2019–20 EHF Champions League knockout stage

The 2019–20 EHF Champions League knockout stage was scheduled to begin on 18 March with the round of 16 and end on 31 May 2020 with the final at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, to decide the winners of the 2019–20 EHF Champions League.[1] A total of 14 teams would have competed in the knockout phase, including the top six teams from Groups A and B and the two winners of the playoffs between the top two teams from Groups C and D.

On 25 March, the EHF announced that no matches would be played before June due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Afterwards, it was decided just to play the final four.

Format edit

In the round of 16, the ten teams ranked 2nd–6th in Groups A and B plus the two winners from the playoffs between the top two teams from Groups C and D play against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches. The six winning teams advance to the quarterfinals, where they are joined by the winners of Groups A and B for another round of two-legged home-and-away matches. The four quarterfinal winners qualify for the final four tournament at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.

Qualified teams edit

The top six teams from Groups A and B and the two playoff winners qualify for the knockout stage.

Group Qualified for quarterfinals Qualified for Round of 16
First place Second place Third place Fourth place Fifth place Sixth place
A   Barça   Paris Saint-Germain   MOL-Pick Szeged   Aalborg Håndbold   SG Flensburg-Handewitt   Celje Pivovarna Laško
B   THW Kiel   Telekom Veszprém   PGE Vive Kielce   Montpellier Handball   FC Porto Sofarma   Vardar
Playoff winners   Orlen Wisła Płock
  CS Dinamo București

Round of 16 edit

On 13 March 2020, the EHF announced that the round of 16 matches would not be held as scheduled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Europe.[3] A new competition schedule proposed by the EHF on 25 March foresees the first and second legs being played in the first week of June, with a cancellation deadline on 15 May.[2] The matches were cancelled on 24 April 2020.[4]

Overview edit

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
CS Dinamo București   M1   Paris Saint-Germain Cancelled Cancelled
Orlen Wisła Płock   M2   Telekom Veszprém Cancelled Cancelled
Vardar   M3   MOL-Pick Szeged Cancelled Cancelled
Celje Pivovarna Laško   M4   PGE Vive Kielce Cancelled Cancelled
FC Porto Sofarma   M5   Aalborg Håndbold Cancelled Cancelled
SG Flensburg-Handewitt   M6   Montpellier Handball Cancelled Cancelled

Matches edit

CS Dinamo București   Cancelled   Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain   Cancelled   CS Dinamo București

Orlen Wisła Płock   Cancelled   Telekom Veszprém
Telekom Veszprém   Cancelled   Orlen Wisła Płock

Vardar   Cancelled   MOL-Pick Szeged
MOL-Pick Szeged   Cancelled   Vardar

Celje Pivovarna Laško   Cancelled   PGE Vive Kielce
PGE Vive Kielce   Cancelled   Celje Pivovarna Laško

FC Porto Sofarma   Cancelled   Aalborg Håndbold
Aalborg Håndbold   Cancelled   FC Porto Sofarma

SG Flensburg-Handewitt   Cancelled   Montpellier Handball
Montpellier Handball   Cancelled   SG Flensburg-Handewitt

Quarterfinals edit

The quarterfinals were rescheduled on 25 March 2020.[2] The matches were cancelled on 24 April 2020.[4]

Overview edit

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
M6   Barça Cancelled Cancelled
M5   THW Kiel Cancelled Cancelled
M4 M1 Cancelled Cancelled
M3 M2 Cancelled Cancelled

Matches edit

M6 Cancelled   Barça
Barça   Cancelled M6

M5 Cancelled   THW Kiel
THW Kiel   Cancelled M5

M4 Cancelled M1
M1 Cancelled M4

M3 Cancelled M2
M2 Cancelled M3

Final four edit

The final four was scheduled to be held at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on 30 and 31 May but was rescheduled to 22 and 23 August 2020,[5][2][6] and later to 28 and 29 December 2020. Because of the cancellation of the last 16 and quarterfinals, the first two-placed teams from the group stage groups will play in the final four.[4] The draw was held on 10 November 2020.[7][8]

Bracket edit

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
28 December
 
 
  THW Kiel36
 
29 December
 
  Telekom Veszprém35
 
  THW Kiel33
 
28 December
 
  Barça28
 
  Barça37
 
 
  Paris Saint-Germain32
 
Third place
 
 
29 December
 
 
  Telekom Veszprém26
 
 
  Paris Saint-Germain31

Semifinals edit

28 December 2020
18:00
Barça   37–32   Paris Saint-Germain Lanxess Arena, Cologne
Attendance: 0[note 1]
Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
Mem 8 (18–14) Nahi 9
 3×  Report   2× 

28 December 2020
20:30
THW Kiel   36–35 (ET)   Telekom Veszprém Lanxess Arena, Cologne
Attendance: 0[note 1]
Referees: Marìn, García (ESP)
Pekeler 8 (18–13) Borozan, Marguc 7
  7×  1×  Report   5× 

FT: 29–29 ET: 7–6

Third place game edit

29 December 2020
18:00
Telekom Veszprém   26–31   Paris Saint-Germain Lanxess Arena, Cologne
Attendance: 0[note 1]
Referees: Pavićević, Ražnatović (MNE)
Lékai 9 (11–14) Prandi, Remili 6
  6×  Report   3× 

Final edit

29 December 2020
20:30
THW Kiel   33–28   Barça Lanxess Arena, Cologne
Attendance: 0[note 1]
Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
Ekberg 8 (19–16) Gómez 10
  5×  Report  4× 

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d The match was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References edit

  1. ^ "A magnificent season is over, on to the next one". www.ehfcl.com. European Handball Federation. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "EHF presents feasibility study for potential re-start of European handball". eurohandball.com. 25 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Information on EHF competition matches in March and April". eurohandball.com. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Information on the future of the European handball season 2019/20". eurohandball.com. 24 April 2020.
  5. ^ "A magnificent season is over, on to the next one". ehfcl.com. 4 June 2019.
  6. ^ "VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020 takes place, will be organised in December". ehfcl.com. 21 April 2020.
  7. ^ "VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020 teams to learn semi-final opponents". eurohandball.com. 9 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Kiel face Veszprém and Barça take on PSG in VELUX EHF FINAL4 semi-finals". eurohandball.com. 10 November 2020.

External links edit