Vardar returned to the elite and lost by two goals - and that is good news

After a break of several years, Vardar 1961 are playing in the group stage of the EHF Champions League again, and the debut was away at Germany's Melsungen. It finished 33:31 to the hosts, but the numbers tell a different story from the result. Vukasin Vorkapic scored nine goals, six of them before half-time, and when Vasil Gogov came into goal midway through the second half, Vardar cut the deficit to 27:28. Only in the 58th minute, with a goal from Johannes Golla for 32:29, did Melsungen lock the win down. The hosts - last season's European League winners - took revenge for two defeats to Vardar last season. The Macedonian champions played weakened by several key absences. Coach Ivan Cupic admitted after the match there had been chances to level, but that the hosts deserved the win.

Abdelhak among the five best goals of the round

Vardar's new signing, Mohab Abdelhak, scored five goals against Melsungen, and the EHF placed one of them third in the vote for the best goal of the first round of the Champions League. Only Ferran Sole of PSG and Leonel Fernandes of Porto finished ahead of him. Giorgi Tskhovrebadze of Zagreb and Emil Lærke of Aarhus also made the top five. A small thing? Perhaps. But when a club returns to the strongest competition after several years away, things like this carry a weight the results table does not show. Vardar did not come in to make up the numbers - they came in with a player who has already caught the eye of all Europe in the first round.

Fuchse Berlin put 44 goals past Belgrade, Szeged broke forty after 25 seasons

The second batch of first-round fixtures in the men's Champions League was a clear-out for the favourites. Fuchse Berlin beat Partizan 44:33 in Belgrade - their biggest win and most goals scored in their European history. Mathias Gidsel collected nine goals, Tobias Grøndahl eight, Leo Prantner seven - the three of them 24 between them. Partizan returned to the elite after 14 years away, and new coach Raul Gonzalez got a cold shower. Szeged passed 40 goals for the first time in their 25 seasons in this competition, with 42:31 against Kristianstad. Sporting won 43:33 against GOG, and Montpellier won most narrowly in Bucharest, 27:23. When the top of Europe opens its seasons with forty goals apiece, defence has become an option rather than a rule.

Super League: Pelister with 38:27, Vardar scraped through in Kumanovo

The second round of the men's handball Super League brought no surprises, but it did bring margins. Eurofarm Pelister, led by Lino Cervar, beat Multi Essence 38:27, even though the visitors led 5:1 and held 10:6. Belistojanoski finished with eight goals. Vardar 1961, two days after the match in Germany, won in Kumanovo by a single goal - 31:30 - despite leading 25:16 in the second half. For the hosts Kostov scored 15 goals. Alkaloid saw off Pelister's second team in Bitola 31:27, and GRK Ohrid took the lakeside derby 33:16 against Struga. On the table: Alkaloid, Vardar 1961, Prilep and Tikvesh on four points, GRK Ohrid and Eurofarm Pelister on three. A champion leading by nine goals and winning by one - that is the price of a European calendar.

Skopje is preparing for Nantes, and the fan zone is part of the plan

Vardar 1961's first home European match of the new season is set for 16 September at 18:45 at the Jane Sandanski sports centre, against French giants Nantes. The club released a promotional video with the message "Vardarci, it is time!" and announced a fan zone in front of the entrance with a stage, music and activities before kick-off. Tickets are already on sale online. This is not a marketing trifle: a full hall in Skopje is the only advantage a Macedonian club can carry against a budget like Nantes'. Against Melsungen, Vardar proved they can keep pace for almost the full sixty minutes. In Skopje, the difference has to be made in the last five.