Atletico win for the third group place

Atlético Madrid - IK Sävehof 32:25 (14:11)

After their sensational 30:35 defeat at Gothenburg in the first leg, Atlético Madrid left no doubts about the winner in the re-match. Thanks to each five goals of Kirl Lazarov and Roberto Parrondo the third ranked Spaniards left Sävehof chanceless in the end. But the Swedish champions – led by seven times scorer Christian Bliznac tried hard to improve their base for reaching the Last 16.

Sävehof were close to the Spaniards until the score of 21:19 for Madrid, before the host forged ahead pre-decisively to 27:20. Though the Swedes intermediately managed to reduce the margin, those seven goals were the final distance. Best player on the field was Ivano Balić, who inspired his Madrid team with his passes, besides the Atlético defence stood strong for most of the time. "This victory was highly important, as now we know that we will finish third, which makes things easier for us in the knock-out stage," Atlético coach Talant Dujshebaev said and added: "For 40 minutes we were the better team today." Left back Nicolaj Markussen even hopes for further improvements: "When we have fewer injuries in our team, we can maintain this level for 60 minutes." On the other hand Sävehof coach Magnus Johansson hopes "that after Madrid also my team make it to the Last 16. We lost against the better team." For Sävehof player Michael Apelgren the match was like a lesson: "Madrid taught us how to play."