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 PhaseDraw dateGroup stage29 June 2018Knockout stageFinal 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.
TiebreakersIn 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
Group B
Group C
Group D
Playoffs
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
Quarterfinals
Final four
Final
Statistics and awards Top goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Alex Dujshebaev PGE Vive Kielce992 Dainis Krištopāns RK Vardar943 Andy Schmid Rhein-Neckar Löwen914 Barys Pukhouski Motor Zaporizhzhia87 Melvyn Richardson Montpellier6 Zlatko Horvat PPD Zagreb857 Valero Rivera Folch HBC Nantes818 Nedim Remili Paris Saint-Germain809 Uwe Gensheimer Paris Saint-Germain79 Igor Karačić RK Vardar Jannik Kohlbacher Rhein-Neckar Löwen Petar Nenadić Telekom Veszprém
Awards
MVP of the Final four: Igor Karačić Best Defender: Blaž Blagotinšek Best Young player: Ludovic Fabregas Coach: Roberto García Parrondo All-star team The all-star team was announced on 31 May 2019.
Position Player 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
References
External links Official website