Incredibly exciting round of handball is behind us. Vardar gave the German champions their first Champions League loss of the season. Gorenje won another match at home, and Celje and Zagreb both lost in the final seconds of the match with the same result- 28:27.

Group C: Gorenje Velenje- Dinamo Bucuresti 33:29 (17:15)

As expected, Gorenje recorded another home win in the Champions League. For the second time this season, they beat the Romanian club Dinamo Bucuresti. Gorenje were led by wingers Niko Medved who scored 8 and Matjaz Brumen with 6. The experienced Alem Toskic added 4 goals. It was a good team performance, but their defensive play could have been even better. The 2 points came in a crucial time, as Gorenje now have 10 points and will fight with Skjern, Elverum and Ademar Leon for 2 spots leading to the next round. The Slovenians have won all four home matches in the Champions League this season, whilst Dinamo prolonged their losing streak and remain bottom of Group D.

Group D: Besiktas Mogaz- Metalurg 32:29 (13:15)

Metalurg  were in control of the match in the first half, they even had a 4-goal lead a few times, but Besiktas came from behind to win the 2 points. The Turkish team scored 5 goals without a response in the second half, and never looked back from that point. Filip Kuzmanovski led the Macedonian team with 6 goals and Vanja Ilic added 5 more. Metalurg are left with 5 points and without a realistic chance of reaching the next stage. Besiktas on the other side, have 7 points and chances are looking slim of them grabbing the second spot in Group D.

Group A: Vardar- Rhein-Neckar Loewen 30:26 (17:13)

Two undefeated teams in Group A clashed in Round 8 and Vardar came out on top in the battle of Bundesliga and Champions League winners. Vuko Borozan and Ivan Cupic led the European champions to their 7th victory in Group A this season, combining for 13 goals. It was an intense match, but Vardar proved their class, despite some excellent saves by RN Loewen's goalkeeper Palicka. Even though the Macedonian team had a 7-goal lead a few times during the match, the Germans were able to get a few goals back in the end and only lost by 4. It could have been more and Vardar simply look unstoppable at the moment. They have 15 points after 8 rounds, and comfortably sit on top of Group A.

Group B: Celje Pivovarna Lasko- THW Kiel 27:28 (14:15)

After beating Kiel in Germany in the last round, Celje were unable to repeat the same success at home. Kiel were up by 4 in the first half, but the home team managed to get back into the match with a couple of goals and improved defense. Celje even briefly took the lead in the second half, but Kiel are too experienced and too good not to take points from this game. Overall, it was another positive performance from Celje, despite a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds of the match. Youngsters Marguc, Vujovic and Dujshebaev combined for 14 goals for the home team, proving once again that the future is bright for this team. Vujovic even scored a goal for 27:27, but Ekberg scored his 7th goal to win the game for Kiel in the final seconds of the match. He had help from Wiencek who added 6. Kiel now have 7 points and Celje 5.

Group A: Nantes- PPD Zagreb 28:27 (13:12)

An incredibly intense and close match was played in France between Nantes and Zagreb. Nantes were able to go up by 3 in the first half, but Zagreb did a good job coming back and even took the lead in the second half. The last 20 minutes were full of 2min punishments and turnovers for both sides. Goalkeepers Skok and Domoulin pulled a couple of good saves to keep the match as close as possible. Mario Vuglac scored a goal to tie things up at 27:27, but Klein punished Zagreb's slow rotation with an empty net goal to win the game in the final seconds. Bicanic scored 6 and had the best game of the season, and Mandalinic added 5. For Nantes; Buric and Lazarov combined for 11 goals. PPD Zagreb now remain winless with only 2 points in Group A, and will have to work really hard in order to qualify for the next round.

Group B: Flensburg- Handewitt- Meshkov Brest 37:30 (20:13)

After a reasonably close game in Belarus, Flensburg were much better at home and quite easily defeated Meshkov. Defensively, the Belarusian team were very poor, conceding 20 goals in the first half and 37 in total. Glandorf had a terrific game for the home team, scoring 9 goals. Svan, Mahe and Jeppson combined for 18 more in a relatively easy victory for Flensburg. On the other side, Shkurinskiy was Meshkov's top scorer with 6 goals. All in all, they did not play well, and will have to regroup in the next match. Flensburg are now second in the group with 12 points, whereas Meshkov are left with 5 and will likely battle with Aalborg and Celje for a spot in the next round.