Last Champions League round of 2023 to give clearer picture
The EHF Champions League Women 2023/24 plays its last round of 2023 at the weekend, a mirror image of round 7. With the previous round setting a number of records and seeing several impressive comebacks there is pressure on teams to perform once more.
We had great success last week in Bucharest, it gave us a huge boost emotionally. Of course it will be a completely different match in Debrecen. CSM will prepare even more thoroughly for our tactics, but if we enter the pitch with a similar fighting spirit and humility, we can achieve a good result again.
The last match in the Champions League in 2023 is very important to us. We have a chance to climb to second position in the group, and to be in contention for a direct quarterfinal after the group fase. Sävehof are a dangerous opponent when they hit their best level. Although we won big away, we know that we need to be on our toes also this weekend.
We play two games with Bietigheim in a week, so it will be harder to surprise the German team. We won a difficult away game at their home, which included several periods where we played our best. This time, we need to be able to build up our fast attacks and returns in defence.
We won a big point in Brest, but there is a place for improvement in our game. On paper, Brest is a better team than us and in Podgorica they will play for their pride, so we know that we must not make mistakes, especially in attack. An important game for us, because if we win two points, we can say that this half-season was successful.
It's going to be a tough game. We just played them, and we want to do better in front of our home crowd. We have lost enough games by one goal, so I really hope we can secure two points before the break.
The match against Vipers will be more difficult than the last one, but we have to continue with this fighting spirit that
we are showed in the last games. We don’t play at home in front of our supporters, who are really important for us, but we will try our best to come back with two points from Norway.
In the first match we made too many mistakes in attack and defence, especially in the second half, when our opponent began to quickly increase their advantage. We have to do our homework from the first match and play much better in the second.
We want to make our victory there more credible, and what better way to do that than a (victory) second time around?
We have a good feeling going into the match. Ikast succeeded by a lot more in the previous match than they did in the two others in the league and the cup. But we do not feel like we need to change many things. There are of course some minor details but that is it.