Montpellier 27-28 Barça: Giant leap forward
What a win! Barça made it two victories from two in the Champions League by edging Montpellier 28-27. In a war of attrition dominated by the two defences, the European champions collected two more points against a side that had also won its opening game. It is a huge step towards reaching the Main Round under the new format.
On 18 September, the day after this victory, it will be exactly one year since Barça’s last defeat, against Magdeburg. A whole year unbeaten... and they want much more!
Sergey Hernández stands tall
The blaugranes knew exactly what awaited them at the Sud de France Arena: 10,000 fans roaring on the home side and trying to unsettle the visitors.
With Sergey Hernández in inspired form and the attack operating efficiently, the early exchanges favoured Barça. A 9-5 lead appeared to offer some breathing space, but the game changed completely after a Montpellier timeout. An extraordinary 6-0 run for the home side made it 11-9. With the crowd in full voice and the momentum transformed, Carlos Ortega tried to halt the slide.
His players responded with character, rediscovered their defensive solidity and moved back ahead. By half-time, Barça had regained the advantage at 18-15.
Second-half battle
After the break, Barça relied on their defending to protect a narrow advantage. Although they briefly moved four goals clear at 20-16, the margin generally fluctuated between two and three.
Montpellier did not reduce the deficit to a single goal until the 52nd minute, following a counterattack that made it 24-23. Ludovic Fàbregas offered some relief with his first goal of the night, only to receive a two-minute suspension moments later.
Barça resist
Playing with an empty net, Barça continued to find solutions through Djordje Cikusa and Barrufet. Once restored to full strength, they remained two ahead at 27-25 with five minutes left. A superb Janc goal and another Sergey save followed, but a penalty reduced the lead to 28-27.
Ortega called a timeout with 25 seconds left, and the champions’ maturity came to the fore. They patiently worked the ball, drew fouls and ran down the clock. A hugely valuable victory, and Barça now have two wins from two in the Champions League.
MATCH STATS
Montpellier: 27
Barça: 28
Montpellier: Bolzinger (1), Villeminot (7), Casado (2), Lenne (0), Porte (2), Balaguer (2), Paschal (2), Desbonnet (0), Monte (3), Valera (3), Moraes (1), Thurin (1), Richert (2), Guigon (0), Caille (0), Plantin (1).
Barça: Sergey Hernández (0), Aleix (4), Mem (5), Fàbregas (1), N'Guessan (2), Frade (4), Dani Fernández (3), Hallgrímsson (0), Carlsbogard (2), D. Cikusa (0), Janc (1), Sola (0), Elderaa (0), San Felipe (0), Barrufet (4), P. Cikusa (2).
Periods: 2-3, 3-6, 5-9, 10-9, 13-14, 15-18 / HT / 17-20, 18-20, 19-22, 21-24, 25-26, 27-28.
Referees: Ismail Metalari, Nenad Nikolovski