Summary: Wins for Porto and Flensburg close group phase
Today we can’t talk about tactics, we just went to the field and made it all for Alfredo. The way is up, like he wanted
22:35
Here are the results of the last five matches in the group phase (the others unfortunately were not able to be played).
22:25
With the last EHF Champions League Men group phase match complete, we can confirm the pairings for the play-off round, in which all 16 teams will participate in acknowledgement of the exceptional circumstances that have characterised this season. The play-offs are due to take place between 31 March and 8 April, with each pairing playing a double-header to decide who progresses to the quarter-finals.
22:15 | FULL-TIME
ELVERUM HANDBALL 31:38 FC PORTO
Porto wrap up the win, meaning they finish fifth in group A - level on points with Szeged, but with the head-to-head advantage. Elverum remain bottom of the group. Antonio Areia and Victor Iturriza are top scorers for Porto.
Porto's celebrations are understandably muted and their hugs just a little tighter than usual. They huddle together on court briefly before thanking the few spectators able to watch the game.
22:08
Elverum take a timeout. They trail by seven goals with three minutes to play, surely a gap that is now impossible to close? Porto have had a stellar few minutes, surviving a period of power play for Elverum and capitalising on their own power play that followed.
22:05
Porto hold a five-goal lead at 33:28 and Nikola Mitrevski is having an excellent game, making saves when it matters. The rest of the team are playing pretty well too!
21:58
A couple of missed shots by Porto allowed Elverum to claw their way back into the match, with a 3:0 run from Luc Abalo and Thomas Solstad making it 24:27. Thorsten Fries is having a good patch too.
Victor Iturriza scored his sixth goal of the game to give Porto back a 28:24 lead, but another shot from Abalo and one from Carl Josef Pujol into an empty Porto goal made it 26:28. Elverum are fighting back hard.
21:45
Porto have extended their lead in the opening minutes of the second half and currently lead 23:17, despite Miguel Alves sitting out a suspension.
21:37
The second half is about to get underway. This clip of a really good in-flight goal from Niclas Fingren serves as a reminder of why Elverum are dangerous for Porto. The Dragons have the advantage right now, but they need to keep it to secure fifth place in the group.
21:24 | HALF-TIME
ELVERUM HANDBALL 11:16 FC PORTO
It took Porto a little while to warm up but they're in their flow now and playing well. Eight players are on the scoreboard, led by Victor Iturriza with four goals, and Nicola Mitrevski has made five saves for an efficiency of 31 per cent.
Thorsten Fries has made more saves for Elverum (eight), but the Elverum attack is currently less aggressive.
However, Porto need to remember what happened in round 1 in the same arena. They led 16:12 at the break then and Elverum came through to win 30:28 in a superb second half.
21:14
Porto now have a three-goal lead at 12:9, 23 minutes in. Miguel Martins slammed the last one past Thorsten Fries with immense force.
21:03
Porto, spurred by some good saves from Nicola Mitrevski and two goals in quick succession by Rui Silva, have taken a 7:6 lead. Mitrevski keeps it that way, stopping a penalty by Tobias Grøndahl in style.
20:55
It's 4:4 after just over seven minutes. Andre Gomes scored first for Porto, before Elverum took the lead, and it's fairly even in these early moments.
20:43
20:40
Elverum have come out for the presentation all wearing white shirts with Alfredo Quintana's name and number too - a nice touch by the Norwegian club.
20:38
The last group phase match is about to throw off - Elverum vs Porto. Although Elverum are the 'home' team this match will be played in Porto and it's the first match for them since they lost goalkeeper Alfredo Quintana on Friday, so there will undoubtedly be some emotions shown by his teammates. They are honouring Quintana by bearing his name on their shirts.
If Porto win, they will finish fifth in group A.
19:24 | HALF-TIME
LOMZA VIVE KIELCE 17:19 SG FLENSBURG-HANDEWITT
Flensburg continue to control, rather than dominate, the game but with Hampus Wanne on top form with 10 goals they have a two-goal lead at the break.
19:22 | HALF-TIME
HC VARDAR 1961 12:20 HC MESHKOV BREST
This isn't looking very hopeful for Vardar - a win would give them a chance of finishing sixth in the group, but Meshkov Brest are cruising and have a solid lead at the break. Mikita Vailupau has scored six goals.
19:15
Although his team are losing, Robin Cantegrel has made some excellent saves for Vardar tonight!
19:14
Hampus Wanne is on absolute fire - nine goals from 11 shots in less than 25 minutes. Thanks to him, and continued saves by Benjamin Buric, Flensburg now lead 17:13. The German club can get away with a draw to top the group, but Kielce need a win.
19:08
Flensburg keep moving out to a one-goal lead, with Hampus Wanne and Jim Gottfridsson making most of the running so far - they've scored six and four goals respectively. However, Kielce are continuing to strike back quickly each time and it's still pretty level.
Against Vardar, Meshkov Brest lead 12:10 after 20 minutes.
19:00
Last week's Player of the Match for Flensburg against PSG, Benjamin Buric, is again having a good match with a 50 per cent save efficiency so far. He's the main reason it's taken Kielce 13 minutes to level the match at 6:6. It's a bit scrappy with a few mistakes by Flensburg allowing the hosts to get back into the game.
18:52
Kielce have had a slow start and Flensburg lead 3:1 after five minutes, Hampus Wanne scoring one field goal and one penalty to add to Lasse Svan's opener.
18:46
In parallel in both Skopje and Kielce a minute's silence was held in memory of Alfredo Quintana, and commentator Tom Ó Brannagáin spoke movingly of his own memories of the FC Porto goalkeeper.
18:44
Here are the MOTW squads. Kielce are at full-strength; Flensburg have brought only 13 men to Poland, but that includes some standout players such as Jim Gottfridsson so don't discount them!
18:40
Tune into EHFTV now for MOTW coverage, tonight with commentator Tom Ó Brannagáin. Or, if you prefer, Vardar are about to host Meshkov Brest.
The Match of the Week is crucial: the winners will finish top of group A.
17:36 | HALF-TIME
THW KIEL 23:15 HC PPD ZAGREB
It was a great start from Zagreb, but once Kiel kicked into gear they began to cruise and, just like in September, they have an eight-goal lead going into the break.
Dario Quenstedt made a big difference for the hosts, with 10 saves for a 40 per cent efficiency. That compared to 0 saves for Radivoje Ristanovic, who conceded 12 shots before Ivica Obrvan replaced him with Todor Jandric. However Jandric hasn't had a much better game, saving only one from 12 goals.
17:21
Kiel have a chance to establish a gap now. A 4:0 run has taken them to 15:11, and Dario Quenstedt makes an excellent double save to prevent Filip Vistorop from scoring. There's 10 minutes until the break.
17:17
The TV coverage shows Niklas Landin applauding his younger brother Magnus, who scores his first goal of the game in a penalty. Landin senior remains on the bench while Dario Quenstedt does the work between the posts, although he's saved only three shots so far.
Kiel now lead 12:11 in what continues to be a tight game.
17:12
Kiel, in possession but with Sven Ehrig serving a suspension, lose the ball and David Mandic swiftly gets it into the empty goal before Dario Quenstedt can run in to stop the shot. Zagreb are taking the match to their hosts, and the score is level at 8:8.
17:08
Nearly seven minutes in, and Kiel lead 6:4. It's been a better start by Zagreb than in the round 1 match in Croatia, when Kiel went into the break leading 14:6 (going on to take a 31:21 win).
17:00
The first match of the last day of the EHF Champions League Men group phase is about to throw off. Here are the Kiel and Zagreb squads tonight.
16:45
The EHFTV coverage of Kiel's match against Zagreb has begun with the warm-up, ahead of throw-off at 17:00 CET. There's just pride at stake here, as neither side can change their ranking in group B. Can Zagreb finally get a group phase win?
16:23
There is plenty on the line in the MOTW between Kielce and Flensburg tonight, as the winner of the clash will also be the winner of the group. Who do you think will clinch the victory? Let us know below!
15:27
Following the assessment of the cancelled matches, the final ranking in group B is now set, as no team can move from their current position no matter the results in the last games in this stage.
See all the group standings here.
Motor were better at the beginning, but we didn’t get in panic and we reached our level until the end. They are a strong team in defence and we played good in one vs one. It was the key of the game.
20:28
Unfortunately our second match, initially scheduled to start at 18:45 CET but delayed, has now been called off: Veszprém against Nantes will not be played tonight.
Further official information as soon as it becomes available.
20:16
RESULT | Barça vs HC Motor 42:34 (23:18)
Barça have done it! They win all 14 matches of the group phase, a feat never achieved before by any team since the EHF Champions League started with eight-team groups in the 2015/16 season.
And Dika Mem contributes eight goals to raise his total for the season to 60.
20:11
Team timeout Motor. What can the Ukrainian side do in the last few minutes?
19:50
Barça have reached the 30-goal mark as Blaz Janc scores from the right wing, with still 20 minutes left on the clock.
19:24
HALF-TIME | Barça vs HC Motor 23:18
After their slow start against Motor, Barça have been cruising and scoring 23 goals. That's the second highest number of first-half goals by any team this season.
Who scored more? Right, Barça themselves, against HC PPD Zagreb (24:13).
19:19
Alfredo Quintana will never be forgotten. Great gesture to remember the late goalkeeper star from FC Porto prior to Barça vs Motor tonight:
19:05
Looks like Barça have overcome that early scare against Motor and the hosts are in the lead by three (13:10) halfway through the first half.
18:51
What a start for Motor in Barcelona: They lead 5:2 in less than five minutes and Viachaslau Bokhan has scored three times.
18:30
Hands up if you are looking forward to tonight's matches!
Only 15 minutes now and round 14 will get underway in Spain and Hungary. Remember you can watch both games LIVE on EHFTV (though geo-blocking might apply in certain regions):
16:08
We could be in for a real treat tonight with leaders Barça and runners-up Veszprém both in action, the two teams that have dominated group B.
Veszprém host Nantes in a match that won't affect the final standings, as the Hungarian hosts are guaranteed of the second place and the visitors from France know they will finish in sixth.
The situation is slightly different in the other match. Of course, Barça have long been confirmed as group winners, but Motor have the same amount of points (14) as TWH Kiel and Aalborg Håndbold and can still finish third, fourth or fifth.
Here are the current standings in group B:
