The game plan does not mean well with the foxes Berlin: Within five days, the capital city have to play two games in the handball Bundesliga and one in Europe. The Berliners survived the stressful days unscathed and also won the top game.
The Füchse Berlin won the top game at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen with 34:32 (16:16) in the Handball Bundesliga and thus maintained their lead in the table. Coach Jaron Siewert's team is three points ahead of record champions THW Kiel, who have played one game less. Third are the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. The foxes survived the stressful days unscathed: on Sunday, the capital city won their Bundesliga game against TBV Lemgo, on Tuesday evening they had European Cup tasks to do in Bitola in North Macedonia, now they had to travel to the complicated top game. Three games in 120 hours - six points.
Mannheim played without their two injured regulars, Uwe Gensheimer and Halil Jaganjac, against the foxes. The game was balanced until the middle of the second half, then the Berliners took advantage of a sudden break-in by the hosts and temporarily opened up a gap of five goals. With eight goals each, backcourt player Lasse Andersson and right winger Hans Lindberg were the foxes' most successful throwers. National player Juri Knorr scored eleven times for the hosts.
"Of course we're very happy. The first half was a bit hairy, we made too many mistakes. We were punished for that with five or six easy goals," said veteran Lindberg, who played for the league leaders in his last season. "We're doing a lot better in the second half, we can go five goals. It's a top performance for us in a top game, and I have a lot of respect for my team for that. It's not easy to win here, and that in the third game within of five days."
Before the game, the Rhein-Neckar Löwen had announced the early contract extension with their captain Patrick Groetzki. The right winger, who has been playing for the club since 2007, signed until 2026. National player Groetzki is expected to play his 500th Bundesliga game for Mannheim in the coming season.
In the basement duel of the Handball Bundesliga, Minden celebrated a clear and important victory against the bottom of the table from Hamm-Westphalia. Meanwhile, SC DHfK Leipzig presented itself with a strong offensive. The Saxons scored 40 goals against the seventh in the table from Melsungen. With the victory, the Leipzigers are in eleventh place in the table, three points behind the MT. HSG Wetzlar gained some air in the relegation battle. In an exciting game, the Bundesliga club defeated Hannover-Burgdorf and temporarily slipped to 13th place in the table.
