Füchse Berlin crushed MT Melsungen and practically secured second place in the Bundesliga
Füchse Berlin took a major step toward playing in the handball Champions League after convincingly defeating MT Melsungen 39:28 in the closing stage of the German Handball-Bundesliga league season. The match was played at the Rothenbach-Halle in Kassel, and the Berlin side used its visit to the fresh EHF European League winner to almost settle the battle for second place. According to a dpa agency report carried by Die Welt, Füchse entered the encounter under pressure because a victory would practically give them a key advantage over SG Flensburg-Handewitt. After 60 minutes, the margin was large enough for the question of second place ahead of the final round to be reduced almost entirely to theory. The team of Nicolej Krickau did not only win the points, but also further improved its goal difference, which is one of the decisive elements of the standings in the final stretch of the championship.
The 28:39 result shows how much the match changed after the opening phase, in which Melsungen caused problems for the Berlin defense. In the first half, the home team tried to impose physical handball and an attack with seven outfield players, which made it difficult for the visitors to find their rhythm for some time. Still, Füchse played the closing part of the first half much more concretely and went into the break with an 18:16 lead. After the change of ends, the match shifted completely to the visitors, who sped up the play, punished technical errors and, with a string of goals into an empty net, pulled away to an unreachable margin. According to the same report, Berlin led 28:20 after roughly 42 minutes, which practically decided the duel.
Gidsel led the attack, change in goal sparked the visitors
The most efficient Füchse player was Mathias Gidsel with nine goals, while Lasse Andersson and Tobias Gröndahl added six each, Die Welt reports, citing dpa. Berlin's attack looked much more fluid in the second half, and the speed of transition became the key difference between the two teams. After initial difficulties with Melsungen's seven-against-six tactic, the visitors began closing the center of the defense better and moving out more quickly toward the opponent's passes. That approach brought them easy goals, especially when the home team left the goal empty in an attempt to create an advantage in attack. In the closing phase, Füchse routinely maintained a high lead and did not allow the home team to return to the match.
An important moment came already in the first half, when Dejan Milosavljev, after a weaker start to the match, was replaced by Lasse Ludwig. According to the dpa report, Ludwig soon after coming on collected several saves and helped Berlin pull away to a three-goal lead for the first time. That change was important not only statistically, but also psychologically, because the visiting defense gained the confidence it had lacked in the opening part. Until then, Melsungen had managed to slow the tempo and keep Füchse outside their most dangerous zone, but after Ludwig's saves the balance of power began to change. Berlin gained the possibility to run, and it was precisely in that segment that the difference between the teams became increasingly obvious.
In the first half, Melsungen did not behave like a team that had fallen out of competitive rhythm after its European celebration. The home handball players went firmly into contacts, looked for solutions through an extra player in attack and kept the match open long enough for an impression of equality to remain in the hall. But after the break, mistakes began to pile up and Berlin punished them without hesitation. Every lost home attack carried extra weight because the visitors quickly crossed the center and often finished moves before Melsungen's defense had time to set up. In such a rhythm, the home team found it increasingly difficult to match the physical and mental intensity of the opponent.
Second place is now almost unreachable for Berlin
The victory in Kassel carries special weight because of the standings at the top of the Bundesliga. According to data published by Die Welt in its match report, after this triumph and ahead of the final round, Füchse Berlin have a two-point advantage over SG Flensburg-Handewitt and an even 65-goal better goal difference. The official ranking rules of the DAIKIN Handball-Bundesliga state that in the event of an equal number of points, teams are first ranked by goal difference, and only then by head-to-head record if the goal difference is also equal. That is exactly why the large margin in Berlin's favor has an almost decisive significance. Flensburg would have to make an exceptionally large turnaround in goal difference in the final round, which is a scenario difficult to imagine in practice.
The final schedule additionally heightens the drama because Berlin and Flensburg meet directly in the last round. Formally, second place is not yet completely settled, but a change in the standings would require an outcome that includes a very convincing Flensburg victory. In handball, big comebacks are possible, but a 65-goal difference with only one match remaining represents an enormous reserve. That is why Berlin's victory in Kassel can be considered the moment in which Füchse practically secured runner-up status. In addition to prestige in the domestic championship, that status also has European value because it opens the door toward the strongest club competition.
According to the official DAIKIN Handball-Bundesliga website, the 60th season of Germany's elite handball championship ends with a double program this week, and the 33rd round could decide the battle for second place and important positions at the bottom of the table. In that context, the duel in Kassel was one of the most important encounters of the final stretch. SC Magdeburg was already in the position of champion, while the group of clubs behind it was seeking the best possible European status. With the victory against Melsungen, Berlin sent a clear message that it wants to finish the season as Magdeburg's first pursuer. At the same time, it left Flensburg very little room to return to the race.
Melsungen between European celebration and unusual calculations
A special layer was added to the whole match by the fact that MT Melsungen had won the EHF European League only a few days earlier, the first major trophy in the club's history. According to official EHF information, Melsungen won the title at the final tournament in Hamburg with a prominent role played by goalkeeper Nebojša Simić, who was named the most valuable player of the finals. That European success changed the context of the final league matches because Melsungen was already out of the battle for the very top in the domestic league, but with the European trophy it opened additional possibilities for next season. That is exactly why the encounter against Berlin had an unusual background that went beyond a classic fight for points. The home defeat looks heavy at first glance, but in the broader European context Melsungen kept a chance of appearing in the Champions League.
German media highlighted the unusual situation in which Melsungen could profit from not threatening Berlin's second place. Bild, citing conversations and statements from the Dyn broadcast, stated that before the match there had been discussion about how different outcomes in the Bundesliga and European competitions could affect Melsungen's chance for the Champions League. According to that report, captain Timo Kastening said that the topic had been present within the team, but that coach Roberto García Parrondo did not make it the central story and that the team played in a sporting spirit. Dyn expert commentator Stefan Kretzschmar assessed that Melsungen had not visibly thrown the match, but had played a very good first half, while Füchse punished mistakes after the break. Such statements are important because they soften the doubts that naturally arise when sporting and administrative interests intertwine in an unusual way.
The match showed that Melsungen did not open the encounter passively. The home team was combative in the first half, tactically awkward and precise enough to keep Berlin under pressure. Still, according to Bild's report, Melsungen played without several important players, including Nebojša Simić, Timo Kastening, Erik Balenciaga, David Mandić and Vlad Kulesch, which further narrowed the rotation. That lack of depth was felt especially in the second half, when Berlin's acceleration began to break the home team. Dimitri Ignatow told Dyn, according to Bild, that the team no longer had the strength after the break to stop the tempo of Füchse, which was clearly visible in the way the margin grew.
The changed European format increases the value of the final stretch
The battle for second place in the Bundesliga is additionally important because of the reform of the men's EHF Champions League from the 2026/27 season. The European Handball Federation announced that the competition is expanding to 24 clubs and that places will be allocated according to a new system. According to the EHF, the ten highest-ranked national federations, among them Germany, will each have one guaranteed place, and each of those federations may request up to two additional upgrades from the EHF European League to the EHF Champions League. The EHF also stated that the number of clubs from one federation is limited to a maximum of three. This means that the final Bundesliga standings, European trophies and EHF decisions on additional places together form a very complex picture.
In such a system, second place in Germany is not only a symbolic success, but a strong argument in the process of European positioning. The Bundesliga is traditionally considered one of the strongest national handball championships, and clubs from Germany regularly play an important role in the final stages of European competitions. In its statement on the new format, the EHF said that 24 teams would be divided into six groups of four, followed by a main round, quarter-finals and the EHF FINAL4 final tournament. The draw for the new season is planned for 26 June 2026, which means that the final European picture will be formed shortly after the end of the national championships and the current Champions League. For Berlin, the victory in Kassel is therefore more than one league triumph: it puts the club in a very favorable position ahead of European decisions.
Melsungen's EHF European League title is also part of that broader picture. In its information about the finals, the EHF states that the club won the first major trophy in its history, and that success increases its international relevance. Still, because of the limitation on the number of clubs per federation and the possible additional places, every combination of results has its consequences. That is precisely why the encounter with Berlin attracted unusual attention, because the defeat, the opponent's second place and Melsungen's European status could open paradoxical but realistic scenarios. The final confirmation of EHF Champions League participants will depend on official decisions and the completion of the remaining competitions.
Berlin broke the match with tempo after the break
From a handball perspective, the key to Füchse's victory was the transition from a slower, physical duel into a high-tempo match. While Melsungen could slow the game down and attack with an additional player, Berlin did not look completely comfortable. But when the visitors' defense began to take space away and Ludwig provided an impulse with his saves, the rhythm changed. Füchse went increasingly often into secondary fast breaks and fast breaks, with Gidsel, Andersson and Gröndahl using gaps in the home defense. The margin grew gradually, but after it went to 28:20 there was no longer any realistic way back.
Such an outcome confirms how dangerous it is in modern handball to play seven against six for a long time against a team that has enough speed and precision to score into an empty goal. With that tactic in the first half, Melsungen gained control over the rhythm and forced Berlin to defend wider than it wanted. However, every lost ball after the break turned into an almost certain goal for the visitors. As the home team lost energy and the Berlin bench gained additional confidence, the difference in transition quality became decisive. In the end, the result of an eleven-goal margin realistically reflected the visitors' dominance in the second half.
For Füchse Berlin, this victory comes at an important part of the season, immediately before the final obligations in the championship and the European climax. According to Die Welt's report, the team can now concentrate on the final home appearance against Flensburg with a large advantage in the standings. That encounter still carries competitive value, but Berlin no longer has to enter it under the same pressure as before the trip to Kassel. In addition, a victory by such a margin strengthens the impression of stability ahead of the final challenges. If there is no exceptional turnaround, Füchse will finish the season as the second team of Germany's strongest league and with a very firm foundation for a return to Europe's handball elite.
Sources:
- Die Welt / dpa-infocom GmbH – report from the MT Melsungen - Füchse Berlin 28:39 match, scorers, course of the encounter and standings ahead of the final round (link)
- DAIKIN Handball-Bundesliga – official context of the season finale, 33rd-round schedule and ranking rules in the table (link)
- DAIKIN Handball-Bundesliga – official ranking rules in the event of equal points (link)
- European Handball Federation – confirmation of the new system and allocation of places for the EHF Champions League and EHF European League from the 2026/27 season (link)
- EHF European League – information about MT Melsungen's title at the Winamax EHF Finals 2026 and the club's first major trophy (link)
- Bild / Dyn – statements and additional context about the unusual European calculations, absences in Melsungen's squad and reactions after the match (link)