His goals didn’t help either: Kiel’s best thrower Niclas Ekberg during THW’s Champions League game at FC Barcelona.
Image: dpa
The North Germans have been waiting for a win against FC Barcelona for 13 years. In the away game in Catalonia, the “Blaugrana” weaken, but offensively the Kielers can’t make a profit from it.
Dhe THW Kiel suffered another defeat in the preliminary round of the Champions League. The German record champions lost to defending champions FC Barcelona on Wednesday evening by 24:26 (13:13). With 6:10 points, Kiel, where Niclas Ekberg was the top scorer with five goals, remain fifth in Group B. Domen Makuc scored six goals for Barça.
Kiel was wide awake from the start in the Palau Blaugrana. Goalkeeper Niklas Landin saved the Catalans’ first four throws, including a seven-meter penalty from Aleix Gomez. However, there was a problem in the offensive of the North Germans, so that the THW did not capitalize on the total of nine turnovers by the hosts in the first half.
Even after the break, Barça made numerous mistakes. Ekberg put the penalty to 19:16 (43rd minute). But this advantage did not bring the North Germans more security. On the contrary: The Brazilian Haniel Langaro scored at 22:21 (50th) for the hosts’ first lead ever. In the 59th minute, Patrick Wiencek saw a red card after a foul on Makuc. The Kielers missed the possible first win after 13 years with the Catalans.
