EHF Champions League: Play-offs return leg results

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On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball saw their European campaign come to an end in the play-offs with defeat to Szeged at Coubertin (25-35). Check out the rest of the EHF Champions League play-off return leg results.

Nantes spring an upset

Despite numerous injuries and an avalanche of casualties, Nantes did it! In their H Arena, the men from the Loire region were able to count on the immense Ivan Pesic to come back from a three-goal first leg deficit against Plock. Despite a scare at the end of extra time, Grégory Cojean's men managed to stay strong and won by four goals to reach the quarter-finals (29-24).

Berlin and Magdeburg qualify

Despite a six-goal advantage from the first leg, Berlin had a nervy night against Kielce. Trailing by four goals with six minutes to go, the Germans looked to Mathias Gidsel's clinical finishing to secure their qualification (37-37). Scorer of 12 goals, the man who recently retained his title of IHF Player of the Year once again emerged as the leader.

About a hundred kilometres away, Magdeburg had a quiet evening. Winners in Bucharest last week, Bennet Wiegert's team had qualification all but clinched by half-time in front of their home crowd (21-10). Despite a more balanced second half, the Romanians could do nothing against the power of the German champions, who won out to reach the quarter-finals for the third year in a row (35-29).

Quarter-final fixtures

After Plock, Nantes will once again cross paths with one of the capital club's opponents from this season: Sporting. The task promises to be difficult against one of the revelations of this European campaign, but The H have proven that they should never be underestimated. Szeged, who won at Coubertin yesterday, will have the difficult task of challenging the reigning European champions Barcelona. Aalborg, last season's unlucky finalist against the Catalans, will have to face Berlin if they are to have any hope of reaching the Final4 again. Finally, Veszprém will face Magdeburg in a repeat of the last final of the club world cup, which the Hungarians won last October.

(Credits: L. Valroff/PSG)