Quarter-final first-leg results

Meshkov Brest - Barcelona: 29-33
The vice-champion of Europe and large winner of the previous rounds (leader of group A with 14 wins and victory 76-44 over Elverum in the last 16), Barcelona, went to Belarus for their quarterfinal first leg. While Meshkov Brest finally gave in, the still posed many problems for the Catalan giants, thanks in no small part to an excellent Mikita Vailupau. The 25-year-old right winger had a great game in front of goal, scoring with every one of his his 11 attempts. His skill, combined with that of Star Skube (three goals), allowed the hosts to still be in the game with less than ten minutes to go (53': 28-28). In the end, however, the Spaniards made the difference in the last moments and will play host to Brest with a four-goal lead on Thursday evening.

Nantes - Veszprém: 32-28
The H's mission was simple to understand, but tough to pull off: they needed to get a big home win before heading to Hungary face Veszprém - who made it to the Final4 last season - in the return leg a week later. However, there was a bit of frustration for Nantes as a six-goal lead (56': 31-25) was whittled down to four in the final minutes, but overall it was an accomplished performance. Indeed, Nantes were up to the task and succeeded in thwarting the Hungarian ogre, partly thanks to the 15 saves of Emil Nielsen (who was matched by opposite number Rodrigo Corrales). The next leg (Thursday) will still be tricky for Raul Entrerrios' team, but not impossible. As a reminder, in the previous round, they won in Kielce.

Aalborg - Flensburg: 26-21
Another surprise result in these quarter-finals was the one pulled off by Aalborg. The Danes managed to outwit the Group B winners Flensburg. This time, it was an offensive duo that allowed the hosts to make the difference, with eight goals each for Felix Claar (from ten attempts) and Lukas Sandell (nine shots). The Germans' main weakness was in front of goal, where they scored from only 47% of their attacks. For their defence, they had to rely on an imperious Mikael Aggefors, who finished his match with 16 saves. When the game throws off at the Flens-Arena on Wednesday, Aalborg will start with a five-goal advantage.

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)