Dinamo take first victory; Szeged equal biggest win ever
Round 8 of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2025/26 concluded on Thursday with Dinamo Bucuresti ending their series of defeats, the expected victories of OTP Bank - PICK Szeged and Füchse Berlin, and Orlen Wisla Plock consolidating their position on the group B table.
It was a tough game and we knew that. I am very happy that even though they had three goals ahead, we found solutions; we found our rhythm. We needed this win. Our goalkeeper Iancu was amazing, but I would really like to dedicate this win to our fans because they deserved it for always showing up and support.
A frustrating defeat tonight. It was a match we didn’t start the right way, and we didn’t know how to play our game in this one. Their goalkeeper hurt us a lot. It wasn’t really in our plans to lose tonight and it’s painful. We hope to bounce back this weekend in the league, and we hope this will remain just a bump in the road.
Compared to the first leg, it was a game that was more about defence. Both teams played physically and at a high tempo. We had a very strong goalkeeper today, who made the game easier for us and saved important shots. In the end, we managed to pull away at the back.
We thought it is going to be tough. In both matches, there was not a lot between both teams. But Füchse are very strong; also they hold the same qualities over all the game. That was impressive. Some things we could have done better. It was a tough match. We are not happy with the loss.
I think we played a strong game. We showed great fighting spirit by turning things around and getting the match on our terms after 10 tough minutes in the first half that put us behind. For large parts of the second half, we were in a position to take points. Salah Boutaf was outstanding in goal, but we made a few costly mistakes at the end, and they hurt us.
It was a tough match, as it always is against Danish teams. First of all, congratulations to my teammates. Credit to GOG as well — they played very well and maybe even deserved more. In the end, we were a bit luckier, and those two points can by very important for us in the long run.
These are the beauties of our beloved sport — by changing small things, big differences can emerge. We have come through a very difficult period; things haven’t been working either on or off the court recently. We have never had this many injured players, but I’m happy that after two frustrating weeks our key players performed well again. I must also mention the young guys — we were finally able to give them playing time, and they contributed a lot to this win.
It felt good to return to Szeged; I spent four wonderful years here. It was great to see the fans and friends again. As for the match, we simply weren’t strong enough today. Our defence didn’t come together, and Roland Mikler had an outstanding day. Our difficulties are visible, and we need to work on them.
