Match Preview
We are likely to watch Magdeburg in the Final Four tournament as they attempt to defend the title won in 2025, having outplayed Szeged by seven goals in the first leg. No team in Champions League history has recovered in the quarterfinals after losing the first leg at home by such a margin.
Magdeburg in Complete Control
Magdeburg are the reigning European champions, but their performances in the group stage were not entirely convincing, as they finished 2nd behind Barcelona after a three-game winless run.
Their eleven-game winning streak came to an end with a 26-26 draw against Wisla Plock in Poland, followed by a disappointing 36-29 home defeat to Barcelona, which decided the top spot in the group.
The German side closed this stage with another loss, falling 34-26 to PSG, although several key players were rested. Manuel Zehnder was their top scorer in that match with seven goals.
One of their best performances this season came last week in Hungary, where they gained a huge advantage in the quarterfinals by beating Szeged 35-28 after scoring 20 goals in the second half. Gisli Kristjansson and Albin Lagergren netted seven goals each.
Szeged Facing an Uphill Battle
Szeged had a disappointing Champions League group-stage campaign, finishing 6th in Group B with five wins, one draw, and eight defeats. They lacked consistency even at home, recording three wins and four losses.
In the Round of 16, the Hungarian side gained an advantage in the first leg at home against Kielce with a 26-23 victory, while Lazar Kukic scored several clutch goals and finished as top scorer with six.
Their shooting numbers improved significantly in the reverse leg in Poland, where a 32-32 draw was enough to send them through on aggregate. Kukic once again led the scoring charts with six goals, followed by Marin Jelinic and Mario Sostaric, who added five each.
Szeged had a decent first half against Magdeburg last week (14-15), but they couldn’t keep up after the break and eventually suffered a convincing 35-28 defeat. Sostaric topped their scoring charts with nine goals from fourteen attempts.