# 2020–21 EHF European League

The 2020–21 EHF European League was the 1st edition of the EHF European League, replacing the EHF Cup as the second most important European handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF), which had been in existence for 39 years.

## Team allocation

A total of 51 teams from 21 countries participated in the 2020–21 EHF European League.

### Teams

Group stage :
| CB Ademar León | USAM Nîmes Gard | SC Magdeburg | Grundfos Tatabanya KC |
| RK Eurofarm Pelister | Orlen Wisła Płock | Dinamo București | Chekhovskiye Medvedi |
| Kadetten Schaffhausen | HT Tatran Prešov | Alingsås HK | Besiktas Aygaz |
| Second qualifying round ||||
| RK Nexe | GOG Håndbold | BM Benidorm | Fenix Toulouse Handball |
| Montpellier HB | Füchse Berlin | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | Balatonfüredi KSE |
| Sporting CP | | | |
| First qualifying round ||||
| Fivers | SKA Minsk | HRK Gorica | RK Dubrava |
| RK Spacva Vinkovci | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | Skjern Håndbold | TTH Holstebro |
| Bidasoa Irun | PAUC Handball | MT Melsungen | B. Braun Gyöngyös |
| Valur | Handball Esch | HC Butel Skopje | RK Metalurg Skopje |
| Haslum HK | ØIF Arendal | KS Azoty-Puławy | CF Os Belenenses |
| SL Benfica | HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta | AHC Potaissa Turda | HC CSKA |
| HC Victor | RK Trimo Trebnje | HC Kriens-Luzern | Pfadi Winterthur |
| HK Malmö | IFK Kristianstad | | |

## Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition was as follows.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
| Qualification | First qualifying round | 28 July 2020 | 29-30 August 2020 | 5-6 September 2020 |
| Qualification | Second qualifying round | 8 September 2020 | 22 September 2020 | 29 September 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 1 October 2020 | 20 October 2020 | 20 October 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 2 | 1 October 2020 | 27 October 2020 | 27 October 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 3 | 1 October 2020 | 17 November 2019 | 17 November 2019 |
| Group stage | Matchday 4 | 1 October 2020 | 24 November 2020 | 24 November 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 5 | 1 October 2020 | 1 December 2020 | 1 December 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 6 | 1 October 2020 | 8 December 2020 | 8 December 2020 |
| Group stage | Matchday 7 | 1 October 2020 | 9 February 2021 | 9 February 2021 |
| Group stage | Matchday 8 | 1 October 2020 | 16 February 2021 | 16 February 2021 |
| Group stage | Matchday 9 | 1 October 2020 | 23 February 2021 | 23 February 2021 |
| Group stage | Matchday 10 | 1 October 2020 | 2 March 2021 | 2 March 2021 |
| Knockout phase | Round of 16 | No draw | 23 March 2021 | 30 March 2021 |
| Knockout phase | Quarter-finals | No draw | 13 April 2021 | 20 April 2021 |
| Knockout phase | Final four | 27 April 2021 | 22–23 May 2021 | 22–23 May 2021 |

## Qualifying rounds
### First qualifying round
#### Seeding

A total of 30 teams were involved in the first qualifying round draw, they were divided into three geographical zones, each one with two pots of five teams, to limit travel distances and to reduce possible travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams from the same country could not be drawn into the same tie.
| Zone 1 | Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 2 | Zone 3 | Zone 3 |
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
| SKA Minsk HC Butel Skopje RK Metalurg Skopje AHC Potaissa Turda HC Victor | HRK Gorica RK Spacva Vinkovci B. Braun Gyöngyös HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta HC CSKA | TTH Holstebro MT Melsungen ØIF Arendal KS Azoty-Puławy HK Malmö | Bjerringbro-Silkeborg Skjern Håndbold Valur Haslum HK IFK Kristianstad | RK Dubrava Bidasoa Irun SL Benfica RK Trimo Trebnje Pfadi Winterthur | Fivers PAUC Handball Handball Esch CF Os Belenenses HC Kriens-Luzern |

#### Matches

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| AHC Potaissa Turda | 56–53 | HRK Gorica | 24–26 | 32–27 |
| HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta | 54–45 | HC Victor | 26–18 | 28–27 |
| SKA Minsk | 50–56 | HC CSKA | 25–25 | 25–31 |
| B. Braun Gyöngyös | 58–46 | HC Butel Skopje | 34–21 | 24–25 |
| RK Metalurg Skopje | 60–57 | RK Spacva Vinkovci | 35–28 | 25–29 |
| TTH Holstebro | Cancelled | Valur | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| IFK Kristianstad | Cancelled | ØIF Arendal | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 57–51 | MT Melsungen | 31–27 | 26–24 |
| Skjern Håndbold | 53–51 | HK Malmö | 27–26 | 26–25 |
| KS Azoty-Puławy | Cancelled | Haslum HK | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| SL Benfica | 62–64 | Fivers | 28–26 | 34–38 |
| Pfadi Winterthur | 33–30 | Handball Esch | 33–30 | Cancelled |
| PAUC Handball | 25–30 | Bidasoa Irun | Cancelled | 25–30 |
| CF Os Belenenses | 49–56 | RK Trimo Trebnje | 23–28 | 26–28 |
| HC Kriens-Luzern | 57–46 | RK Dubrava | 29–27 | 28–19 |

### Second qualifying round
#### Seeding

A total of 24 teams were involved in the second qualifying round draw, 15 advancing from the previous round and 9 teams entering this round. Teams were divided in two pots and were drawn without any restrictions.
| Seeded | Unseeded |
| RK Nexe Bjerringbro-Silkeborg GOG Håndbold BM Benidorm Montpellier HB Fenix Toulouse Handball Füchse Berlin Rhein-Neckar Löwen Balatonfüredi KSE RK Metalurg Skopje KS Azoty-Puławy Sporting CP | Fivers Skjern Håndbold TTH Holstebro Bidasoa Irun B. Braun Gyöngyös AHC Potaissa Turda HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta HC CSKA RK Trimo Trebnje Pfadi Winterthur HC Kriens-Luzern IFK Kristianstad |

#### Matches

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta | 48–49 | Sporting CP | 27–27 | 21–22 |
| KS Azoty-Puławy | 46–49 | IFK Kristianstad | 24–25 | 22–24 |
| BM Benidorm | Cancelled | Fivers | 34–31 | Cancelled |
| TTH Holstebro | 49–54 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 22–28 | 27–26 |
| Bjerringbro-Silkeborg | 50–55 | HC CSKA | 26–23 | 24–32 |
| AHC Potaissa Turda | 62–66 | Fenix Toulouse Handball | 35–35 | 27–31 |
| Bidasoa Irun | 54–56 | RK Nexe | 30–27 | 24–29 |
| RK Metalurg Skopje | 47–46 | HC Kriens-Luzern | 26–24 | 21–22 |
| GOG Håndbold | 64–59 | Pfadi Winterthur | 33–24 | 31–35 |
| Skjern Håndbold | 60–63 | Montpellier HB | 31–30 | 29–33 |
| B. Braun Gyöngyös | 47–61 | Füchse Berlin | 23–25 | 24–36 |
| RK Trimo Trebnje | 23–22 | Balatonfüredi KSE | 23–22 | Cancelled |

## Group stage
### Seeding

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 |
| CB Ademar León USAM Nîmes Gard SC Magdeburg Grundfos Tatabanya KC | Orlen Wisła Płock Dinamo București Kadetten Schaffhausen Alingsås HK | RK Eurofarm Pelister Chekhovskiye Medvedi HT Tatran Prešov Besiktas Aygaz | Fenix Toulouse Handball Montpellier HB Füchse Berlin Rhein-Neckar Löwen | Fivers RK Nexe GOG Håndbold Sporting CP | RK Metalurg Skopje RK Trimo Trebnje IFK Kristianstad HC CSKA |

### 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 |
| 1 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 297 | 242 | +55 | 16 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | CB Ademar León | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 307 | 296 | +11 | 14 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 301 | 264 | +37 | 14 | Knockout stage |
| 4 | Fivers | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 301 | 311 | −10 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| 5 | Fenix Toulouse Handball | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 227 | 250 | −23 | 6 | |
| 6 | RK Metalurg Skopje | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 259 | 329 | −70 | 4 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Füchse Berlin | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 247 | 223 | +24 | 14 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | USAM Nîmes Gard | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 279 | 263 | +16 | 12 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | IFK Kristianstad | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 273 | 276 | −3 | 11 | Knockout stage |
| 4 | Sporting CP | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 244 | 241 | +3 | 10 | Knockout stage |
| 5 | Dinamo București | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 279 | 298 | −19 | 7 | |
| 6 | HT Tatran Prešov | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 233 | 254 | −21 | 6 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | SC Magdeburg | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 321 | 230 | +91 | 18 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | HC CSKA | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 263 | 219 | +44 | 14 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Montpellier HB | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 231 | 197 | +34 | 12 | Knockout stage |
| 4 | RK Nexe | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 269 | 284 | −15 | 10 | Knockout stage |
| 5 | Alingsås HK | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 262 | 304 | −42 | 6 | |
| 6 | Besiktas Aygaz | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 238 | 350 | −112 | 0 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 296 | 256 | +40 | 17 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Kadetten Schaffhausen | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 261 | 251 | +10 | 14 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | GOG Håndbold | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 306 | 305 | +1 | 12 | Knockout stage |
| 4 | RK Eurofarm Pelister | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 244 | 237 | +7 | 11 | Knockout stage |
| 5 | RK Trimo Trebnje | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 250 | 273 | −23 | 6 | |
| 6 | Grundfos Tatabanya KC | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 263 | 298 | −35 | 0 | |

## Knockout stage

The pairings for the last 16 and the quarter-finals 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 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March |
| 3D GOG Håndbold | 33 | 35 | 68 |
| 3D GOG Håndbold | 33 | 35 | 68 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2C HC CSKA | 31 | 30 | 61 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2C HC CSKA | 31 | 30 | 61 | 3D GOG Håndbold | 30 | 26 | 56 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | | | | 3D GOG Håndbold | 30 | 26 | 56 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 1A Orlen Wisła Płock | 27 | 31 | 58 |
| 4B Sporting CP | 25 | 28 | 53 | 1A Orlen Wisła Płock | 27 | 31 | 58 |
| 1A Orlen Wisła Płock | 29 | 25 | 54 | | | | |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | | | | | | | |
| 3C Montpellier HB | 27 | 32 | 59 | | | | |
| 3C Montpellier HB | 27 | 32 | 59 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2D Kadetten Schaffhausen | 27 | 25 | 52 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2D Kadetten Schaffhausen | 27 | 25 | 52 | 3C Montpellier HB | 32 | 23 | 55 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | | | | 3C Montpellier HB | 32 | 23 | 55 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 1B Füchse Berlin | 29 | 31 | 60 |
| 4A Fivers | 27 | 0 | 27 | 1B Füchse Berlin | 29 | 31 | 60 |
| 1B Füchse Berlin | 35 | 10 | 45 | | | | |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | | | | | | | |
| 3B IFK Kristianstad | 34 | 34 | 68 | | | | |
| 3B IFK Kristianstad | 34 | 34 | 68 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2A CB Ademar León | 27 | 31 | 58 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2A CB Ademar León | 27 | 31 | 58 | 3B IFK Kristianstad | 28 | 31 | 59 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | | | | 3B IFK Kristianstad | 28 | 31 | 59 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 1C SC Magdeburg | 34 | 39 | 73 |
| 4D RK Eurofarm Pelister | 24 | 24 | 48 | 1C SC Magdeburg | 34 | 39 | 73 |
| 1C SC Magdeburg | 32 | 35 | 67 | | | | |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | | | | | | | |
| 3A Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 30 | 24 | 54 | | | | |
| 3A Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 30 | 24 | 54 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2B USAM Nîmes Gard | 25 | 24 | 49 | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April | 13/20 April |
| 2B USAM Nîmes Gard | 25 | 24 | 49 | 3A Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 33 | 27 | 60 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | | | | 3A Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 33 | 27 | 60 |
| 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 23/30 March | 1D Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 32 | 37 | 69 |
| 4C RK Nexe | 25 | 27 | 52 | 1D Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 32 | 37 | 69 |
| 1D Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 27 | 27 | 54 | | | | |

### Last 16

The last 16 first legs were scheduled for 23 March 2021, while the second legs followed on 30 March 2021.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| GOG Håndbold | 68–61 | HC CSKA | 33–31 | 35–30 |
| Sporting CP | 53–54 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 25–29 | 28–25 |
| Montpellier HB | 59–52 | Kadetten Schaffhausen | 27–27 | 32–25 |
| Fivers | 27–45 | Füchse Berlin | 27–35 | 0–10 |
| IFK Kristianstad | 68–58 | CB Ademar León | 34–27 | 34–31 |
| RK Eurofarm Pelister | 48–67 | SC Magdeburg | 24–32 | 24–35 |
| Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 54–49 | USAM Nîmes Gard | 30–25 | 24–24 |
| RK Nexe | 52–54 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 25–27 | 27–27 |

### Quarterfinals

The quarter-finals first legs were scheduled for 13 April 2021, while the second legs followed on 20 April 2021.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| GOG Håndbold | 56–58 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 30–27 | 26–31 |
| Montpellier HB | 55–60 | Füchse Berlin | 32–29 | 23–31 |
| IFK Kristianstad | 59–73 | SC Magdeburg | 28–34 | 31–39 |
| Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 60–69 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 33–32 | 27–37 |

### Final four

The EHF Finals Men 2021 was played on 22 and 23 May 2021 in Mannheim, Germany and comprised one leg semifinals, final and third-place match. The pairings for the semifinals were decided by drawing of lots.

#### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 22 May | 22 May |
| SC Magdeburg | 30 |
| SC Magdeburg | 30 | 23 May | 23 May |
| Orlen Wisła Płock | 29 | 23 May | 23 May |
| Orlen Wisła Płock | 29 | SC Magdeburg | 28 |
| 22 May | 22 May | | SC Magdeburg | 28 |
| 22 May | 22 May | Füchse Berlin | 25 |
| Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 32 | Füchse Berlin | 25 |
| Füchse Berlin | 35 | | |
| Füchse Berlin | 35 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 23 May | 23 May |
| | | Orlen Wisła Płock | 27 |
| | | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 32 |

#### Semifinals

| 22 May 2021 18:00 | SC Magdeburg | 30–29 | Orlen Wisła Płock | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR) |
| 22 May 2021 18:00 | Damgaard, Magnússon 6 | (13–15) | Krajewski, Szita 7 | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR) |
| 22 May 2021 18:00 | 4× | Report | 2× 7× | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Santos, Fonseca (POR) |
| 22 May 2021 20:45 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 32–35 | Füchse Berlin | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Brkic, Jusufhodzic (AUT) |
| 22 May 2021 20:45 | Tollbring 7 | (16–19) | Andersson 11 | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Brkic, Jusufhodzic (AUT) |
| 22 May 2021 20:45 | 2× 6× 1× | Report | 2× 5× | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Brkic, Jusufhodzic (AUT) |

#### Third-place game

| 23 May 2021 18:00 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 27–32 | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN) |
| 23 May 2021 18:00 | Krajewski, Szita 6 | (12–15) | Tollbring 11 | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN) |
| 23 May 2021 18:00 | 2× 3× | Report | 1× 3× | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN) |

#### Final

| 23 May 2021 20:30 | SC Magdeburg | 28–25 | Füchse Berlin | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB) |
| 23 May 2021 20:30 | Hornke, Magnússon 7 | (15–8) | Lindberg 8 | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB) |
| 23 May 2021 20:30 | 1× 4× | Report | 2× 3× | SAP Arena, Mannheim Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB) |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Emil Jakobsen | GOG Håndbold | 111 |
| 2 | Ómar Ingi Magnússon | SC Magdeburg | 94 |
| 3 | Halil Jaganjac | RK Nexe | 80 |
| 4 | Adam Nyfjäll | IFK Kristianstad | 74 |
| 4 | Jerry Tollbring | Rhein-Neckar Löwen | 74 |
| 6 | Alexander Kotov | Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 72 |
| 7 | Hugo Descat | Montpellier HB | 71 |
| 8 | Mathias Gidsel | GOG Håndbold | 69 |
| 9 | Hans Lindberg | Füchse Berlin | 68 |
| 9 | Gonzalo Pérez Arce | CB Ademar León | 68 |
| 9 | Zoltán Szita | Orlen Wisła Płock | 68 |