Szeged shock Löwen in Mannheim

MOL-Pick Szeged won a high-scoring VELUX EHF Champions League clash against Rhein-Neckar Löwen in Mannheim on Friday to start the Last 16 with a bang.

Löwen struggled to find weak spots in Szeged, while the Hungarian outfit controlled the match in the second half in particular. Löwen now have a big task ahead in the second-leg match against Szeged next weekend.

Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) vs MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN) 30:34 (17:16)

Both teams started the first match of the Last 16 with one notable absence: Szeged’s Vladimir Vranjes was suspended while Löwen’s Gedeon Guardiola was injured.

Szeged found their rhythm first. Ferenc Ilyés gave the visitors a two-goal lead early on and the Hungarian side looked dangerous, increasing that lead until Nikolaj Jacobsen was forced to take his first time out in the 10th minute (4:8).

Löwen edged closer thanks to some nice Kim Ekdahl Du Rietz goals, but Szeged’s defence remained massive and the visitors found holes in the German side’s defence.

Szeged lost momentum as Löwen’s defence started to work, and the home side took the lead shortly before the break.
But Juan Carlos Pastor’s team remained close, taking back the lead as Roberto Garcia Parrondo appeared unable to miss from the penalty line.

Löwen could not find their usual strengths against the focused visitors, and found it hard to stop Dean Bombac and Zsolt Balogh as goals continued to pour in.

Löwen fought to keep their hopes alive in the last minutes, but Szeged remained confident and cruised in to win by four goals.