Montpellier managed a good operation by leaving Zagreb with a draw (27-27) on Wednesday in the first leg of the Handball Champions League play-off.
A result to be converted with a victory next Wednesday (8:45 p.m.) in Hérault to reach the quarter-finals where Kiel, the colossal German club of French goalkeeper Samir Bellahcene, awaits them.
The precedents of Brestoises, overthrown by Ferencvaros last week, like Messines brought back by this same Hungarian club last year, nevertheless encourage caution.
Still, this draw in Croatia remains a performance: in the group stage, Paris SG lost there last month (28-26), and the Poles of Kielce (22-22) like the Danes of Aalborg (30 -30) had not done better than the MHB. PSG plays its first leg on Thursday (8:45 p.m.) in Poland against Plock.
