Montpellier join German trio Kiel, Flensburg, Melsungen at EHF Finals

For the first time in history, three former EHF Champions League winners are part of the EHF Finals: Kiel (2007, 2010, 2012 and 2020), Montpellier (2003, 2018), and Flensburg (2014) have combined won seven trophies in the top-flight competition. Melsungen are the only team in this quartet who have not proceeded beyond the quarter-finals of an EHF club competition before.

With their trip to Barclays Arena in Hamburg on 24/25 May now confirmed, Kiel, Montpellier, Flensburg, and Melsungen all eagerly await the semi-final draw on Wednesday (30 April) at 16:00 CEST, when in the European Handball House in Vienna the two match pairings for the opening day of the Maschinensucher EHF Finals 2025 will be determined.

Wednesday's draw ceremony will be streamed live on the Home of Handball YouTube channel — though geo-blocking may apply in certain regions; see the list of broadcasters — and covered on the official EHF European League socials on Instagram, X, and Facebook.

QUARTER-FINALS, SECOND LEG

THW Kiel (GER) vs Limoges Handball (FRA) 35:30 (16:15)
Kiel win 61:56 on aggregate

For 95 minutes — including the first leg — the duel had been fully in balance, but then Kiel entered the winners’ way straight towards Hamburg and ended Limoges’ impressive journey through Europe. Remaining unbeaten in this European League season with 10 wins and two draws, THW extended their impressive series in EHF's second-tier club competitions: all four times they played in the EHF Cup, they won the trophy; now they are still in the race to the same in the EHF European League with their ticket to Hamburg punched.

But like the 26:26 draw in France last week, European League debutants Limoges showed a strong and brave performance against the four-time EHF Champions League winners. Five times before the break, the team of Alberto Entrerrios was in the lead in the fully packed Wunderino Arena with the famous 'white wall' of Kiel fans in the stands. But from minute 35, Kiel pulled ahead from 18:18 to 28:22 and took advantage of the increasing number of mistakes in Limoges’ attack. Left back Eric Johansson led the attack with seven goals, the same tally as Faruk Yusuf had for Limoges, on a historic day: exactly 18 years ago, THW won their first EHF Champions League trophy in the final against Flensburg.

Montpellier Handball (FRA) vs FC Porto (POR) 35:32 (18:15)
Montpellier win 65:61 on aggregate

Montpellier head coach Érick Mathé, who took over from club legend Patrice Canayer this season, is in the race to lead the French side to a European trophy right in his first season in charge. But it has been a steep and tough way to Hamburg for the two-time EHF Champions League winners. After a dominant performance and a one-goal win in Porto (30:29) last week, Montpellier started the home leg impressively. The 1:0 was Porto’s only advantage in the first half, as Montpellier pulled ahead to 5:2 and 12:7, mainly boosted by seven goals of top scorer Diego Simonet before the break.

But Porto showed morale, turning a 18:13 deficit into a 20:19 lead to throw the tie wide open again. The match remained on the edge until minute 55, as Montpellier could not cast off the Portuguese side despite several three-goal leads. In the end, a double strike from Arthur Lenne to give the hosts a 33:29 lead secured the close, but deserved win — and the ticket to Hamburg for Montpellier.

Irudek Bidasoa Irun (ESP) vs MT Melsungen (GER) 22:32 (8:15)
Melsungen win 60:49 on aggregate

At home, Melsungen only won by a single goal (28:27) last week, but away, the German side was unstoppable on Tuesday and had decided the encounter after 30 minutes. Bidasoa Irun started their home mission with confidence and led 8:6 after 14 minutes, but then did not score anymore until the break. The 9:0 run for Melsungen basically decided the match and the tie. Melsungen easily grabbed their chances, boosted by seven goals of Ian Barrufet and a saving percentage of 42 from goalkeeper Adam Morawski in the first 30 minutes.

At half-time, “Let it be” was played in the Artaleku arena in Spain. Melsungen did not stop and took their first double-digit advantage at 22:12, when even goalkeeper Morawski hit the net. The 32:22 final result is the third biggest win in an European League quarter-final (since 2020); only Orlen Wisla Plock’s 35:22 against Kadetten Schaffhausen in 2022 and SG Flensburg-Handewitt’s 41:30 against IK Sävehof in 2024 marked bigger victories. Best scorers were Barrufet with nine and Erik Balenciaga with five goals.

SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs GOG (DEN) 35:29 (17:12)
Flensburg win 64:55 on aggregate

Two years ago, when Flensburg hosted the EHF Finals 2023, the SG were sensationally eliminated by Spanish side Fraikin BM Granollers in the quarter-finals. But this time, the defending champions from 2024 did not leave any doubt against their Danish neighbours GOG. After the 29:26 away win, the deal was sealed with a 17:12 lead at the break and an overall margin of eight goals. The match looked like a private shooting duel between GOG’s Tobias Grøndahl and Flensburg’s Lasse Møller — with Møller 'winning' by 9:8.

The visitors closed the gap to just two goals several times after the break (between 20:18 and 23:21), but a red card against Lasse Vilhelmsen ended any hopes the Danish side might still have had. A 5:0 run for 28:21 ended GOG’s international journey in the quarter-finals. Goalkeeper Kevin Møller was a key factor to Flensburg's success, with 12 saves.

main image © Patricia Glorion / Montpellier Handball