Quarter-final first leg results

KIELCE - MAGDEBURG: 27-26

What a match! For 60 minutes, Kielce and Magdeburg struggled to separate themselves, as was the case in last season's final of the competition (won in extra time by the Germans). In front of their home crowd, the Poles managed to take the lead this time thanks to a last-gasp strike from Igor Karacic. A precious one-goal victory, but it's far from over. Kielce will have to defend their narrow lead in Germany to book their place in the Final4.

Montpellier - Kiel : 39-30

Montpellier took a big step towards Cologne this week. Before travelling to the Wunderino-Arena, the MHB were looking to put hemselves inthe driver's seat in the tie - which they did perfectly. Already in the lead at half-time, the club from the Hérault region completed the job in the final 30 minutes, running out winnners by a massive nine-goal margin. This fine performance was largely due to the efficiency of Lucas Pellas and Yanis Lenne, who both 7 from 8. Kiel, for their part, will have to turn in a magical performance on ther home turf in order to reach the Final4.

Veszprém - Aalborg : 32-31

A one-goal victory on home turf may not sound like an entirely good thing, but the twists and turns over 60 minutes meant that the Hungarians were well and truly satisfied with the result. Veszprém (33': 14-20) struggled for long periods against a very fine Danish team, but bounced back to close the gap in the second half. In the end, it was our future player, Yahia Omar, who gave his team victory on the last counter-attack of the match. However, the challenge in the return leg in Denmark is not going to be an easy one.

QUARTER-FINAL RETURN LEG FIXTURES:

• Barcelona - Paris: Thursday 2 May, 20:45
• Aalborg - Kielce: Wednesday 1 May, 18:45
• Magdeburg - Kielce: Wednesday 1 May, 20:45
• Kiel - Montpellier: Thursday 2 May, 18:45

(Credits: L. Valroff/Team Pics/PSG)