Handball – Champions League
Barça will defend a four-goal lead at the Palace against Flensburg to be in the ‘final four’
Barça have shown at the start of the quarter-finals of the Champions League that they will face their current champions. In the first year of Carlos Ortega on the bench, the Barça team is still accommodating in the new coach of his new coach, but against Flensburg they signed a convincing performance, recovering from the doubts in defense that are pursuing them this year in Europe . Barça overcame the first leg with a four-goal lead (29-33) that they will want to do well next Thursday at the Palau Blaugrana.
The Catalan team began to build its income with a first time of high level, one of the best of the season. Effective in attack and especially convincing in defense, conceding only 3 goals in the first 13 minutes and reaching a difference of seven goals, they managed to impose their starting story. At times, however, the duel would get out of control, with the Germans narrowing the gap to four goals, but Barça, guided by Ben Ali’s goal-scoring success (five goals in the first half) and Pérez de Vargas’ stops, would go to the break with a comfortable (13-18).
In the second half, Barça managed to neutralize with their cold heads the effervescent exit attempt of the local team, pushed by the more than 5,000 fans that populated the stands of the Flens-Arena. Barça managed to maintain the psychological wall of the five-goal lead until the Germans added a 4-1 (21-24) partial that caused Ortega to call for a decisive timeout. Flensburg had to be cut short and improved in attack, because the locals had taken a step forward in defense. The game was entering the phase of more equality: every time Barça seemed to be able to catch some air, their rival was quick to respond.
In this context, Richardson, with two great goals in a row and Ben Ali, with the eighth goal in eight shots, managed to reactivate Barça. The last minutes, with nerves to the skin, ended up being resolved with a good income of four goals to face the duel in Barcelona.
