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Savehof sensationally beat Atletico Madrid

kire17102012velux

The 37th match of this VELUX EHF Champions League season ended with the biggest surprise by now: Swedish champions IK Sävehof sensationally beat the favoured three times EHF Champions League winner Atletico Madrid and even overtook the Spaniards in the ranking.

Sävehof IK - BM Atletico Madrid 35:30 (17:16)

It is one of the biggest sensations in the club history of Sävehof IK: After beating RK Zagreb in the past season, now they increased the downswing of 2012 VELUX EHF FINAL4 finalist Atletico Madrid. The Swedish champions overtook the Spaniards by their second home victory – as Atletico lost their third from four matches. "We bursted out today and banged them," coach Magnus Johansson said to Swedish TV 10. Maybe Madrid were shocked by the long-term injury of goalkeeper JJ Hombrados, maybe they underestimated the host - but in the end Sävehof players danced on the field, not the favoured Spaniards.

Kristian Bliznac (7) and Eric Schefvert (6) were the top scorers for the Swedish champions, besides veteran goalkeeper Thomas Forsberg, who arrived on the court after the break, played a decisive role with his eight crucial saves, including one penalty. Madrid did not only have to replace Hombrados, but playmaker Ivano Balic and left back Nikolaj Markussen, too. And in minute 17 it seemed as also newcomer Alvaro Ferrer would have been out with a thigh injury after slipping on the floor. Later Ferrer could return, but in the meantime Sävehof had turned the game from 8:10 to 12:11 and kept this distance until the halftime buzzer (17:16). When Madrid improved and took the lead at 21:20, Sävehof changed the goalkeeper to Forsberg – a decisive measure. The Swedes took control, first equalised at 25:25 and then outdistanced their opponent to 30:26, forcing Madrid coach Talant Dushebajev to take his time-out. But Sävehof played down the clock in a experienced manner, not allowing the Spaniards to reduce the gap – and took a sensational victory. Best Atletico scorer was Kiril Lazarov with six goals.

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