Metz back in second place after big win against Sävehof

On Saturday, Metz Handball had to drop to the third position in group B as they were overtaken by reigning champions Vipers Kristiansand. But already on Sunday, a confident 35:21 win helped the French side to get back in second place with 12 points.

GROUP B

Metz Handball (FRA) vs IK Sävehof (SWE) 35:21 (19:15)

• Metz redeemed themselves for a painful home defeat against CSKA (32:24) in a rescheduled round 1 match on Wednesday
• the home side boasted an impressive 86 per cent shot efficiency in the first half, which resulted in their 19:15 lead at the break
• Metz's advantage continued to grow in the second half, reaching double digits (31:21) in the 55th minute
• Meline Nocandy and Tamara Horacek were the French team's best scorers with six goals. Thea Blomst netted seven times for Sävehof, while her teammate Jamina Roberts was restricted to four goals in this match
• the Swedish team, who are yet to claim their first away points in the competition, are ranked seventh in the group with four points

Sako stood like a wall

While Metz had the upper hand since the opening minutes, they started to pull clear only when their goalkeeper Ivana Kapitanovic was replaced by Hatadou Sako late in the first half.

Sako put on an impressive performance, finishing the game with nine saves and a 56 per cent save efficiency. Notably, Metz conceded only two goals in the last 18 minutes of the game, securing themselves a big win.