Title holders under pressure with semi-finals to be booked

Defending title holders SG Flensburg-Handewitt are the only team not to have a lead after playing in their own arena, as Recken - TSV Hannover-Burgdorf kept the back-to-back EHF European League title winners to a 39:39 draw. 

The clearest lead in the aggregate encounters belongs to 2024/25 finalists Montpellier Handball, who beat HC Vardar 1961 33:23 in the first leg. MT Melsungen have the next biggest advantage, having beaten FC Porto 28:23.

RK Nexe brought THW Kiel’s winning run through the EHF European League Men 2025/26 season to an end and take a three-goal lead to Germany for the reverse leg.

QUARTER-FINALS, SECOND LEG

Recken - TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER)

Tuesday 5 May, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
First leg result: 39:39

• the only second leg that will begin truly from 0:0, following a draw in the opening game on Wednesday night; Hannover had the edge, always scoring first, through the last 18 minutes of the tight contest
• wing August Pedersen scored 11 goals from 11 shots for Hannover in the first leg, while Flensburg back Simon Pytlick and wing Emil Jakobsen each netted eight; goalkeeper Joel Birlehm also stood out with 13 saves for Hannover
• six goals in the first leg took Flensburg’s 22-year-old centre back Marko Grgić up to joint-second on the season’s scoring chart, on a total of 74; his teammate and captain Johannes Golla is close behind, on 71
• Hannover are chasing their first international semi-final ever, in what is their third European cup season and second quarter-final after the EHF Cup 2018/19; Flensburg aim to defend their title for the second year running, after raising the EHF European League trophy in the previous two seasons
• in 2025/26, the sides have now met three times, with Flensburg winning both Bundesliga games prior to the first-leg EHF European League quarter-final
• Hannover are missing back Marian Michalczik, who is out for the rest of the season following a surgery on a broken foot suffered in training in April

HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) vs Montpellier Handball (FRA)

Tuesday 5 May, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
First leg result: 23:33

• Montpellier have the clearest lead of all quarter-finalists, but face arguably one of the fiercest home courts in handball as they aim to defend their advantage
• the French side led throughout the entire first-leg quarter-final, in which four players topped the score board with six goals each: Bryan Monte and Kyllian Villeminot for MHB, and Joao Francisco — now questionable due to an injury during the match — and Uroš Mitrović for Vardar
• two seasons ago, Montpellier suffered one of the biggest upsets seen in two-leg elimination matches, when they lost by 10 to Kiel after winning the first-leg EHF Champions League quarter-final by nine; the French outfit will be eager not to see that history repeat
• while MHB hope to make it back to the EHF European League semi-finals after reaching the trophy game in 2024/25, Vardar aim for their first semi-final since they won the EHF Champions League in in 2018/19
• Montpellier are without their leading scorer in the EHF European League 2025/26, Jack Thurin, who dislocated his knee in April and is out for the rest of the season

THW Kiel (GER) vs RK Nexe (CRO)

Tuesday 5 May, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
First leg result: 30:33

• Nexe earnt a superb victory in the first leg, leading almost the entire match and taking a three-goal win that offers hope but is far from decisive
• the Croatian side are the first to beat Kiel this EHF European League season, as the German powerhouse had not dropped a single point in their entire campaign until Tuesday’s loss — the only team in the competition with such a record
• left back and EHF EURO 2026 bronze medallist Tin Lučin drove Nexe’s win with nine goals, taking his season total to 56 goals; overall, he sits two behind Kiel’s leading scorer, wing Bence Imre
• Imre was one of several key players missing for THW in the first leg, but the Hungarian wing is expected to return for this game as it was an illness keeping him off court; the side are also without backs Elias á Skipagøtu and Emil Madsen, who have long-term injuries
• Kiel aim for their second straight appearance at the EHF Finals Men, after placing third last season; progression would also mean their 21st European cup semi-final qualification encompassing the current set of competitions along with the former iteration of the EHF European League, the EHF Cup
• Nexe have reached the semi-finals of the European cup competition only once before, in the EHF European League 2021/22

FC Porto (POR) vs MT Melsungen (GER)

Tuesday 5 May, 20:45 CEST, live on EHFTV
First leg result: 23:28

• Melsungen were in charge from the first whistle to the last in the opening leg, securing a five-goal advantage that will serve them well as they enter Porto’s fortress
• goalkeeper Nebojsa Simić was crucial for Melsungen’s first-leg win, with 14 saves total and a rate of almost 50 per cent in the first period
• Melsungen wing David Mandić contributed eight goals overall, including seven in the second half, to help clinch the victory for the German side; Porto were led by six goals from centre back Rui Silva
• Melsungen hope to return to the EHF European League semi-finals after making it to the top four of an international competition for the first time in 2024/25
• Porto also target their second European cup semi-final, but have waited almost seven years — their first and last appearance on a final weekend was in the EHF Cup 2018/19; last season, they were knocked out of the EHF European League in the quarter-final stage 

Photos © Ingrid Anderson-Jensen (main), Laura Etienne & Alibek Käsler (in-text)