Kiel (dpa) - The handball players of THW Kiel are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The German record champion defeated the Hungarian champion Telekom Veszprem with 29:28 (15:15).
Kiel can no longer be displaced from first place in Group B after twelve of 14 preliminary round matches. In the final seconds, THW keeper Niklas Landin held the victory with a parade against Veszprems Vuko Borozan.
The most successful launcher of the Kiel team was Niclas Ekberg with eight goals. Borozan and Andreas Nilsson were each successful five times for the Hungarians. With the group victory, the "zebras" skip the round of 16 and have home rights in the decisive second leg of the quarter-finals. The THW is the first German club to finish the preliminary round in first place since the mode change for the 2015/16 season.
From the start, an exciting game developed in the Kiel arena, in which no team was able to gain a decisive lead. The Hungarians got off to a better start and were 6: 4 ahead after eleven minutes. After the change of sides, the THW dropped to 21:17 (37th), but this lead also did not last long. Veszprem got another chance to equalize in the last minute of the game, but with his celebrated parade, "Zebra" keeper Landin made the decision.
Champions League group stage
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