Remaining quarter-final berths to be sealed this weekend
The EHF Champions League Women 2024/25 quarter-final spots are on the line as the decisive second leg of the play-offs will determine who joins Metz Handball, Györi Audi ETO KC, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and Team Esbjerg in the next stage of the competition.
Brest Bretagne Handball hope to bounce back after a narrow defeat in Koprivnica, while Krim Mercator Ljubljana need a massive comeback against HB Ludwigsburg in the Match of the Week on Sunday.
The Romanian derby between CSM Bucuresti and Rapid Bucuresti has a clear favourite, while Odense Håndbold aim to stay undefeated against Storhamar Handball Elite to make it into the quarter-finals.
We always have to stay focused, even if we have a 10-goal difference. I know the risks when you have a game like that, we try to speak about the mental part, to be ready and play like we have done in the last games. I think Rapid will come and take their chance on Saturday, see if they can stress us. As long as you have an opportunity to stay in EHF Champions League, you always fight for your chance.
It is going to be the third game in a row against CSM in one week. So we have to be focused on our job and we must improve all aspects of our game. Our first game in the Champions League last Saturday was not a good game, so we know that we can play better and we have been working in that way.
We've done a good job of analysing and working on what we need to do to reverse the trend at home. The crowd will be important in pushing us and giving us the energy we need. It's going to be another great battle on Saturday.
I hope that we will play a match that will be similar to all the ones we have played so far at home and away. Also, that above all, we will be satisfied with combativeness and approach. We have no reason to be afraid of a certain result, but to play well. We will look for our chance and I think we have it.
We need to improve our efficiency on Sunday. That was one of the main reasons the gap widened so quickly — we struggled to score at the start of the second half. Everything was against us — it was just one of those days. But I can say with certainty that we will be better in the return match. We've already identified some new solutions in training for their defence, which was particularly aggressive against me.
We know that we go into the game with a big advantage, but we are aware that it must not be too sloppy and we must still deliver at the same high level. We want to win every game and we can only build on good performances to the games ahead.
It was a brutal first match against a very good handball team. We had no chance at all to stand against them. We are going to Denmark to do better. We will focus on some important things that we can take with us into the last part of the game in the national league.
