Finally, Barça broke its curse with Magdeburg, its true bete noire, the only team it did not know how to beat. In a splendid match in front of the Palau fans, Carlos Ortega’s team defeated, 32-20, on the second day of the Champions League, the only team that had defeated them three times in the last three years: two club World Cup finals and in semifinals of the final four last June, on penalties (40-39), the most painful.
Magdeburg arrived at the Palau wounded in its pride by the defeat on the first day of the Champions League, in its fiefdom against Fàbregas’s Veszprém (28-33), and with the loss of its reference, the Icelandic central defender Gisli Kristyánsson. Although that didn’t make it more affordable. His two brand new signings, the Swede Felix Claar and the Icelandic Janus Smarason, make it a more powerful team than it already was in June in Cologne.
The first action of the game was premonitory: Nielsen saving a penalty from Magnusson. Although Sergey Hernández also stopped the first Blaugrana shot, from Janc. In the first duel at the Palau, Ortega handed the baton to Pol Valera and the goal to Nielsen, who stood out at the start with 5 saves in 7 minutes. Some interventions that allowed Barça to go on the counterattack and go 4 up (6-2) at the start.
An advantage of 4 that could be maintained and expanded to 5 thanks to excellent defense and quick transitions, finished off by an inspired Dika Mem or a brave Pol Valera in one-on-one (11-6, at 19m). And, of course, a Nielsen that continued to grow with 9 stops in 20 minutes.
Barça liked each other and reached a maximum advantage of 6 with Wanne’s 12-6 from a penalty. The Blaugrana team was shrinking the champion with a fierce defense and was eating into their morale with the two consecutive saved penalties by Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas that allowed his team to go into the break with a spectacular 14-8 to believe in victory.
In the second half, Barça started with the 7th, maximum advantage (15-8), of Dika Mem, who maintained with the collective work in scoring with the help of Wanne, Pol Valera or Aleix Gómez, who did not play at all. first time.
Barça accelerated and reached a maximum lead of 9 (21-12) with two more goals from Mem on the counterattack, who had to retire with muscle problems at 7m20. The captain was splendid with 7 goals in 8 shots. Carlsbogard, also on the counter, humiliated the Germans with 22-12, a 10 (m. 38) that forced the German coach to call a timeout to stop the bleeding.
Barça did not miss its superb victory, extending its lead to a spectacular 12 (32-20) with great effectiveness in shooting, despite the incessant bench movement that Ortega put in place with the entry of the youngsters Javi Rodríguez, Petar Cikusa or Ian Barrufet.
Barça: Nielsen, Janc (2), Mem (8), Petrus, Carlsbogard (1), Wanne (4p) and Frade (2); Pol Valera (4), N’Guessan (2), Javi Rodríguez, Richardson (3), Cikusa, Langaro, Aleix Gómez (6), Ian Barrufet, Pérez de Vargas (ps).
Magdeburg: Hernández, Hornke (2, 1p), Saugstrup (1), Damgaard (1), Magnusson (2), Claar (2), Musche (3); Chrapkowski (1), Weber (3), Lagergren (2), Smarason (2), Sullivan, Bergendahl (1), Portner (ps).
Referees: Handsen and Madsen (Denmark). They excluded Javi Rodríguez, Petrus; Smarason, Chrapkowski.
Partials: 3-2, 6-4, 7-5, 11-6, 12-8, 14-8 (rest); 18-12, 22-13, 23-16, 26-17, 29-19, 32-20.
Track: Palau Blaugrana, 1,930 spectators.
