20:28 | FULL-TIME
For a moment there it really looked like Kielce would at least take a point from the game, but Aalborg rallied and Aleks Vlah helped make sure of the win. Vlah has been great today, showing that he's maintained the form he had at Celje last season when he was the top scorer of the group phase. Mikkel Hansen, too, has made a welcome return to the competition.
Kielce were definitely missing their talismanic goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, but were lucky that Niklas Landin wasn't at his best today. 10 saves from 39 shots (25.6 per cent) is far from what Landin can do.
20:20
The Kielce fans are SINGING as their team come back to a single goal, with five minutes remaining. Suddenly, the home team have found something extra and Aalborg are on the back foot for the first time.
20:17 | FULL-TIME
A strong debut in the Champions League for Kolstad! They wrap up a good win in Skopje in front of a loud Pelister fanbase, and take the first points in the competition this season. Pelister have a bit of work to do.
20:10
A seventh penalty for Kielce, and the sixth scored as Syzmon Sicko puts it away. The 2023 finalists are, however, running out of time and Aalborg seem to be holding on to a narrow lead.
20:04
We're now into the last 15 minutes in Kielce as well. It's a pretty physical match - Aalborg are putting up a particularly strong defensive wall. With Mads Hoxer now off court, Mikkel Hansen is doing Mikkel Hansen things and is leading the visitors' scoring. Szymon Sicko is doing his level best to keep up for the men in yellow, but Kielce trail 24:28.
19:58
Into the last quarter in Skopje, and Kolstad have a handy seven-goal lead (23:16). Left wing Adrian Aalberg, making his Champions League debut at the age of 30, is having a brilliant match with eight goals to his name now. As is Torbjørn Bergerud, maintaining a save efficiency of over 50 per cent.
19:50
Well, this is exciting - the first example of the video replay in action in the Champions League! We see both what is being checked, and watch the referees (in this case, France's Bonaventura twins) make their decision. They award Kielce a penalty for a foul on Artsem Karalek, and Mads Hoxer is given a red card. That could be costly for Aalborg, as Hoxer is their top scorer so far.
19:43
The second halves have started!
19:28 | HALF-TIME
That's not the return to the Champions League Eurofarm wanted. They have been rather outplayed by their Norwegian opponents, who have effectively shut down many of the Macedonian attacks. In goal, Torbjørn Bergerud has a save efficiency of 54.6 per cent (12 saves) while Adrian Aalberg and Sigvaldi Bjørn Gudjonsson have each scored five times. Sander Sagosen's added three.
New recruits Nejc Cehte and Bogdan Radivojevic have been the keys for Eurofarm with four goals each, but Kasper Kisum is the only other player to have got past Bergerud.
Stefan Madsen called a timeout just before the break, encouraging his team to take advantage of their three-goal lead. Mikkel Hansen has had a great return, with five goals; Mads Hoxer, for Aalborg, and Szymon Sicko, Alex Dujshebaev and Igor Karacic have all netted four for Kielce.
Niklas Landin had a good start but let more goals in towards the end of the half - luckily for Aalborg, Milosz Walach hasn't had a great game either. Both goalkeepers are on a save efficiency of around 25 per cent.
19:16
Aalborg continue to lead Kielce, and Niklas Landin opened with some stunning saves.
19:09
A historic moment for Kolstad: they get on the board in the Champions League. Sander Sagosen has been busy assisting his teammates, but he has just netted a goal himself too, in the 18th minute of the match.
19:07
Pelister have had a difficult start; they're finding Kolstad's defence way too much. It took them over 10 minutes to score their second goal, and the visitors currently lead 9:3. Sander Sagosen is yet to score, however.
Over in Kielce, it remains a close match (8:9) although Aalborg just have the edge. Mikkel Hansen's up to three goals now, with two penalties and one field goal.
18:58
It's so good to see Mikkel Hansen back on court! He steps up for a penalty and makes putting the ball past Milosz Walach look easy.
18:54
A good opening for both visiting teams. Kolstad lead 3:1, Aalborg 3:2.
18:43
Coverage of both matches has begun on EHFTV - tune in there, or watch via your local broadcaster.
18:30
Kolstad have put together a nice little video charting their journey to Skopje.
18:20
The other 18:45 CEST match should be a cracker, as Kielce host Aalborg. It's the seventh time the two sides have met in the Champions League, and Kielce have won all the games played in the last nine years including their two meetings last season.
This is the first time we get to see Niklas Landin playing the Champions League for his new club, along with fellow summer signings Simon Hald, Lukas Nilsson and Aleks Vlah; the game will also mark a welcome return for Mikkel Hansen to the competition, six months after he announced he was taking a break due to mental exhaustion.
Aalborg have also won all three of their league games so far this season, although they lost the Danish SuperCup against GOG (32:34).
Kielce's squad is very similar to the one which went all the way to the Truckscout24 EHF FINAL4 last season, and they have also won their first four Polish league games, including last weekend’s in Zabrze (36:32).
18:10
So, let's take a look at the matches in store ... first up, it's a bit of an unknown. Kolstad are newcomers to the Champions League, while Eurofarm Pelister are back after 18 years away.
Last season, both teams were registered in the EHF European League Men. Kolstad fell in qualification round 2 to Bidasoa Irun (60:61 on aggregate) while Pelister played the group phase, and finished fifth in group D with two wins, two draws and six losses. Coincidentally, Bidasoa were also in group D and in the head-to-heads Bidasoa took a big 32:20 win at home and drew 29:29 away, which suggests that Kolstad are probably the favourites tonight in the first-ever meeting between the two.
This is particularly the case because of their summer signings. Kolstad picked up heavyweight Norwegian trio Sander Sagosen (from Kiel) and Magnus Rød and Gøran Johannessen (both from Flensburg) to build their squad. Pelister's most notable recruit is goalkeeper Khalifa Ghedbane, moving from Dinamo Bucuresti, who won the Champions League with Vardar in 2019.
Kolstad have had a decent start to their season, with two wins and a draw including a 42:16 victory over Rapp in the Norwegian Cup. Eurofarm Pelister have played a few friendly games recently, most recently losing 26:30 away to Vardar.
17:50
Less than an hour now until throw-off in our first two matches - Kielce vs Aalborg, and Eurofarm Pelister vs Kolstad. Here's what a few of the players and coaches had to say before the matches.
Kielce star Alex Dujshebaev said: "I think we are prepared for this match. Aalborg Håndbold is still unknown, I'm curious how they will perform this season. A great goalkeeper, Niklas Landin, joined the team, Mikkel Hansen returned after the break, there are other good players. We approach this rival with great respect. But from the beginning we want to show our level in the Champions League."
Aalborg coach Stefan Madsen said: "It is no secret that it is a really tough game to begin the season with. It really depends on how quickly the teams have gotten together and therefore also a good change to try beat them. We will do anything we can in order to stop them in their attacks and play good in defence to keep up with their high speed."
Pelister captain Zarko Peshevski said: "Emotion can be a problem, but it can also give you some special strength to be better and calmer than your opponent, to hit him and rejoice at the end. We are playing against a super team like Kolstad. Norwegians cultivate aggressive and dynamic handball. We will do everything to make their job difficult."
17:00
We all have been waiting for today: finally, the Machineseeker EHF Champions League starts again! To get you really fired up for round 1 tonight and tomorrow evening, you should watch this brilliant "Dare to Rise" documentary, which shows you all the emotion and passion that went into the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 last season, when Magdeburg lifted the trophy.
Here are 27 minutes of goosebumps for you:
16:33
The EHF Champions League offers the best club handball across the continent. No wonder TV stations and broadcasters are lining up each year to bring the excitement from the courts around Europe to the millions of fans watching at home.
List of all live broadcasters for Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2023/24:
AUT - DAZN
BIH – Arena Sport
CRO – Arena Sport
CAN – DAZN (EHF FINAL4)
CZE - AMC
DEN - Handball Kanalen
ESP - TV3
ESP - DAZN
FIN - Handball Kanalen
FRA - Eurosport
GEO - Silknet
GER - DAZN
GER – DYN
HUN – AMC
ISR – SportTV
ITA – tbd
JPN – DAZN (EHF FINAL4)
KOS – Arena Sport
MKD – MKRTV
MKD – Arena Sport
MNE – Arena Sport
NED – Ziggo (EHF FINAL4)
NOR – Handball Kanalen
POL – Eurosport
POR – Sport TV
POR – Porto Canal
ROU – Orange Sport
ROU – Prima Sport
ROU – Digi Sport
SRB – Arena Sport
SLO – Arena Sport
SUI – DAZN
SVK – AMC
SWE – Handball Kanalen
TUR – TRT (EHF FINAL4)
UK – Viaplay
World – EHFTV (geo-restrictions may apply)
16:18
You certainly heard the news a few weeks ago that Nikola Karabatic has announced his retirement for next year. So, 2023/24 will be the French legend's last season on court... It will also be his 22nd season in the EHF Champions League, which makes the PSG star the No. 1 on the list of players with most seasons played in Europe's topflight.
Not far behind is Mirko Alilovic: the Orlen Wisla Plock goalkeeper enters his 21st season. Find out which other players are the evergreens of the EHF Champions League in this article from EHF journalist Björn Pazen: