Barça maintain unbeaten home record against Veszprém

Barça have consolidated second place in group B after beating their main pursuers Veszprém by 35:30 in the Match of the Week. Thanks to their seventh victory in 12 group matches, they extended the gap to over the  Hungarian side to three points.

MOTW: Barça vs. Telekom Veszprém HC 35:30 (13:13)  

• backed by impressive saves from goalkeeper Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, Barça took control of the first 15 minutes, but suddenly Veszprém struck back with four unanswered goals to go ahead 9:7
• with a consistent saving percentage of more than 40%, Perez was the key for Barça’s advance after the break, even more than his fellow national team player Rodrigo Corrales on Veszprém’s side, who saved 11 shots 
• scoring his fifth goal, Croat Luka Cindric secured Barça’s first three-goal lead at 22:19, followed by a Veszprém time-out in minute 43 
• but nothing changed, Barça remained dominant and paved the way to a win with a double-strike from left wing Aitor Arino to make the score 27:21 
• Egyptian right back Yahia Fathy Omar enjoyed an outstanding performance, scoring seven goals from nine attempts, but even he could not stop Veszprém’s 10th defeat in 10 matches at Palau Blaugrana 
• Barça’s French right back Dika Mem is back on top of the scorers’ list with 74 goals after his eight strikes
• Perez de Vargas, who saved 16 shots, was awarded Player of the Match
• Veszprém remain without a Champions League victory in 2022, after their draw at Porto last week

Barça back on track  

Barça’s defence of the EHF Champions League hadn’t been going to plan with two draws and three defeats in their first 10 group matches. This after a perfect season of 20 wins from 20 in 2020/21.

But after winning both games in 2022 against Bucharest and Veszprém (both by 35:30), the EHF Champions League record winners are back on track and hold the chance to skip the play-offs in their hands, with their remaining matches at Presov against Motor and at home against Flensburg.