CSM play hosts in first-leg MOTW

The DELO EHF Champions League Match of the Week will head to Romania for the third time in 2020/21, with the clash between CSM Bucuresti and CSKA chosen as the headliner of the first-leg quarter-finals.

The match in Bucharest will take place on Saturday 3 April at 16:00 CEST (live on EHFTV).

The MOTW promises plenty of exclusive coverage for fans to enjoy, with the Breakfast for Champions series getting the day started on Instagram. There will also be special coverage across the various EHF Champions League social media channels as well as minute-by-minute updates on the live blog right here on eurohandball.com.

CSM and CSKA in quarter-finals after surprising play-offs

It is the second knockout Match of the Week featuring CSM, following Valcea’s hosting of their domestic rivals Bucharest in the first leg of the play-offs.

That tie saw a surprising situation, where CSM took a big away win, 33:24, in the first leg, before Valcea recorded a decisive victory, 27:21, in the Romanian capital. In the end, CSM progressed based on a three-goal aggregate win, 54:51.

In their debut season in the top flight, CSKA overthrew one of the most experienced clubs in the EHF Champions League in their play-off — RK Krim, who had hit a milestone 7,000 goals in the pinnacle competition during the group phase.

It was a nail-biting victory for CSKA, as Krim had won by five goals on their home court in the first leg, 25:20, before CSKA turned it around in Russia and collected a six-goal win, 27:21, that meant a one-goal result in their favour on aggregate.

With the quarter-finals the last obstacle before the penultimate stage of the season, both CSM and CSKA are now dreaming of the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest on 29 and 30 May.

For CSKA, it would be a perfect ending to their maiden season in the Champions League — and it was exactly their quarter-final opponents CSM Bucuresti who showed what is possible for debutants when they won the title in their first season in 2015/16.

After their title win in 2016, CSM contested the two subsequent EHF FINAL4 events, placing third on both occasions. The Romanian side therefore target their return to the final weekend after a two-season absence.