GROUP A
MOTW: SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 25:27 (12:15)
- Cristina Neagu left it late, until the 58th minute against Bietigheim, but her fifth goal of the game was also her 1000th of her career in the EHF Champions League Women
- Neagu entered a club with only two members – Montenegro’s right wing Jovanka Radicevic and former Györ centre back Anita Görbicz – as the only three players to have scored in quadruple digits in the European premium competition
- the Romanian side, who were already qualified after Vipers’ win against Odense on Saturday, secured their sixth win in a row, setting now their largest-ever winning streak in their history in the EHF Champions League Women
- CSM cannot fall lower than the second place in the standings, as they now boast a two-point advantage over Vipers Kristiansand, but the reigning champions hold the tiebreaker in case of a draw
- CSM’s right wing Malin Aune was named the Player of the Match of the Week, after being the top scorer of the game with six goals
- Bietigheim are now on a seven-game winless run, only one game shy of their largest-ever in history in the competition, with the play-offs berth being under threat by the resurgence of Brest Bretagne Handball and Krim Mercator Ljubljana
Neagu hits another milestone
Cristina Neagu’s career is a star-studded one, winning the top goal scorer award in the EHF Champions League Women three times, while also being the only player in history to score more than 300 goals at the EHF EURO for Romania.
Now, Neagu has written her name in another page of the history of handball, becoming only the third player to score at least 1000 goals in the EHF Champions League Women, after her fifth goal scored against Bietigheim, in the 58th minute, was her 1000th in the competition.
The Romanian left back suffered an injury scare in the 45th minute, when she landed awkwardly, but bounced back in the game and delivered two goals in quick succession to help CSM seal another impressive win in this season’s European premium competition, as they surely look like one of the teams to beat.
It was not a vintage win for CSM, who suffered a lot in the match, with Bietigheim even taking the initiative in the second half, but the Romanian side had more depth and experience, crucial in extending Bietigheim’s winless streak to seven matches.
