# 2021–22 EHF European League

The 2021–22 EHF European League was the 2nd edition of the EHF European League, the second most important European handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF).
Benfica became the first ever Portuguese team to win the trophy and the second non-German side to win the competition since 2004.

## Qualifying rounds
### First qualifying round

A total of 32 teams were involved in the first qualifying round. The first leg matches were held on 28–29 August 2021, while the second leg matches were held on 4–5 September 2021. The draw was held in EHF office in Vienna.
The results of this round were:
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 49–48 | Ystads IF | 22–23 | 27–25 |
| HC Kriens-Luzern | 42–60 | SL Benfica | 24–31 | 18–29 |
| RK Celje Pivovarna Laško | 58–65 | GOG Håndbold | 33–29 | 25–36 |
| Grupa Azoty Unia Tarnów | 51–60 | RK Nexe | 23–28 | 28–32 |
| RK Vojvodina | 49–54 | Kadetten Schaffhausen | 26–20 | 23–34 |
| Csurgói KK | 51–58 | HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța | 23–27 | 28–31 |
| Górnik Zabrze | 48–57 | ØIF Arendal | 19–29 | 29–28 |
| Aguas Santas Milaneza | 54–60 | BM Logroño La Rioja | 26–26 | 28–34 |
| Balatonfüredi KSE | 47–47 | HK Malmö | 27–25 | 20–22 |
| Azoty-Puławy | 66–46 | MRK Sesvete | 29–21 | 37–25 |
| HC Prolet 62 | 50–63 | Fraikin BM Granollers | 21–36 | 29–27 |
| Maccabi Rishon LeZion | 49–58 | HC CSKA | 26–29 | 23–29 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 80–44 | Spor Toto SK | 38–22 | 42–22 |
| RK Trimo Trebnje | 59–60 | TTH Holstebro | 31–25 | 28–35 |
| RK Poreč | 39–44 | Valur | 18–22 | 21–22 |
| Alpla HC Hard | 55–66 | Fenix Toulouse Handball | 23–27 | 32–39 |

### Second qualifying round

A total of 24 teams were involved in the second qualifying round draw, 16 advancing from the previous round and 8 teams entering this round. The first leg matches were held on 20–21 September., while the second leg matches were held on 27–28 September.
The results of this round were:
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Kadetten Schaffhausen | 68–60 | Fraikin BM Granollers | 36–33 | 32–27 |
| Valur | 47–54 | TBV Lemgo | 26–27 | 21–27 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 59–64 | SL Benfica | 31–31 | 28–33 |
| BM Logroño La Rioja | 61–58 | CB Ademar León | 34–30 | 27–28 |
| Fenix Toulouse Handball | 59–49 | HK Malmö | 30–24 | 29–25 |
| GOG Håndbold | 57–51 | Mors-Thy Håndbold | 30–24 | 27–27 |
| Azoty-Puławy | 53–65 | Füchse Berlin | 24–32 | 29–33 |
| USAM Nîmes Gard | 65–58 | HC CSKA | 36–29 | 29–29 |
| Orlen Wisła Płock | 45–40 | HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța | 25–14 | 20–26 |
| Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 59–59 | RK Nexe | 33–27 | 26–32 |
| Sporting CP | 62–53 | TTH Holstebro | 31–25 | 31–28 |
| ØIF Arendal | 49–67 | PAUC | 27–27 | 22–40 |

## Group stage
### Seedings

The 24 teams were divided into six pots of four teams, with a team from each pot being drawn to each group. Teams from the same country could not be drawn into the same group.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
| Bidasoa Irun HBC Nantes SC Magdeburg Grundfos Tatabánya KC | RK Eurofarm Pelister Chekhovskiye Medvedi Pfadi Winterthur IK Sävehof | Cocks AEK Athens HC RK Gorenje Velenje HT Tatran Prešov | PAUC Füchse Berlin TBV Lemgo Sporting CP | GOG Håndbold BM Logroño La Rioja USAM Nîmes Gard Orlen Wisła Płock | RK Nexe Fenix Toulouse Handball SL Benfica Kadetten Schaffhausen |

### Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
* Points in matches among tied teams;
* Goal difference in matches among tied teams;
* Away goals scored in matches among tied teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
* Drawing lots.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ORL | FUC | FEN | BID | TAT | WIN |
| 1 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 311 | 258 | +53 | 18 | Knockout stage | — | 24–28 | 33–29 | 33–26 | 33–29 | 35–27 |
| 2 | Füchse Berlin | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 314 | 269 | +45 | 16 | Knockout stage | 29–30 | — | 32–30 | 35–23 | 36–23 | 35–29 |
| 3 | Fenix Toulouse Handball | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 292 | 265 | +27 | 13 | Knockout stage | 24–30 | 28–27 | — | 26–26 | 34–20 | 34–27 |
| 4 | Bidasoa Irun | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 286 | 286 | 0 | 7 | Knockout stage | 28–29 | 32–35 | 24–26 | — | 33–24 | 32–28 |
| 5 | HT Tatran Prešov | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 240 | 308 | −68 | 4 | | 15–29 | 23–27 | 19–31 | 27–25 | — | 29–33 |
| 6 | Pfadi Winterthur | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 271 | 328 | −57 | 2 | | 23–35 | 27–30 | 27–30 | 23–37 | 27–31 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GOG | BEN | NAN | LEM | COC | CHE |
| 1 | GOG Håndbold | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 340 | 297 | +43 | 15 | Knockout stage | — | 39–38 | 29–29 | 34–28 | 46–30 | 27–26 |
| 2 | SL Benfica | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 336 | 311 | +25 | 15 | Knockout stage | 25–33 | — | 31–30 | 35–30 | 37–23 | 38–35 |
| 3 | HBC Nantes | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 304 | 266 | +38 | 13 | Knockout stage | 27–24 | 33–33 | — | 27–28 | 36–25 | 10–0 |
| 4 | TBV Lemgo | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 319 | 312 | +7 | 12 | Knockout stage | 39–35 | 29–30 | 37–37 | — | 39–30 | 30–27 |
| 5 | Cocks | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 257 | 331 | −74 | 3 | | 23–34 | 32–37 | 28–40 | 29–29 | — | 27–33 |
| 6 | Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 239 | 278 | −39 | 2 | | 32–39 | 27–32 | 31–35 | 28–30 | 0–10 | — |
* ↑ The match was cancelled because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
* ↑ The match was cancelled because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MAG | SAV | NEX | GOR | LOG | PAU |
| 1 | SC Magdeburg | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 317 | 267 | +50 | 19 | Knockout stage | — | 31–25 | 32–26 | 34–24 | 33–31 | 31–27 |
| 2 | IK Sävehof | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 313 | 297 | +16 | 12 | Knockout stage | 26–29 | — | 33–23 | 27–28 | 43–31 | 33–31 |
| 3 | RK Nexe | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 295 | 300 | −5 | 10 | Knockout stage | 24–28 | 39–31 | — | 31–23 | 31–30 | 33–29 |
| 4 | RK Gorenje Velenje | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 284 | 306 | −22 | 9 | Knockout stage | 27–31 | 31–35 | 34–28 | — | 32–31 | 33–32 |
| 5 | BM Logroño La Rioja | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 307 | 317 | −10 | 7 | | 29–29 | 29–30 | 31–30 | 31–26 | — | 33–26 |
| 6 | PAUC | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 290 | 319 | −29 | 3 | | 28–39 | 25–30 | 29–30 | 26–26 | 37–31 | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NIM | EUR | KAD | SPO | AEK | GRU |
| 1 | USAM Nîmes Gard | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 290 | 274 | +16 | 12 | Knockout stage | — | 25–23 | 33–33 | 33–27 | 26–27 | 24–22 |
| 2 | RK Eurofarm Pelister | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 271 | 248 | +23 | 12 | Knockout stage | 21–26 | — | 27–26 | 31–25 | 30–19 | 33–20 |
| 3 | Kadetten Schaffhausen | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 282 | 277 | +5 | 11 | Knockout stage | 25–25 | 28–28 | — | 26–24 | 30–26 | 32–26 |
| 4 | Sporting CP | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 290 | 279 | +11 | 11 | Knockout stage | 32–30 | 27–27 | 29–28 | — | 31–30 | 34–26 |
| 5 | AEK Athens HC | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 274 | 283 | −9 | 8 | | 34–30 | 27–30 | 28–31 | 25–24 | — | 34–26 |
| 6 | Grundfos Tatabánya KC | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 254 | 300 | −46 | 6 | | 30–38 | 25–21 | 31–23 | 23–37 | 25–24 | — |

## Knockout stage

The pairings for the last 16 and the quarterfinals are based on group stage standings, according to the following bracket. This assures teams from the same group can only play each other again in the final four.
| Last 16 | Last 16 | Last 16 | Last 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April |
| 3D Kadetten Schaffhausen | 32 | 28 | 60 |
| 3D Kadetten Schaffhausen | 32 | 28 | 60 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2C IK Sävehof | 26 | 34 | 60 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2C IK Sävehof | 26 | 34 | 60 | 3D Kadetten Schaffhausen | 31 | 22 | 53 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | | | | 3D Kadetten Schaffhausen | 31 | 22 | 53 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 1A Orlen Wisła Płock | 33 | 35 | 68 |
| 4B TBV Lemgo | 28 | 28 | 56 | 1A Orlen Wisła Płock | 33 | 35 | 68 |
| 1A Orlen Wisła Płock | 31 | 28 | 59 | | | | |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | | | | | | | |
| 3C RK Nexe | 29 | 22 | 51 | | | | |
| 3C RK Nexe | 29 | 22 | 51 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2D RK Eurofarm Pelister | 26 | 21 | 47 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2D RK Eurofarm Pelister | 26 | 21 | 47 | 3C RK Nexe | 32 | 37 | 69 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | | | | 3C RK Nexe | 32 | 37 | 69 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 1B GOG Håndbold | 27 | 37 | 64 |
| 4A Bidasoa Irun | 28 | 31 | 59 | 1B GOG Håndbold | 27 | 37 | 64 |
| 1B GOG Håndbold | 30 | 33 | 63 | | | | |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | | | | | | | |
| 3B HBC Nantes | 25 | 33 | 58 | | | | |
| 3B HBC Nantes | 25 | 33 | 58 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2A Füchse Berlin | 24 | 30 | 54 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2A Füchse Berlin | 24 | 30 | 54 | 3B HBC Nantes | 25 | 28 | 53 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | | | | 3B HBC Nantes | 25 | 28 | 53 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 1C SC Magdeburg | 28 | 30 | 58 |
| 4D Sporting CP | 29 | 35 | 64 | 1C SC Magdeburg | 28 | 30 | 58 |
| 1C SC Magdeburg | 29 | 36 | 65 | | | | |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | | | | | | | |
| 3A Fenix Toulouse Handball | 38 | 30 | 68 | | | | |
| 3A Fenix Toulouse Handball | 38 | 30 | 68 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2B SL Benfica | 34 | 36 | 70 | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May | 26 April/3 May |
| 2B SL Benfica | 34 | 36 | 70 | 2B SL Benfica | 36 | 27 | 63 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | | | | 2B SL Benfica | 36 | 27 | 63 |
| 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 29 March/5 April | 4C RK Gorenje Velenje | 29 | 27 | 56 |
| 4C RK Gorenje Velenje | 29 | 30 | 59 | 4C RK Gorenje Velenje | 29 | 27 | 56 |
| 1D USAM Nîmes Gard | 22 | 35 | 57 | | | | |

### Last 16

The last 16 first legs were scheduled for 29 March 2022, while the second legs followed on 5 April 2022.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Kadetten Schaffhausen | 60–60 (a) | IK Sävehof | 32–26 | 28–34 |
| TBV Lemgo | 56–59 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 28–31 | 28–28 |
| RK Nexe | 51–47 | RK Eurofarm Pelister | 29–26 | 22–21 |
| Bidasoa Irun | 59–63 | GOG Håndbold | 28–30 | 31–33 |
| HBC Nantes | 58–54 | Füchse Berlin | 25–24 | 33–30 |
| Sporting CP | 64–65 | SC Magdeburg | 29–29 | 35–36 |
| Fenix Toulouse Handball | 68–70 | SL Benfica | 38–34 | 30–36 |
| RK Gorenje Velenje | 59–57 | USAM Nîmes Gard | 29–22 | 30–35 |

### Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals first legs were scheduled for 26 April 2022, while the second legs followed on 3 May 2022.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Kadetten Schaffhausen | 53–68 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 31–33 | 22–35 |
| RK Nexe | 69–64 | GOG Håndbold | 32–27 | 37–37 |
| HBC Nantes | 53–58 | SC Magdeburg | 25–28 | 28–30 |
| SL Benfica | 63–56 | RK Gorenje Velenje | 36–29 | 27–27 |

### Final four

The 2021–22 EHF European League Finals was played on 28 and 29 May 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal and comprise one leg semifinals, final and a third place game. The pairings for the semifinals were decided by drawing of lots.

#### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 28 May | 28 May |
| SC Magdeburg | 34 |
| SC Magdeburg | 34 | 29 May | 29 May |
| RK Nexe | 29 | 29 May | 29 May |
| RK Nexe | 29 | SL Benfica | 40 |
| 28 May | 28 May | | SL Benfica | 40 |
| 28 May | 28 May | SC Magdeburg | 39 |
| Orlen Wisła Płock | 19 | SC Magdeburg | 39 |
| SL Benfica | 26 | | |
| SL Benfica | 26 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 29 May | 29 May |
| | | Orlen Wisła Płock | 27 |
| | | RK Nexe | 22 |

#### Semifinals

| 28 May 2022 16:00 | SC Magdeburg | 34–29 | RK Nexe | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 2,114 Referees: Mažeika, Gatelis (LTU) |
| 28 May 2022 16:00 | Musche 8 | (18–13) | Jaganjac 7 | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 2,114 Referees: Mažeika, Gatelis (LTU) |
| 28 May 2022 16:00 | 2× 4× | Report | 6× | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 2,114 Referees: Mažeika, Gatelis (LTU) |
| 28 May 2022 18:30 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 19–26 | SL Benfica | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 3,201 Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN) |
| 28 May 2022 18:30 | Szita 4 | (8–10) | Đorđić 9 | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 3,201 Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN) |
| 28 May 2022 18:30 | 2× 3× 1× | Report | 1× 5× | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 3,201 Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN) |

#### Third place game

| 29 May 2022 16:30 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 27–22 | RK Nexe | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 2,249 Referees: Mitrevski, Todorovski (MKD) |
| 29 May 2022 16:30 | Mihić 5 | (14–13) | Pribetić 5 | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 2,249 Referees: Mitrevski, Todorovski (MKD) |
| 29 May 2022 16:30 | 1× 2× 1× | Report | 2× 1× | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 2,249 Referees: Mitrevski, Todorovski (MKD) |

#### Final

| 29 May 2022 19:00 | SL Benfica | 40–39 (ET) | SC Magdeburg | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 5,055 Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI) |
| 29 May 2022 19:00 | Rahmel 11 | (15–14) | Magnússon 12 | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 5,055 Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI) |
| 29 May 2022 19:00 | 1× 8× 1× | Report | 1× 6× | Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 5,055 Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI) |
| Altice Arena, Lisbon Attendance: 5,055 Referees: Brunner, Salah (SUI) |||

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Petar Đorđić | SL Benfica | 123 |
| 1 | Halil Jaganjac | RK Nexe | 123 |
| 3 | Mohammad Sanad | USAM Nîmes Gard | 122 |
| 4 | Jerry Tollbring | GOG Håndbold | 104 |
| 5 | Ole Rahmel | SL Benfica | 99 |
| 6 | Bjarki Már Elísson | TBV Lemgo | 98 |
| 7 | Samuel Zehnder | Kadetten Schaffhausen | 92 |
| 8 | Simon Pytlick | GOG Håndbold | 80 |
| 9 | Fahrudin Melić | RK Nexe | 79 |
| 10 | Agustín Casado | BM Logroño La Rioja | 78 |
| 10 | Sergei Kosorotov | Orlen Wisła Płock | 78 |