg in store next week.
20:17
RESULT: IFK Kristianstad 28:34 SC Magdeburg
Magdeburg have one foot in the EHF Finals after a very professional performance tonight in Sweden. They controlled it from post to post and it is hard to see a way back for Kristianstad in Germany. Besides 12 goals for Magnussen, 13 saves from Jannick Green was impressive in a high-scoring encounter.
20:14
RESULT: Chekhovskie Medvedi 33:32 Rhein-Neckar Löwen
In the end, Löwen appeared the happier of the two teams as they cut a four-goal deficit to one before the final buzzer. But all credit to the home side for their comeback today and particularly Kotov with his 13 goals. Löwen will be favourites for the second leg next week but not by much.
20:06
Alexander Kotov continues to astound and he has inspired a brilliant eight-goal turnaround from Chekhov! They now lead 33:29 with 5 minutes remaining and the crowd loves it!
20:01
Kristianstad are in danger here. With 11 minutes remaining, they trail Magdeburg 30:24 and while they are scoring goals at a regular pace they simply cannot stop their Bundesliga opponents, particularly Omar Ingi Magnussen, who is now on 10 for the day.
19:53
It's wild what this guy can do with no angle on the wing!
Jakobsen hasn't had many chances in the second half but GOG are getting it done down the middle with Mathias Gidsel running the show in a two-left-hander back court, leading 22:15 after 43 minutes. In contrast, Plock are so bereft of lefties that they have a right-hander on the right wing...
19:47
And just like that, Chekhov hold a 23:22 lead! Löwen looked really comfortable in the first half but maybe the absences of Jesper Nielsen, Uwe Gensheimer and Ilja Abutovic are beginning to take its toll?
19:41
Alexander Kotov is a man on a mission. The Chekhov back court player scored three goals in four minutes at the start of this second half and brought his side within two goals of Löwen, 21:19.
19:32
There's something so satisfying about seeing a left back ping a shot like that into the top corner. Emil Lærke's two goals have contributed to GOG's impressive first half, which sees them as the only 'lower-ranked' side to lead in the matches on right now. Both they and Plock see this as a golden opportunity to break into a major final tournament and you can be certain that the Polish visitors will not take this score lying down.
19:24
HALF-TIME
Well that first half flew by. No shortage of goals in any of the matches and they're all fairly nicely poised heading into the second half.
Rhein-Neckar Löwen have hit top gear in attack with 19 goals against Chekhovskie Medvedie, yet conceded 15 despite 9 saves by Palicka.
Magdeburg are getting the job done with a 16:13 lead at the break but will be wary of Kristianstad's ability to fire up their engines in the second half, particularly at home.
GOG have the largest lead so far, with 7 goals from Emil Jakobsen the telling difference so far as they hold a 17:12 advantage over Plock.
19:15
Kristiansand need more moments like this to stand a chance tonight. At the moment, it's Ómar Ingi Magnusson in command with six goals as Magdeburg lead 14:12 with four minutes left in the half.
19:06
You've gotta appreciate a good atmosphere at times like these and that's what we're getting with Chekhov as their band plays some serious tunes during the game.
It hasn't helped them take control against Löwen, however, as Andreas Palicka has already made 7 saves and they lead 11:8 after 18 minutes.
19:01
The competition's top scorer Emil Jakobsen has already got himself five goals tonight, taking him to 104 in total and his latest, a nice spin shot, helped GOG take a 9:7 lead over Plock after 14 minutes in Denmark.
18:53
Goals galore in the across the three games. Kristianstad are the only one of the lower-seeded home teams with a lead, 6:5 over Magdeburg but all three are tight in the opening 10 minutes.
18:42
The wait is almost over. Just minutes until we begin the quarter-finals with three first leg matches. We'll keep an eye on all three and see if one or two are deserving of a closer look as they progress.
GOG vs Orlen Wisla Plock
IFK Kristianstad vs SC Magdeburg
Chekhovskie Medvedi vs Rhein-Neckar Löwen
18:25
It'll be a special night in Kristianstad for Christian O'Sullivan, who enjoyed two very successful seasons there as the Swedish club make their big European break.
The Norwegian playmaker moved to Magdeburg in 2016, where he has gone on to captain the side, still in search of European glory since they won the EHF Cup in 2007.
18:12
While many expect Rhein-Neckar Löwen to cruise through to the EHF Finals, I have a sneaking suspicion Chekovskie Medvedi will give them something to worry about.
The Russian Bears have been one of the surprise packages of this season's competition and were really impressive in their Last 16 games against Nimes. With the likes of Dmitriy Kiselev and Sergei Kosorotov in their team, I think it'll be a great clash this evening.
17:45
As mentioned earlier, GOG left wing Emil Jakobsen is leading the scoring race with 99 goals and unsurprisingly has been featured in the head-to-head for today's highly-anticipated clash against Plock.
Plock's Croatian left wing Lovro Mihic is having a great season himself, even with half the goals scored. Elsewhere on the court, Morten Olsen vs Niko Mindegia in the playmaker battle should be a tasty one.
16:45
Only two more hours now until throw-off for the first three quarter-finals, though Montpellier HB and Füchse Berlin still have to wait twice as long for the start of their contest at 20:45 CEST.
For both teams, their most recent European triumph is three years ago, as Montpellier won the Champions League and Füchse the EHF Cup in 2018, both for the second time.
This is a hard-to-predict quarter-final. The best thing you can do as a team approaching such a challenging match, is relaxing before building up to the big showdown...
... and that is exactly what Füchse have been doing with a sunny city walk in Montpellier earlier today:
16:20
Another German team starting their quarter-final adventure at 18:45 CEST are SC Magdeburg, visiting IFK Kristianstad. Magdeburg have eased through their EHF European League campaign so far, but their only defeat this season came in Sweden - against Alingsås HK (30:29, thanks to a last-second goal from Samuel Lindberg) in a group match in November 2020.
In their ninth European season, IFK are appearing in the club's first ever quarter-final, in which they now face a tough test.
IFK against Magdeburg is also a duel between two of the best goal scorers still in the competition: Adam Nyfjäll (67 goals) against Ómar Ingi Magnusson (60).
15:55
Rhein-Neckar Löwen became the first winners of the revamped EHF Cup in 2013. Can they also become the first winners of the newly created EHF European League this season?
They are without doubt among the title favourites - but they still have a few hurdles on their way, starting with Chekhovskie medvedi in the first quarter-final leg tonight at 18:45 CEST.
But the Löwen leave no doubt about their goal: "Mission Final Four!" they are tweeting today, referring to the EHF European League Finals 2021 on 22/23 May.
15:15
Plock are heaving quite a season in the European League. They won group A, ahead of teams like Leon and Chekhov, before edging Sporting CP by a single goal (54:53) in the Last 16. Next up are GOG.
EHF journalist Courtney Gahan caught up with Abdelrahman Mohamed Homayed, the team's 21-year-old Egyptian goalkeeper. He is playing his first season in Europe and transferred to Plock only midway through the season, in February 2021. This is his story:
