The East Jutland side made a promising start at the Barcelona arena, but the Spanish favorites stepped up a gear or two after the break. This marks the first time in the club's history that Skanderborg AGF has competed in the premier tournament of European club handball.
However, the debut in this prestigious tournament did not weigh heavily on the visiting team from East Jutland.
Playing in the vast Barcelona arena, Skanderborg AGF displayed high-paced, quality handball for long stretches, resulting in a relatively evenly matched first half.
In reality, it was only a stellar performance by Sergey Hernández in the Barcelona goal that prevented the Danes from taking the lead; Hernández reached his tenth save after just 19 minutes.
The Spanish goalkeeper’s heroics made life difficult for Skanderborg, who eventually lost momentum and trailed 13–18 at halftime. The Spaniards increased the pace after the break, while Skanderborg fell further and further behind.
Consequently, the lead steadily widened, allowing the defending Champions League winners to comfortably secure a decisive victory.
In addition to FC Barcelona, Skanderborg AGF are in a group with Montpellier and Dinamo Bucuresti in the Champions League’s preliminary group stage.
The Champions League has expanded from 16 to 24 teams, and the preliminary group stage has been restructured from two groups of eight teams to six groups of four teams.