2018–19 EHF Champions League
# 2018–19 EHF Champions League

The 2018–19 EHF Champions League was the 59th edition of Europe's premier club handball tournament and the 26th edition under the current EHF Champions League format.

RK Vardar defeated Telekom Veszprém 27–24 in the final to win their second title.

## Competition format

Twenty-eight teams, divided into four groups, participated in the competition. Groups A and B were played with eight teams each, in a round robin, home and away format. The top team in each group qualified directly for the quarter-finals, while the bottom two in each group dropped out of the competition. The remaining 10 teams qualified for the first knockout phase.

In Groups C and D, six teams played in each group in a round robin format, with both home and away games. The top two teams in each group then met in an elimination play-off, with the two winners proceeding to the first knockout phase. The remaining teams were eliminated from the competition.

### Knockout phase 1 (last 16)

12 teams played home and away in the first knockout phase, with the 10 teams qualified from Groups A and B and the two teams qualified from Groups C and D.

### Knockout phase 2 (quarter-finals)

The six winners of the matches in the first knockout phase were joined by the winners of Groups A and B to play home and away for the right to contest the VELUX EHF FINAL4.

### VELUX EHF FINAL4

The culmination of the season, the VELUX EHF FINAL4, continued in its existing format, with the four top teams from the competition competing for the title over one weekend in LANXESS arena, Cologne.

## Team allocation

28 teams were directly qualified for the group stage.

Groups A/B :

| Meshkov Brest | PPD Zagreb | Skjern Håndbold | Montpellier Handball |
| - | - | - | - |
| HBC Nantes | Paris Saint-Germain | Flensburg-Handewitt | Rhein-Neckar Löwen |
| MOL-Pick Szeged | Telekom Veszprém | RK Vardar | PGE Vive Kielce |
| Barça Lassa | IFK Kristianstad | Celje Pivovarna Laško | Motor Zaporizhzhia |
| Groups C/D ||||
| Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | Riihimäki Cocks | Metalurg Skopje | Elverum Håndball |
| Wisła Płock | Sporting CP | Dinamo București | Chekhovskiye Medvedi |
| Tatran Prešov | Ademar León | Wacker Thun | Beşiktaş |

## Round and draw dates

| Phase | Draw date |
| - | - |
| Group stage | 29 June 2018 |
| Knockout stage | 29 June 2018 |
| Final Four (Cologne) | 7 May 2019 |

## Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 29 June 2018 at 12:30 at the Erste Campus in Vienna, Austria. The 28 teams were drawn into four groups, two containing eight teams (Groups A and B) and two containing six teams (Groups C and D). The only restriction was that teams from the same national association could not face each other in the same group. The only exception was HBC Nantes, who play against one of the two French rivals in the group.

In each group, teams will play against each other in a double round-robin format, with home and away matches.

After completion of the group stage matches, the teams advancing to the knockout stage will be determined in the following manner:

* Groups A and B – the top team will qualify directly for the quarterfinals, and the five teams ranked 2nd–6th will advance to the first knockout round.
* Groups C and D – the top two teams from both groups contest a playoff to determine the last two sides joining the 10 teams from Groups A and B in the first knockout round.
* Tiebreakers
* In the group stage, teams are ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams have scored the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:
* Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
* Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
* Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved (or in the away match in case of a two-team tie);
* Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
* Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;
* If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by EHF through drawing of lots.
* During the group stage, only criteria 4–5 apply to determine the provisional ranking of teams.

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAR | VES | VAR | KIE | RNL | BRE | MON | KRI |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Barça Lassa | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 486 | 391 | +95 | 24 | Quarterfinals | — | 31–28 | 34–26 | 31–27 | 30–25 | 41–32 | 35–27 | 43–26 |
| 2 | Telekom Veszprém | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 410 | 382 | +28 | 20 | First knockout round | 29–26 | — | 24–27 | 29–27 | 28–29 | 28–20 | 25–19 | 36–27 |
| 3 | RK Vardar | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 406 | 390 | +16 | 19 | First knockout round | 26–30 | 27–29 | — | 28–27 | 29–27 | 30–23 | 33–27 | 33–25 |
| 4 | PGE Vive Kielce | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 439 | 430 | +9 | 14 | First knockout round | 36–42 | 35–36 | 31–27 | — | 35–32 | 33–31 | 27–28 | 33–31 |
| 5 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 418 | 410 | +8 | 14 | First knockout round | 35–34 | 25–29 | 27–30 | 30–29 | — | 33–27 | 37–27 | 36–27 |
| 6 | Meshkov Brest | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 379 | 419 | −40 | 9 | First knockout round | 21−29 | 28–29 | 31–31 | 26–35 | 27–24 | — | 26–23 | 32–23 |
| 7 | Montpellier | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 377 | 414 | −37 | 7 | | 28–36 | 29–30 | 24–27 | 26–29 | 31–26 | 29–23 | — | 30–31 |
| 8 | IFK Kristianstad | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 396 | 475 | −79 | 5 | | 25–44 | 32–29 | 30–31 | 33–34 | 27–32 | 30–32 | 29–29 | — |

* 1 2 Vive Kielce 64–62 Rhein-Neckar Löwen

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PAR | SZE | FLE | NAN | ZAP | ZAG | SKJ | CEL |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Paris Saint-Germain | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 455 | 385 | +70 | 26 | Quarterfinals | — | 33–31 | 29–28 | 35–34 | 31–25 | 33–28 | 38–28 | 33–21 |
| 2 | MOL-Pick Szeged | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 411 | 397 | +14 | 20 | First knockout round | 33–32 | — | 30–28 | 30–28 | 30–29 | 26–26 | 33–33 | 33–24 |
| 3 | Flensburg-Handewitt | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 378 | 370 | +8 | 15 | First knockout round | 20–27 | 27–25 | — | 29–29 | 31–24 | 29–31 | 26–22 | 27–26 |
| 4 | HBC Nantes | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 421 | 408 | +13 | 14 | First knockout round | 31–35 | 29–26 | 31–34 | — | 23–27 | 23–20 | 35–27 | 38–27 |
| 5 | Motor Zaporizhzhia | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 389 | 381 | +8 | 11 | First knockout round | 29–35 | 31–32 | 28–26 | 30–30 | — | 35–27 | 33–23 | 36–27 |
| 6 | PPD Zagreb | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 382 | 420 | −38 | 11 | First knockout round | 21–32 | 23–24 | 21–22 | 27–27 | 27–24 | — | 32–29 | 24–22 |
| 7 | Skjern Håndbold | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 398 | 439 | −41 | 8 | | 24–26 | 26–29 | 24–31 | 32–34 | 37–33 | 31–31 | — | 35–32 |
| 8 | Celje Pivovarna Laško | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 380 | 416 | −36 | 7 | | 32–36 | 28–29 | 23–20 | 29–29 | 33–28 | 30–21 | 26–27 | — |

* 1 2 Motor Zaporizhzhia 59–54 Zagreb

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BJE | SPO | PRE | MED | BES | SKO |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 323 | 273 | +50 | 16 | Playoffs | — | 29–28 | 29–30 | 39–28 | 34–27 | 33–25 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 304 | 277 | +27 | 14 | Playoffs | 32–35 | — | 26–28 | 33–31 | 34–28 | 34–26 |
| 3 | Tatran Prešov | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 278 | 268 | +10 | 14 | | 26–24 | 27–30 | — | 27–28 | 27–23 | 30–24 |
| 4 | Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 280 | 279 | +1 | 8 | | 24–30 | 22–23 | 38–26 | — | 22–24 | 33–25 |
| 5 | Beşiktaş | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 255 | 289 | −34 | 6 | | 24–37 | 27–33 | 22–28 | 27–30 | — | 23–22 |
| 6 | Metalurg Skopje | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 246 | 300 | −54 | 2 | | 29–33 | 24–31 | 24–29 | 25–24 | 22–30 | — |

* 1 2 Sporting 56–55 Prešov

### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BUC | PLO | ELV | LEO | RII | THU |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dinamo București | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 293 | 280 | +13 | 14 | Playoffs | — | 24–21 | 26–24 | 35–30 | 24–22 | 35–34 |
| 2 | Wisła Płock | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 278 | 250 | +28 | 14 | Playoffs | 29–28 | — | 30–28 | 25–23 | 34–18 | 34–24 |
| 3 | Elverum Håndball | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 278 | 272 | +6 | 13 | | 29–28 | 28–30 | — | 30–25 | 28–27 | 29–28 |
| 4 | Ademar León | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 252 | 251 | +1 | 12 | | 31–28 | 27–24 | 24–24 | — | 23–20 | 24–21 |
| 5 | Riihimäki Cocks | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 246 | 269 | −23 | 6 | | 31–32 | 27–26 | 25–28 | 19–19 | — | 31–29 |
| 6 | Wacker Thun | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 268 | 293 | −25 | 1 | | 29–33 | 23–25 | 29–30 | 25–26 | 26–26 | — |

* 1 2 Dinamo 52–50 Płock

### Playoffs

The top two teams from Groups C and D contested a playoff to determine the two sides advancing to the knockout phase. The winners of each group will face the runners-up of the other group in a two-legged tie.

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Sporting CP | 59–57 | Dinamo București | 32–31 | 27–26 |
| Wisła Płock | 49–46 | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 22–26 | 27–20 |

## Knockout stage

The first-placed team from the preliminary groups A and B advanced to the quarterfinals, while the 2–6th placed teams advanced to the round of 16 alongside the playoff winners.

### Round of 16

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Sporting CP | 57–65 | Telekom Veszprém | 28–30 | 29–35 |
| Wisła Płock | 36–45 | MOL-Pick Szeged | 20–22 | 16–23 |
| PPD Zagreb | 48–59 | RK Vardar | 18–27 | 30–32 |
| Meshkov Brest | 48–60 | Flensburg-Handewitt | 28–30 | 20–30 |
| Motor Zaporizhzhia | 62–67 | PGE Vive Kielce | 33–33 | 29–34 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 61–62 | HBC Nantes | 34–32 | 27–30 |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| HBC Nantes | 51–61 | Barça Lassa | 25–32 | 26–29 |
| PGE Vive Kielce | 60–59 | Paris Saint-Germain | 34–24 | 26–35 |
| Flensburg-Handewitt | 47–57 | Telekom Veszprém | 22–28 | 25–29 |
| RK Vardar | 56–52 | MOL-Pick Szeged | 31–23 | 25–29 |

### Final four

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 June | 1 June |
| Telekom Veszprém | 33 |
| Telekom Veszprém | 33 | 2 June | 2 June |
| PGE Vive Kielce | 30 | 2 June | 2 June |
| PGE Vive Kielce | 30 | Telekom Veszprém | 24 |
| 1 June | 1 June | | Telekom Veszprém | 24 |
| 1 June | 1 June | RK Vardar | 27 |
| Barça Lassa | 27 | RK Vardar | 27 |
| RK Vardar | 29 | | |
| RK Vardar | 29 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 2 June | 2 June |
| | | PGE Vive Kielce | 35 |
| | | Barça Lassa | 40 |

**Final**

| 2 June 2019 18:00 | RK Vardar | 27–24 | Telekom Veszprém | Lanxess Arena, Cologne Attendance: 19,250 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 June 2019 18:00 | Ferreira 6 | (16–11) | Mahé 6 | Lanxess Arena, Cologne Attendance: 19,250 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| 2 June 2019 18:00 | 4× 2× | Report | 1× 5× | Lanxess Arena, Cologne Attendance: 19,250 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |

## Statistics and awards

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Alex Dujshebaev | PGE Vive Kielce | 99 |
| 2 | Dainis Krištopāns | RK Vardar | 94 |
| 3 | Andy Schmid | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 91 |
| 4 | Barys Pukhouski | Motor Zaporizhzhia | 87 |
| 4 | Melvyn Richardson | Montpellier | 87 |
| 6 | Zlatko Horvat | PPD Zagreb | 85 |
| 7 | Valero Rivera Folch | HBC Nantes | 81 |
| 8 | Nedim Remili | Paris Saint-Germain | 80 |
| 9 | Uwe Gensheimer | Paris Saint-Germain | 79 |
| 9 | Igor Karačić | RK Vardar | 79 |
| 9 | Jannik Kohlbacher | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 79 |
| 9 | Petar Nenadić | Telekom Veszprém | 79 |

### Awards

The all-star team was announced on 31 May 2019.

* Goalkeeper: Dejan Milosavljev
* Right wing: Ivan Čupić
* Right back: Dainis Krištopāns
* Centre back: Kentin Mahé
* Left back: Mikkel Hansen
* Left wing: Timur Dibirov
* Pivot: Julen Aguinagalde

**Other awards**

* MVP of the Final four: Igor Karačić
* Best Defender: Blaž Blagotinšek
* Best Young player: Ludovic Fabregas
* Coach: Roberto García Parrondo
