EHF Champions League: Veszprém won bronze medal

The era of Xavier Sabate as coach of Telekom Veszprém ended on a winning note. The Hungarian champions beat EHF Champions League record winners FC Barcelona Lassa in the 3/4 placement match of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne 34:30.

3/4 PLACEMENT MATCH

Telekom Veszprem (HUN) vs FC Barcelona Lassa (ESP) 34:30 (18:17)

The Veszprém fans on the stands chanted and clapped their hands, their players celebrated that they finished their trip to Cologne with a win. In their fourth straight participation at the VELUX EHF FINAL4, Telekom Veszprém took the third position for the first time, after two final defeats in the last two years and a fourth rank in 2014.

Beating FC Barcelona 34:30 on Sunday was the revenge for the defeat in the 2015 final and the placement match defeat in 2014.

On the other hand, Barcelona finished on their weakest ever rank in their sixth appearance after winning the trophy twice in Cologne.

Veszprém showed more will and determination in the initial period, while FC Barcelona started with a fully rotated line-up compared to their 25:26 semi-final defeat against Vardar on Saturday.

Thanks to the goals and inspiration of their two masterminds Máté Lékai and Aron Palmarsson, the Hungarian record champions forged ahead to 8:5 and 12:8 (in minute 18).