Gidsel Equals Chuchi Martínez's Record With 17 Goals, Vardar Still Waiting for a First Point in the Champions League

Gidsel's 17 goals equal a 17-year-old record

Mathias Gidsel scored 17 goals from 19 shots in Füchse Berlin's 40:32 win over Porto, equaling the Champions League record held since 2009 by Spaniard Jesús "Chuchi" Martínez de la Cal. Porto were the Berliners' only real rival for second place in the group and held on for a long time, but found no way to stop the Dane. Gidsel's personal best had been 13 goals, twice last season, and he now leads the scoring chart with 36 goals after just three rounds. When one player alone scores as many as half the opposing team, the tactics board becomes decoration.

Szeged come back from minus six, Barcelona don't know how to lose

In Szeged, Sporting led 28:23 in the 49th minute and ended up with a 35:35 draw. The Hungarians were dragged back by Mario Šoštarić with 11 goals, while for the Portuguese the Costa brothers once again carried the attack. In other halls, Aarhus celebrated the first Champions League win in the club's history, 36:32 against two-time European champions Montpellier. Barcelona, meanwhile, beat Dinamo Bucharest 34:27 for their 19th straight win in the competition, with 19 saves from goalkeeper Sergey Hernández. Nineteen wins in a row - does anyone still believe European handball has more than one favorite?

Győr and Metz: fifteen meetings, first draw

The rematch of last year's women's Champions League final, which Metz won 31:29, ended without a winner - 34:34 in Győr. Metz were even up 32:30 five minutes from time, but Dione Housheer leveled with her 10th goal five seconds before the final buzzer. It was the 15th meeting between the two clubs and the first to end in a draw. In the other French-Hungarian duel, FTC won 33:28 in Brest with 10 goals from Petra Simon for their fifth straight win, ending Brest's unbeaten run.

Vardar pointless in Europe, and Čupić takes the blame

Vardar lost to Wisła Płock 26:32 at "Jane Sandanski" and after three rounds are last in the group without a point. Mathieu Fadhuile scored 14 goals from 14 shots, but there wasn't enough from the backcourt. Coach Ivan Čupić didn't look for an alibi in the referees: he admitted he was wrong to open the game with an extra player, seven against six, which gifted easy goals into an empty net. "They're the only team that pays three or four players just to play defense," Čupić said of the Poles. The fans still stayed in the stands and applauded the players, and the coach admitted it would have been easier for him if they had whistled the team and left. The return match is on Wednesday in Płock. In the domestic Super League, Vardar did its job with a 33:24 win in Struga.

Ohrid hands Alkaloid its first defeat

In the derby of the sixth round of the Super League, Ohrid beat Alkaloid 26:24 at "Biljanini Izvori". Kiril Lazarov's team led 7:4 in the 15th minute, but Ohrid went into the break up 15:11 and in the 43rd minute were six goals ahead. Tilen Strmljan and Dominik Máthé scored six goals each for the hosts, and Nikola Kosteski as many for Alkaloid. With this defeat, Vardar remain the only team with a perfect record and are back in first place, Eurofarm Pelister are a point behind and unbeaten, Alkaloid are third and Ohrid fourth. The league finally has a derby that isn't decided on paper.