# 2019–20 EHF Champions League

The 2019–20 EHF Champions League was the 60th edition of Europe's premier club handball tournament and the 27th edition under the current EHF Champions League format.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the knockout stage matches were postponed and later cancelled. The Final Four, which took place at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, was moved from May to December and was contested by the top two teams from Groups A and B – Barça, Paris Saint-Germain, THW Kiel and Telekom Veszprém. As a result, reigning champions Vardar were not able to defend their title.

## Format

The competition begins with a group stage featuring twenty-eight teams divided in four groups: Groups A and B contain eight teams, while Groups C and D contain six teams. Matches are played in a double round-robin system with home-and-away fixtures. In Groups A and B, the top six teams qualify for the knockout stage, with teams ranked 2nd–6th entering the round of 16 and the group winners advancing directly to the quarter-finals. In Groups C and D, only the top two teams advance to a compete in a two-legged play-off round, with the two winners going through to the knockout stage round of 16.
The knockout stage includes four rounds: the round of 16, quarterfinals, and a final-four tournament comprising two semifinals and the final. In the round of 16, twelve teams (ten from Groups A and B, and the two play-off winners from Groups C and D) are paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches. The six aggregate winners of the round of 16 advance to the quarterfinals, joining the winners of Groups A and B. The eight quarterfinalist teams are paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches, with the four aggregate winners qualifying to the final-four tournament.
In the final four tournament, the semifinals and the final are played as single matches at a pre-selected host venue.

## Team allocation

A total of 35 teams from 21 countries submitted their application for a place in the competition's group stage before the deadline of 12 June. The final list of 28 participants was revealed by the EHF Executive Committee on 21 June.
Groups A/B :
| HC Meshkov Brest | PPD Zagreb | Aalborg Handbold | SG Flensburg-Handewitt |
| Barça | Paris Saint-Germain | Telekom Veszprém | Vardar |
| Elverum Håndball | PGE Vive Kielce | FC Porto Sofarma | Celje Pivovarna Laško |
| HC Motor Zaporizhzhia | THW Kiel | Montpellier Handball | MOL-Pick Szeged |
| Groups C/D ||||
| Riihimäki Cocks | CS Dinamo București | Chekhovskiye Medvedi | IK Sävehof |
| Kadetten Schaffhausen | Tatran Prešov | GOG Håndbold | Bidasoa Irun |
| Eurofarm Rabotnik | Orlen Wisła Płock | Sporting CP | IFK Kristianstad |

## Round and draw dates

The draw was held on 27 June 2019 in Vienna, Austria.
| Phase | Draw date |
| Group stage | 27 June 2019 |
| Knockout stage | 27 June 2019 |
| Final Four (Cologne) | 5 May 2020 |

## Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 27 June 2019 in Vienna, Austria. The 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.
In each group, teams played 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 were determined in the following manner:
* Groups A and B – the top team qualified directly for the quarterfinals, and the five teams ranked 2nd–6th advanced to the first knockout round.
* Groups C and D – the top two teams from both groups contested a playoff to determine the last two sides joining the 10 teams from Groups A and B in the first knockout round.
* Tiebreakers
* In 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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAR | PAR | SZE | ALB | FLE | CEL | ZAG | ELV |
| 1 | Barça | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 485 | 380 | +105 | 26 | Quarterfinals | — | 36–32 | 30–28 | 44–35 | 31–27 | 45–21 | 32–23 | 33–24 |
| 2 | Paris Saint-Germain | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 444 | 389 | +55 | 22 | First knockout round | 32–35 | — | 30–25 | 37–24 | 32–30 | 27–18 | 37–26 | 31–25 |
| 3 | MOL-Pick Szeged | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 409 | 370 | +39 | 20 | First knockout round | 31–28 | 32–29 | — | 26–26 | 24–24 | 31–24 | 33–23 | 32–25 |
| 4 | Aalborg Håndbold | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 416 | 420 | −4 | 15 | First knockout round | 30–34 | 29–32 | 28–35 | — | 31–28 | 28–24 | 30–20 | 30–28 |
| 5 | SG Flensburg-Handewitt | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 388 | 379 | +9 | 15 | First knockout round | 27–34 | 29–30 | 34–26 | 29–32 | — | 29–26 | 20–17 | 26–19 |
| 6 | Celje Pivovarna Laško | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 355 | 429 | −74 | 6 | First knockout round | 25–37 | 29–33 | 23–34 | 28–29 | 24–25 | — | 24–22 | 32–25 |
| 7 | PPD Zagreb | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 343 | 419 | −76 | 5 | | 19–36 | 29–37 | 21–26 | 31–30 | 25–26 | 27–31 | — | 30–27 |
| 8 | Elverum Håndball | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 365 | 419 | −54 | 3 | | 26–30 | 22–25 | 25–26 | 24–34 | 28–34 | 37–26 | 30–30 | — |
* 1 2 Aalborg Håndbold 63–57 SG Flensburg-Handewitt

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | THW | VES | KIE | MON | POR | VAR | BRE | ZAP |
| 1 | THW Kiel | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 437 | 398 | +39 | 20 | Quarterfinals | — | 29–28 | 30–30 | 33–32 | 27–28 | 34–23 | 31–23 | 32–32 |
| 2 | Telekom Veszprém | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 448 | 386 | +62 | 20 | First knockout round | 31–37 | — | 28–24 | 24–23 | 38–28 | 39–30 | 31–25 | 40–28 |
| 3 | PGE Vive Kielce | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 421 | 389 | +32 | 18 | First knockout round | 32–30 | 34–33 | — | 27–29 | 30–25 | 35–25 | 30–24 | 33–26 |
| 4 | Montpellier Handball | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 386 | 375 | +11 | 17 | First knockout round | 30–33 | 23–18 | 25–24 | — | 22–27 | 31–33 | 30–26 | 34–30 |
| 5 | FC Porto Sofarma | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 400 | 410 | −10 | 14 | First knockout round | 29–30 | 24–31 | 33–30 | 23–23 | — | 30–22 | 27–25 | 35–35 |
| 6 | Vardar | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 396 | 444 | −48 | 11 | First knockout round | 20–30 | 29–38 | 28–28 | 27–31 | 32–27 | — | 36–31 | 38–28 |
| 7 | HC Meshkov Brest | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 401 | 431 | −30 | 8 | | 33–30 | 30–37 | 27–31 | 25–27 | 32–35 | 31–22 | — | 33–31 |
| 8 | HC Motor Zaporizhzhia | 14 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 406 | 462 | −56 | 4 | | 27–30 | 22–32 | 26–33 | 25–26 | 33–29 | 30–31 | 33–36 | — |
* 1 2 THW Kiel 66–59 Telekom Veszprém

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BID | SPO | SÄV | PRE | RII | RAB |
| 1 | Bidasoa Irun | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 297 | 246 | +51 | 15 | Playoffs | — | 30–30 | 39–23 | 27–27 | 34–19 | 26–25 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 309 | 266 | +43 | 14 | Playoffs | 32–32 | — | 27–20 | 32–24 | 39–29 | 36–26 |
| 3 | IK Sävehof | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 268 | 278 | −10 | 12 | | 24–33 | 29–24 | — | 30–29 | 28–22 | 25–24 |
| 4 | Tatran Prešov | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 260 | 279 | −19 | 7 | | 23–25 | 22–37 | 23–28 | — | 30–19 | 31–29 |
| 5 | Riihimäki Cocks | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 239 | 290 | −51 | 6 | | 18–28 | 25–23 | 25–30 | 29–27 | — | 23–21 |
| 6 | Eurofarm Rabotnik | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 265 | 279 | −14 | 6 | | 25–23 | 28–29 | 32–31 | 23–24 | 31–30 | — |
* 1 2 Riihimäki Cocks 53–52 Eurofarm Rabotnik

### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BUC | PLO | GOG | KRI | MED | SCH |
| 1 | CS Dinamo București | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 298 | 256 | +42 | 17 | Playoffs | — | 29–20 | 35–28 | 28–25 | 34–23 | 27–26 |
| 2 | Orlen Wisła Płock | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 267 | 260 | +7 | 11 | Playoffs | 26–26 | — | 27–24 | 36–29 | 34–28 | 27–23 |
| 3 | GOG Håndbold | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 310 | 319 | −9 | 9 | | 31–32 | 28–27 | — | 37–37 | 38–31 | 35–30 |
| 4 | IFK Kristianstad | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 283 | 298 | −15 | 9 | | 29–29 | 24–20 | 24–33 | — | 36–28 | 24–24 |
| 5 | Chekhovskiye Medvedi | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 280 | 308 | −28 | 8 | | 20–30 | 25–23 | 36–28 | 37–26 | — | 29–27 |
| 6 | Kadetten Schaffhausen | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 280 | 277 | +3 | 6 | | 28–28 | 24–27 | 40–28 | 26–29 | 32–23 | — |
* 1 2 GOG Håndbold 70–61 IFK Kristianstad

### Playoffs

The top two teams from Groups C and D contested a playoff to determine the two sides advancing to the knockout phase. The winners of each group faced the runners-up of the other group in a two-legged tie.

### Overview

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Sporting CP | 49–52 | CS Dinamo București | 25–26 | 24–26 |
| Orlen Wisła Płock | 51–49 | Bidasoa Irun | 32–25 | 19–24 |

## Knockout stage

The winners of Groups A and B would have advanced directly to the quarterfinals, while the teams ranked 2nd–6th to the round of 16 alongside the playoff winners. After the cancellation of the last 16 and quarterfinals on 24 April 2020, the top-two placed teams from each group played the final four.

### Round of 16

| 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 |

### Quarterfinals

| 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 |

### Final four

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, 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. The draw was held on 10 November 2020.

### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 28 December | 28 December |
| THW Kiel | 36 |
| THW Kiel | 36 | 29 December | 29 December |
| Telekom Veszprém | 35 | 29 December | 29 December |
| Telekom Veszprém | 35 | THW Kiel | 33 |
| 28 December | 28 December | | THW Kiel | 33 |
| 28 December | 28 December | Barça | 28 |
| Barça | 37 | Barça | 28 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 32 | | |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 32 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 29 December | 29 December |
| | | Telekom Veszprém | 26 |
| | | Paris Saint-Germain | 31 |

#### Final

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

## Statistics and awards
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Niclas Ekberg | THW Kiel | 85 |
| 2 | Sander Sagosen | Paris SG/ THW Kiel | 76 |
| 3 | Hugo Descat | Montpellier Handball | 75 |
| 4 | Aleix Gómez | Barça | 74 |
| 4 | Barys Pukhouski | HC Motor Zaporizhzhia | 74 |
| 6 | Timur Dibirov | Vardar | 69 |
| 7 | Petar Nenadić | Telekom Veszprém | 67 |
| 8 | Sebastian Barthold | Aalborg Håndbold | 65 |
| 8 | Alex Dujshebaev | PGE Vive Kielce | 65 |
| 8 | Vladislav Ostroushko | Eurofarm Rabotnik | 65 |
| 8 | Hendrik Pekeler | THW Kiel | 65 |

### Awards

The all-star team was announced on 12 June 2020.
* Goalkeeper: Niklas Landin
* Right wing: Niclas Ekberg
* Right back: Alex Dujshebaev
* Centre back: Mikkel Hansen
* Left back: Sander Sagosen
* Left wing: Manuel Štrlek
* Pivot: Bence Bánhidi

#### Other awards

* Best Defender: Blaž Blagotinšek
* Best Young player: Aleix Gómez
* Best Coach: David Davis