Playing away at Plock, which had nothing left to play for after securing third place the previous week, Szeged was determined to get back to winning ways after two consecutive losses. Leading for most of the match (30th minute: 14-15), the Hungarian team never managed to pull away from the Polish outfit, who picked up the pace in the final minutes to close the gap and tie the game on the buzzer thanks to Melvyn Richardson (60th minute: 30-30).
A week after claiming the top spot in Group B by defeating Magdeburg, Barcelona left nothing to chance against Pelister (47-27). In front of their home crowd, the Blaugranas put on a show while also drawing on the depth of their roster, notably allowing Viktor Hallgrimsson to shine in goal (12 saves). In attack, it was the young Adrian Sola who shone brightly. At just 17 years old, the product of the Catalan youth academy finished as the game’s top scorer with nine goals.
In the final match of Group B, GOG held its ground against Zagreb at home (33–28). The Danes were once again able to rely on their young duo of Frederik Bjerre (9 goals) and Oli Mittun (6 goals) to finish fifth in the group stage.
In the end, this final matchday did not change anything in Group B’s standings. While GOG, which played earlier than Paris, temporarily moved into fourth place following its victory over Zagreb, Les Rouge et Bleu did what was necessary against Magdeburg to reclaim that fourth spot, which guarantees a home leg in the playoffs.
While nothing has changed in Group B’s standings, the same cannot be said for Group A. While Kielce narrowly held onto third place by defeating Kolstad earlier in the evening (26-27), Veszprém suffered yet another home loss. Against Aalborg, who were guaranteed to finish second before the match began, the Hungarians suffered their seventh loss in this group stage (33-38), giving Nantes the opportunity to take their fourth-place spot. To do so, Le H had to win on the road against Füchse Berlin, who had little to play for. Led by Thibault Briet, Nantes pulled off a sensation by winning a hard-fought match (34-37), thereby relegating Veszprém to fifth.
Paris will now face Nedim Remili’s team in the coming weeks. In the other matches, Nantes will take on GOG, Szeged will face Kielce, while Plock will have to live up to its status as favourite against Sporting CP. The first legs will take place on 1 and 2 April, with the return legs to be held a week later, on 8 and 9 April.
