A perfect route to the quarter finals
FC Barcelona Lassa - Orlen Wisla Plock 36:28 (17:15)
Barça Lassa are in the quarter finals of the VELUX Champions League. Xavi Pascual's side secured the win they needed at the Palau Blaugrana against Wisla Plock to finish first of the group and go straight into the quarter finals. Víctor Tomás scored seven goals and Lazarov got six, making them Barça's top scorers on the night. The Catalans have won 12 out of 14 games in the group stage and will find out who they face in the quarter finals when the THW Kiel and Rhein-Neckar Löwen play each other.
The match was crucial and Barça Lassa struggled to take the initiative. They rhythm was further hindered by Lasse Anderson's knee injury. Eventually, the blaugranas took control and thanks to a clinical Víctor Tomás they opened a 7-5 lead. The captain led the attack with five of the first nine goals. The defensive intensity in both boxes led to a relatively high error count. Jallouz's positive play helped Barça maintain an advantage (11:8). The opposition kept in touch thanks to Tiago Rocha and Gebala's four goals each before the break.
Two almost identical Lazarov counter-attacks give Barça Lassa a 15:12 lead and helped bring about a general improvement in the team's play. Only Rodrigo Corrales' saves stopped Barça from establishing a more commanding advantage by half-time (17:15). When the second half started the blaugranas quickly went about building a four-goal lead which kept growing thanks to the defence, Gonzalo's saves and the accuracy in attack (22:16, min 37).
The whole team were helping secure the victory for Barça Lassa with Entrerríos recovering balls, N'Guessan marking excellently and this collective effort led to a 25:17 lead by the 32nd minute. The Palau was supporting its team's efforts to make it into the quarter finals but there was still a long way to go and Xavi Pascual's men didn't let their guard down. The scoreboard reflected their attacking prowess and Barça were proving to be the better team.
As the minutes passed Barça never dropped their intensity and protected their lead excellently with the full backing of the home fans. Xavi Pascual's side ended a very successful group stage in first place, having conceded the least amount of goals and with a record of twelve wins, one draw and one defeat. They are through to the quarter finals and will face either THW Kiel or Rhein-Neckar Lowen.