Flensburg ended the season with a win after semifinal disappointment: Montpellier fell in the battle for third place in the EHF European League
SG Flensburg-Handewitt ended its appearance at the Winamax EHF Finals 2026 with a victory that does not bring a trophy, but does bring an important sporting response after a heavy semifinal defeat. The German side defeated Montpellier Handball 32:30 in the match for third place in the EHF European League Men 2025/26, played on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at Barclays Arena in Hamburg. According to the official report of the European Handball Federation, the duel was completely open at halftime, with the score 16:16, and was decided only in the closing stages, when Flensburg had more calmness and fewer mistakes. Thus the defending champion, which a day earlier had lost the chance for a third consecutive title in this competition, nevertheless closed the tournament with a victory and a bronze finish. Montpellier, after losing to THW Kiel in the semifinal, remained fourth, the same placement the French club also achieved in 2023.
The match carried additional weight because it was a repeat of last year's final, but this time without a direct battle for the trophy. In its review, the EHF emphasized that history repeated itself in terms of the winner, though not in the ease of execution: in 2025 Flensburg won the title against the same opponent, while in 2026 it had to spend a long time breaking the resistance of the French team. WELT, citing the report from Hamburg, also pointed out that Flensburg fans received at least a winning end to the weekend after the semifinal elimination. For the German club, it was not a season finished according to the highest ambitions, but third place had value in circumstances in which both Flensburg and Montpellier arrived in Hamburg with a clear intention to remain among the clubs seriously mentioned at the European summit.
The red card did not stop the German team
Flensburg very early lost an important player in its rotation, which could have completely changed the course of the match. According to the EHF report, Niclas Kirkeløkke received a red card already in the sixth minute after a foul on Valentin Porte. Such a start in a medal match often brings nervousness, especially to a team that had been heavily defeated the day before and psychologically burdened by the lost chance to reach the final. Flensburg, however, did not fall apart, but turned the period after the exclusion into the best part of the first half. Simon Pytlick and Emil Jakobsen carried the attack, and their quick finishes and shots from the back line allowed the German side to pull away to 15:11.
Montpellier at that point had problems with turnovers and the rhythm of its attack. The French team was not managing to control possession for long enough, so Flensburg was getting chances for faster transitions and easier goals. Still, the closing stretch of the first half showed that Montpellier would not be satisfied with the role of an opponent merely closing the tournament. The EHF states that the French side produced a 4:0 run in the last four minutes of the first half and came back to 16:16. That comeback was important also because of the impression that Flensburg lost speed in the final part of the half, while Montpellier found a way to stop the opponent's surge up to that point.
The score at the break described well a match in which periods of control and instability alternated. Flensburg showed that it could take the initiative despite the early loss of Kirkeløkke, but Montpellier confirmed that it had enough depth and experience to return from a scoring deficit. For a match played after semifinal disappointments, that was an important sign of competitiveness on both sides. Neither team was at the energy level often seen in a final, but the fight for third place retained competitive intensity. It was precisely that blend of fatigue, frustration, and desire for a positive finish that shaped the continuation of the encounter.
Pytlick and Jakobsen decided the key attacking minutes
In the second half the tempo dropped, and the match became more positional than transitional. In its analysis, the EHF stated that both teams were clearly losing energy after a demanding weekend, so attacks became longer and decisions more cautious. Flensburg mostly held a minimal lead, but without the earlier easy goals it could not create an unreachable gap. Montpellier stayed in the match thanks to persistence and solutions from set attack, with Rogério Moraes and Bryan Monte, the Brazilian duo in the French team, among the players who kept pressure on the German defense. Such a development created a finish in which every mistake carried great weight.
The most important moments came in the final five minutes. According to the official EHF report, Kent Robin Tønnesen scored for 30:27 in the 55th minute and thereby steered Flensburg toward victory. Soon came Simon Pytlick's goal for 31:27 as well, which, in the context of a slower and exhausting second half, was a large enough advantage that Montpellier no longer managed to completely turn the match around. The French side reduced the deficit, but did not reach a situation in which it could force extra time or completely change the outcome. The final 32:30 confirmed that Flensburg had more concentration in the most sensitive part of the encounter.
Statistically, Flensburg was led by Simon Pytlick and Emil Jakobsen with seven goals each, while Zvonimir Srna was Montpellier's top scorer with six goals, according to data published by the EHF. Those numbers reflect the character of the match well. Flensburg built the key advantage through the efficiency of its attacking leaders, while Montpellier had to distribute responsibility and seek solutions at moments when it did not have open transition. Pytlick's closing role is particularly important because his goal after Tønnesen's strike turned the lead into a psychological threshold that the French club no longer managed to cross. Jakobsen's finishing from fast situations in the first half was also one of the differences between the teams.
Third place as a response to the defeat against Melsungen
Flensburg arrived in Hamburg as the reigning two-time winner of the EHF European League and with the ambition to continue the streak, but the semifinal changed the tone of the entire weekend. According to official EHF data, MT Melsungen defeated Flensburg 37:30 on Saturday, May 30, 2026, and secured the first international final in the club's history. That result was a strong blow for a team that in recent years in Hamburg had built the status of an extremely dangerous final-tournament opponent. That is why the third-place match also had the character of a test of reaction: it did not bring a title, but it demanded a response after a defeat that exposed the defending champion's vulnerabilities.
In its report from Hamburg, WELT highlighted a statement by captain Johannes Golla, who after the victory emphasized that the team had been better in all segments than in the semifinal. That message fits the impression of the match against Montpellier. Flensburg did not play perfectly and had periods of decline, especially at the end of the first half, but it showed stability when the result was being decided. In the context of the final tournament, such a victory can have symbolic value because it shows that the team did not allow one difficult afternoon to completely mark the end of the European season. Third place was not the goal with which the defending champion entered the competition, but the way it reached it leaves a less bitter ending.
The EHF further emphasized that this was Flensburg's fifth victory in six matches played at EHF Finals tournaments in Hamburg since 2024. That figure confirms that the club has had continuity in the final stage of Europe's second-strongest club competition over the last three seasons. In handball, where the rhythm of the season and the burden of domestic leagues often create large fluctuations, such stability is not negligible. Flensburg lost the title in Hamburg in 2026, but it did not lose the status of a club that enters this competition among the main candidates. Precisely for that reason, the victory against Montpellier can also be read as the closing of one cycle, but also as a reminder that the team remains relevant in the European context.
Montpellier came up short after another narrow defeat
For Montpellier, the final tournament brought two defeats that differ in circumstances but have a similar emotional effect. In the semifinal, the French club lost to THW Kiel 28:29, in a match in which the German side, according to the EHF, reached the final after a dramatic finish. The day after, Montpellier came back from a deficit against Flensburg and remained in the match until the final minutes, but again did not find enough precision for a comeback. Fourth place therefore carries the impression of a missed opportunity, especially because this is a club with a rich European history and one that had previously known how to play big matches at final tournaments. The defeat to Flensburg was narrower than last year's final duel, but the outcome for the French side was once again the same.
In its preview and coverage of the final day, the EHF recalled that Montpellier and Flensburg had already met in the main round of the 2025/26 season. Flensburg celebrated at home 40:35 on February 24, 2026, while Montpellier responded with a 35:32 win on March 3, 2026. Those results show that these were opponents who knew each other well and who had already exchanged high-scoring matches during the season. The meeting in Hamburg was tactically different, especially in the second half, when fatigue and the importance of the closing stages reduced the number of easy goals. Montpellier did not fall apart after weaker periods, but in the key minutes it paid the price for misses and turnovers.
An additional dimension to the French performance was provided by the context of individual players. In its broadcast of the final day, the EHF stated that Diego Simonet, one of Montpellier's most recognizable players and the MVP of the EHF Champions League 2018 final tournament, did not play in the third-place match in order to avoid additional risk because of his health condition. Simonet is ending his playing career after the season, so the Hamburg weekend also had an emotional background for the club. Montpellier won the domestic Super Cup and the French Cup during the season, according to the EHF report, but the European finale did not bring a medal. That does not erase the quality of the season, but it leaves a clear difference between national success and the European outcome.
Hamburg got a new champion, Flensburg stayed on the podium
In the broader framework of the final tournament, the third-place match was the prelude to the final in which MT Melsungen defeated THW Kiel 24:23 and won the first trophy in the club's history. The EHF announced that Melsungen thereby became the new champion of the EHF European League Men 2025/26, while goalkeeper Nebojša Simić was named the most valuable player of the Winamax EHF Finals 2026 after 27 saves in two matches. The final day at Barclays Arena thus brought two German victories: Flensburg was better than Montpellier in the battle for third place, and Melsungen beat Kiel in the final. For German club handball, this meant a continuation of the strong presence in the final stage of the competition that has been played under the name EHF European League since the 2020/21 season.
According to the official information of the organizers, the final tournament was held on May 30 and 31, 2026, at Barclays Arena in Hamburg, and brought together the four best clubs of the final phase of the competition. On the event page, the EHF stated that the semifinals were played on Saturday, and the third-place match and final on Sunday. Montpellier lost to THW Kiel 28:29 in the first semifinal, while MT Melsungen defeated SG Flensburg-Handewitt 37:30 in the second semifinal. Sunday's program brought Flensburg's 32:30 victory against Montpellier and Melsungen's 24:23 final triumph against Kiel. That concluded the EHF European League Men 2025/26 season, which according to the EHF calendar lasted from August 30, 2025, to May 31, 2026.
For Flensburg and Montpellier, the question of the next European step remains. After the match, the EHF stated that both clubs still hoped for the possibility of appearing in the EHF Champions League in the 2026/27 season through a potential step up from the European League, with both teams at the time of the final tournament being third in their domestic championships and having two more matches left. At the same time, the EHF stated that Paris Saint-Germain Handball in France and SC Magdeburg in Germany had already been confirmed as champions of their leagues. Such a balance of power shows how complex the battle for European places remained even after the end of the Hamburg weekend. Victory in the third-place match therefore brings Flensburg not only a medal, but also an additional argument in a season in which every European result is valued in a broader context.
In sporting terms, 32:30 against Montpellier did not change the fact that Flensburg failed to defend the title. It did, however, change the final impression of the tournament. Instead of leaving Hamburg with two consecutive defeats, Aleš Pajović's team concluded the European season with a victory over an opponent that has often stood in its way in important matches in recent years. Montpellier showed character and came back from a deficit, but did not find the final blow. Flensburg, after the early red card, the lost lead, and pressure in the second half, found enough experience to preserve the advantage and confirm third place at the EHF European League finals.
Sources:
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – official report from the third-place match Montpellier Handball – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 30:32, with the course of the match, scorers, and context of the final tournament (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – official information about the Winamax EHF Finals 2026, match schedule, results, and venue at Barclays Arena in Hamburg (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – final overview of the final day of the EHF European League Men 2025/26, including the results of the third-place match and final as well as the tournament awards (link)
- WELT / dpa – report from Hamburg with the result of the third-place match, the statement by Johannes Golla, and the context of the final day of the European League (link)