CSM Bucuresti seal quarter-finals spot with ease, Brest power through

CSM Bucuresti produced another commanding victory over Rapid Bucuresti. After already having a solid ground after the first leg 10-goal win, CSM were not on a high level in the first half, but they took care of business in the second.

Brest Bretagne Handball did not disappoint at their home court  after losing the first leg against Podravka Vegeta by one. Right from the start their experience and strong defence lifted them past the Croatian side and secured their fourth quarter-finals appearance, first after the 2021/22 season.

• CSM Bucuresti left no room for surprises in reverse fixture against Rapid, claiming convincing win with 10 out of their 13 outfield players scoring at least once — Elizabeth Omoregie led the attack with six
• left back Cristina Neagu, the all-time top scorer of the EHF Champions League, added one more to her name, bringing her overall tally to 1,221
• CSM will pit sides with Team Esbjerg in the quarter-finals, the same opponent which eliminated them in the same phase of the competition in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons
• strong backcourt line delivered for Brest — Clarisse Mairot, Méline Nocandy and Anna Vyakhireva netted 17 goals between them to seal a convincing win worth of the quarter-finals
• Podravka Vegeta could not keep the momentum from the first leg, ending their CL path in the play-offs, just like in the 2020/21 season
• Brest's win secured an all-French duel in the quarter-finals — they will once again clash with Metz Handball, whom they beat in the same phase in the 2020/21 season when Brest reached their first EHF FINAL4 Women and ultimately finished second, losing to Vipers Kristiansand in the finals

PLAY-OFFS, SECOND LEG

CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs Rapid Bucuresti (ROU) 28:22 (11:11)

CSM Bucuresti win 62:46 on aggregate

CSM proved once again who rule Bucharest with a third win against Rapid in just a week and marched on to yet another quarter-final. However, the first half was far from being smooth sailing. Denisa Sandru took the spotlight of the first half with an amazing performance between the posts. With 13 saves at 54 per cent save efficiency, Rapid's goalkeeper kept her side in a tight contest, and prevented CSM from pulling away already at half-time, like they did in the first leg.

Rapid did not make the most of her saves as their attack lacked efficiency, stacking up turnovers. Although neither CSM were not at their desired level, they shifted the momentum after the break. Around the 45th minute, CSM stepped up a gear and built a six-goal lead (22:16). With all but assured victory, CSM had an easy time until the buzzer as they knocked out fellow Romanian side from the competition.

Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) 35:27 (18:8)

Brest Bretagne Handball win 61:54 on aggregate

Brest Bretagne Handball are back among the top eight teams in the top-tier competition after missing out in the last two seasons. Podravka Vegeta came to Brest with a one goal advantage, but the young Croatian team could not keep up with the strong and experienced Brest. The French side were leading from the first whistle, slowly building their advantage up to 10 by the break. Hasty attack and opponents' counter-attacks forced Podravka's coach Ivica Obrvan to two time-outs in only three minutes, but they just could not find the right rhythm. On top of that, Katarina Filter denied 50 per cent of their attacks in the first 30 minutes and kept her efficiency at 41.38 per cent until Floriane Andre took over. On the Croatian side Matea Pletikosic and Mia Brkic delivered, netting nine and seven times, making sure Podravka narrowed the gap by the end, which stretched out to 14 at one point (31:17).