Live blog: Magdeburg take third title with powerful win
The Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 trophy has just been decided in LANXESS arena, Cologne, with SC Magdeburg celebrating their third after the trophies in 2023 and 2002. It was an incredible performance from SCM, who were in charge through most of the match, leaving Füchse Berlin with no answer.
Opening the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2025 action earlier on Sunday, HBC Nantes beat last season's winners Barça in the 3/4 placement match.
Minute-by-minute coverage of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 Final: Füchse Berlin vs SC Magdeburg.
17:55
Five minutes to the whistle! SC Magdeburg have just entered the court to join Füchse Berlin.
17:38
The last of the shooting warm-up is underway and the finalists will soon leave the court for their last preparations, the pre-game show and the entry procedure to begin!
Minute-by-minute coverage of the 3/4 placement match: HBC Nantes vs Barça.
14:59
Here we go! The second match day at the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2025 is about to begin, with Nantes and Barça now taking the court to decide third place.
14:47
I promised we would come back to Berlin's dominant win even after losing key player Mathias Gidsel early in the game, and now is the moment.
Gidsel and his Danish compatriot Lasse Andersson were responsible for 233 of Berlin's 616 goals scored this season prior to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2025, with Gidsel contributing 126. No one could argue Gidsel is not a key scorer for the team, and that his red card could have been a major turning point for Nantes.
What Berlin did following his exit before the clock hit 10 minutes was therefore remarkable. Of course, it is a talented squad and attack is far from the only part of handball — "defence wins titles," as they say. And yesterday we saw just how impactful Füchse's defence is. When it is supported by a Dejan Milosavljev — a player with a huge ability to rise to the occasion of the EHF FINAL4 as we saw in his time with Vardar — in such form in goal as he was yesterday, it is something to behold.
At the offensive end, every player delivered, and the result was a huge win that will have Berlin entering the court for the final today feeling great — and a basically fully rested Gidsel, which could be an enormous asset.
14:36
As we won't have too much time between matches to examine the final in more detail, we're going to jump ahead to the main event of the day for a moment — let's talk SC Magdeburg.
While many players and coaches agree that taking a one-goal win in the last second comes down in some way to the details and a little bit of luck, Magdeburg have an uncanny ability to peform in these moments.
In yesterday's semi-final, they played the last attack perfectly to secure their one-goal win over Barça, creating the right opportunity for Tim Hornke to have a big gap to shoot from on the wing, and just in the right timing to prevent Barça from trying to respond before the buzzer. And they only took the lead in the match for the first time late in the game, with less than 15 minutes on the clock — almost like a distance runner staying close to the front and waiting for the right moment to kick.
Their quarter-final victory over Veszprém was very similar, as they secured a one-goal aggregate win in the last seconds as well, and Veszprém had no chance to react after the Gisli Kristjansson scored.
Data analyst Julian Rux has written extensively about Magdeburg, and in the context of SCM performing in the right moments, I personally find this article on "kill shots" very interesting. It is from April 2024, so was published as the end of the previous season drew near, but much of it is still relevant today.
Also from Julian, check out one of his "stats of the week" from this season below — kindly updated to reflect yesterday's semi-final.
We are in the crunch time of the season, which could work to SC Magdeburg's advantage, as they are the best crunch-time team. In the last six minutes of all matches where the goal difference between the two teams was two goals or less, at least once, Magdeburg scored 10.8 more goals per 50 possessions than their opponents — by far the best.
14:19
As warm-up intensifies for the first of Sunday's TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2025 matches, let's take a look back at yesterday's games from the side of the 3/4 placement match teams.
Barça and Nantes are entering the game following very different losses. While Nantes knew their defeat was coming a long way off, Barça suffered the brutal situation of a one-goal loss in the very last second and had to leave the court knowing how close they were to returning to their second straight final.
But there is no sign of heads down today, and both teams seem to have recovered well for the mental challenge that is playing for third after a semi-final defeat.
At what is their 12th EHF FINAL4, this is is Barça's fifth appearance in the 3/4 match — and they have only lost it once, back in the 2016/17 season.
For Nantes, it is the second time playing for third at the EHF FINAL4. They met PSG in this stage in 2020/21, losing to their domestic rivals.
13:54
It's all happening at LANXESS arena, where the first edition of the EHF Youth Club Trophy has wrapped and HBC Nantes and Barça are now on court warming up for the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 3/4 Placement Match.
The winners of the inagural Youth Club Trophy were GOG, who took a great win over Veszprém Handball Academy to open the day in LANXESS. Earlier, Barça defeated Eurofarm Pelister to clinch third place in the competition.
Read the review of the day's Youth Club Trophy matches below!
12:13
Today in LANXESS arena is not only about the finals of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 — the first EHF Youth Club Trophy final is being played right now, with GOG and Veszprém Handball Academy fighting for the title.
At half-time, GOG lead 22:16.
Earlier this morning, Barça beat Eurofarm Pelister in the 3/4 placement match.
Find all information on the competition here.
11:58
Before we start a closer look at the final in particular and today's head-to-heads in general, let's talk about one individual: Füchse Berlin right back Mathias Gidsel.
The much-hyped first appearance of the back-to-back IHF World Player of the Year delivered a shock when he received a direct red card after less than 10 minutes on court in the opening semi-final.
On court after the match against HBC Nantes, which Berlin won 34:24, Gidsel said it was obviously not what he wanted in his first game in Cologne. Speaking to TV2, he said: "I'm not going to argue against the red card. It's my responsibility to stay away, and I actually tried to, but I slipped a metre more than I thought, so it was as unfortunate as it gets. I'm not running from the red card."
More importantly, Gidsel highlighted the performance of his teammates, and that is something I will get into a bit later — it was certainly a statement to take such a win without Gidsel and that must be discussed.
But coming back to the individual focus, today Gidsel will play let's say his first proper game in Cologne, and he has the chance to add the one top scorer crown missing from his cabinet: That of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25. With 128 goals scored this season, Gidsel needs just three more to pass Szeged's Mario Sostaric, who counts 130.
Gidsel has been the top scorer of the last four major national team tournaments, starting with the 2023 World Championship, then on to top the ranking alongside Martim Costa at the EHF EURO 2024. After that, he top scored the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Championship. If he manages the necessary goals today, he will complete his collection.
Gidsel has also been named MVP of the last two Olympic Games and last two World Championships, and of the Bundesliga this season. He has won the world title three times straight and the Olympics in 2024. The only national team trophy missing is the EHF EURO. On a club level, he won the European League in his first season with Berlin, and today may add the Champions League trophy.
11:30
Good morning and welcome to the biggest day of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 season — the day the trophy will be decided!
It is only the third final in the history of the EHF FINAL4 Men featuring two teams from the same country. In 2018, it was French clubs Montpellier vs HBC Nantes, with MHB coming out on top. In 2014, SG Flensburg-Handewitt defeated THW Kiel to claim the title in the first all-German final. Today, it's another two German clubs: Füchse Berlin vs SC Magdeburg.
The schedule for the final day of the season:
- 18:00 CEST Final: Füchse Berlin vs SC Magdeburg
- 15:00 CEST 3/4 placement match: HBC Nantes vs Barça
Let's get started with some reading. Below, find the preview of the finals; the live blog taking you minute-by-minute through Saturday's action, including links to the match reviews; a reminder of how to watch the games in your country; and last but not least, info on the live show featuring EHF Champions League Women star Andrea Lekic, who is lending her expertise following her own retirement at the end of this season.
