Key data: the numbers behind Barça’s title win over Füchse

The previous final weekends of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League had one thing in common: the pace of the game tended to settle somewhere below the average of the season — but that was not the case this year.

Both Barça and Füchse Berlin were already among the fastest-playing teams even before the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026. Over the whole season, the Spanish side had the shortest possessions of the competition with 29.9 seconds on average, while Füchse Berlin needed 31.6 seconds per possession — the fourth shortest.

At the same time, however, the two sides forced their opponents into rather lengthy attacks. Barça came third in this respect with an average of 35.5 seconds, while Füchse were seventh with 33.3 seconds.

Interestingly, both clubs recorded roughly the same possession lengths they had in attack throughout the season, so much faster than their defences would normally allow. This has not occurred in any of the past seasons for which data is available.

In the final, Barça averaged 30.9 seconds, while Füchse placed at 31.0 seconds. For both teams, these were their shortest average possessions in the knockout stage. Over the whole season, only GOG had an even shorter average possession time, namely 29.2 seconds in a game against the newly crowned champions, when they lost 28:41 at home in the group stage.

This means that Barça and Füchse Berlin had 58 possessions each, much more than in the previous finals. Overall, just two other matches in the knockout stage were faster than 58 possessions per team per game. A possession is defined as a phase until the opponent gains possession of the ball. Therefore, for example, it does not necessarily end after a missed shot if an offensive rebound is secured.

A flying start

The similar numbers after the game between Barça and Berlin might be a bit misleading, as the Spanish side started the final with a bang by overrunning their German opponents and dictating the pace. In the first half, their possessions were just 26.9 seconds long on average, while Nicolej Krickau’s squad took 7.1 seconds longer — that is how the record champions built up a four-goal lead by half-time.

Barça were especially dangerous after the fast throw-off: in the first half of the final, they scored within 15 seconds after Berlin netted on five occasions. That is the highest number for them in a half in any game this season (tied with three other games from the group stage), while for Füchse it was the second-highest number conceded in a half this season.

Berlin only picked up the pace at the end as time ran out. In the final 15 minutes, they took 23.9 seconds per possession, whereas Barça — who were trying to protect their lead — took 11.8 seconds more.

Berlin's defensive leader Max Darj also saw the start as a major problem: “I think we did not start very well. They were really aggressive. They ran more than us and maybe we were a little bit surprised.”

The best defence in the world

After the final, Berlin’s coach, Nicolej Krickau, stated that Barça “have the best defence in the world by far.” The numbers, of course, reflect that. In our preview article on the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026, we already discussed their outstanding defence in detail. That is why they were regarded by our model as favourites, and it assigned them the highest probability of winning.

Now, after the final, they still stand clearly on top in defence with opponent-adjusted 25.4 goals conceded per 50 possessions. The difference to second-ranked HBC Nantes (+1.6) is as big as between the second and sixth place. This number is adjusted for the pace of the game because fast-paced games inflate the numbers of goals scored, as well as the strength of the opponents played — due to the fact that teams who reach the final stages have more difficult opponents. The methodology is explained in more detail here.

Thanks to their strong defence and fast pace, they built up a three-goal lead within 10 minutes, which they capitalised on throughout the match. They also had Berlin’s superstar Mathias Gidsel well under control at the start of the match, as the reigning three-time IHF World Player of the Year struggled to make an impact early on. Among other things, he had problems coping with the Spanish side’s defenders double-teaming. After 20 minutes, he had yet to score a goal, had missed three shots and turned the ball over three times, though he had at least won a penalty.

In the end, Gidsel did not miss another shot and was Berlin’s top scorer with eight goals. He tried to lead their comeback, which was crucial after Ludovic Fabregas' red card in the 46th minute, who may be Barça’s most important defensive player. For their head coach, Carlos Ortega, that was “a complicated moment. More because we had to do a long change, we couldn't make the change with the line player that we wanted, so we had to change our defence a little bit.”

From this point on, as described earlier, Berlin managed to increase the pace. This was Barça’s weakest defensive spell or Berlin’s strongest offensive spell — however one might choose to look at it. In the final 15 minutes, Füchse converted 84.6 per cent of their shots, the only quarter of the match in which they outperformed Barca, who placed at 76.9 per cent. This was also the only quarter in which they scored more goals, albeit by just one. During these last 15 minutes, Gidsel netted three goals from three attempts, received three seven-metre penalty shots and had just one turnover.

But that, of course, wasn't enough to win the game. However, Berlin’s overall offensive performance was enough for 29.3 goals per 50 possessions, just 0.1 less than Barça’s strongest defence conceded this season.

More from data analyst Julian Rux can be found at Handballytics.de. There you can read his latest articles, in which he analyses all kinds of handball topics from new, data-based perspectives. You can also find him on Instagram, Bluesky and WhatsApp Channels.

Photos © kolektiff images