Aalborg's Six-Goal Lead Nearly Slips Away
Aalborg Håndbold secured a narrow 34–33 victory over HC Zagreb in the EHF Champions League Men, surviving a remarkable late comeback after leading by six goals during the second half.
The opening minutes were closely contested, with both teams exchanging goals and Zagreb briefly moving ahead 7–6 after 13 minutes. Aalborg gradually found greater consistency in attack. Thomas Arnoldsen, Tobias Nielsen and Juri Knorr helped the Danish side establish a 12–9 advantage, forcing Zagreb to call a timeout. The hosts maintained their momentum, extending the difference to 18–13 before reaching halftime ahead 19–15. Zagreb started the second half with greater defensive intensity, reducing the deficit to 19–17. However, Aalborg responded through Simon Hald, Magnus Landin and Knorr, rebuilding their advantage. A goal from Patrick Anderson extended the lead to 26–20 in the 41st minute, putting Aalborg in a commanding position. The Croatian side refused to surrender. Led by Ihar Bialiauski, Filip Glavaš and Giorgi Tskhovrebadze, Zagreb gradually reduced the difference. Aalborg still led 31–26 with seven minutes remaining, but the visitors produced an impressive four-goal run to reach 31–30 with three minutes left. Magnus Landin restored Aalborg's two-goal advantage, but Zagreb continued to respond. Tobias Nielsen made it 33–31 before Glavaš reduced the difference again. Following a timeout, Marinus Munk scored a crucial goal with 15 seconds remaining, extending Aalborg's lead to 34–32. Bialiauski scored with just two seconds left, but there was no time for another possession. Aalborg survived the comeback to secure a dramatic 34–33 victory.
THE GAME, MOMENT BY MOMENT.
TEAM STATISTICS
Aalborg HåndboldHC ZagrebSHOOTING PROFILE.
Aalborg HåndboldSHOT MAP
SHOOTING PROFILE
HC ZagrebSHOT MAPPLAYERS WHO SHAPED THE GAME.
For Aalborg, Thomas Arnoldsen delivered an excellent all-round performance, scoring six goals from seven attempts (86%) and providing eight assists. Tobias Nielsen also scored six goals from nine shots (67%), including a perfect 2/2 from seven metres. Juri Knorr contributed six goals and five assists, while Felix Möller was flawless with four goals from four attempts (100%). For Zagreb, Filip Glavaš produced a perfect offensive performance with seven goals from seven shots (100%), including two successful seven-metre attempts. Ihar Bialiauski was equally influential, finishing with seven goals from eight shots (88%), six assists and one steal. Giorgi Tskhovrebadze added five goals from eight attempts (63%), while goalkeeper Urh Kastelic recorded 11 saves from 35 shots (31%), playing an important role in Zagreb's second-half recovery.
#7 ARNOLDSEN Thomas
#20 MÖLLER Felix
#18 NIELSEN Tobias
#57 GLAVAŠ Filip
#47 BIALIAUSKI Ihar
#11 TSKHOVREBADZE Giorgi
THE LAST LINE.
#99 KASTELIC Urh
WHAT DECIDED THE GAME
Despite Zagreb finishing with superior shooting efficiency (72% compared with Aalborg's 68%) and more goalkeeper saves (14 against 9), the Danish side benefited from better possession control. Aalborg committed only five turnovers compared with Zagreb's nine, allowing the hosts to generate four additional shooting opportunities. The home side also converted 19 of 26 attempts from six metres (73%) and scored four powerplay goals, while Zagreb finished without a goal in numerical superiority. Zagreb's extraordinary 82% shooting efficiency in the second half brought them within one goal, but Aalborg maintained enough offensive consistency to protect their advantage. Ultimately, fewer turnovers, effective attacking execution and Marinus Munk's decisive goal in the final seconds allowed Aalborg to secure victory despite Zagreb's impressive comeback.