Barça Lassa claimed an important 31-25 victory against Nantes in the Palau Blaugrana in the VELUX EHF Champions League group stages on Saturday evening. Having been five goals down, they turned the game around in the second half thanks to a fine attacking display and some great shot-stopping by Pérez de Vargas at the other end.
The game began at a fast and furious pace, with Barça Lassa racing into a 7-4 lead in the opening ten minutes. But with the Nantes goalkeeper Cyril Dumoulin turning in an inspired display, the visitors began to take control of the match, and by the start of the second half they led by 18-13.
Barça were forced to stand up and be counted, and they rose to their task. Pérez de Vargas produced a series of fine saves, and they levelled the game 19-19 through an Entrerríos goal. In the 45th minute they retook the lead when Syprzak made it 22-21.
They never looked back from then on, and profited greatly on the counter-attack. By the 52nd minute, they were four goals to the good at 26-22, the turnaround almost complete. Syprzak, with six goals, was the hero while the hosts continued to frustrate their opponents at the other end.
The results means Barça now have three wins from four in their group, and moved joint top with a total of seven points thanks to Vardar’s draw.
