Nantes secure play-off ticket with offensive feast in Elverum

GROUP B
Elverum Handball (NOR) vs HBC Nantes (FRA) 36:42 (18:21)

• with the visitors struggling to find their rhythm offensively, Elverum piled up fastbreaks to secure an early four-goal advantage, forcing Nantes to take a timeout at the 12th minute
• things completely turned around when the French side powered up defensively. Scoring 14 goals in as many minutes, Nantes took the lead and went back to the dressing room leading by three
• once in the driving seat, the visitors denied any chance of a comeback to their hosts. Their offensive power was especially impressive, considering the loss of centre back, Aymeric Minne, who suffered an ankle injury in the second half
• Alexandre Cavalcanti was pivotal for Nantes, scoring seven and also delivering five assists. Best scorer of the game was Elverum’s Tobias Grøndahl, with nine
• Nantes scored 42 times, beating their previous record (38) for most goals scored in a Champions League
• while Elverum have no chance to progress anymore, Nantes have now secured their spot in the play-offs. The last two rounds will see them battling with THW Kiel for third place

Alexandre Cavalcanti, a leader in the making

Thibaud Briet, Rok Ovnicek, Linus Persson: the list of players out due to injuries for Nantes was long before the game. And, when Aymeric Minne's name was added to it in the middle of the second half, Alexandre Cavalcanti took over his responsibilities. While his defensive skills have often been praised, tonight he scored seven goals, putting Nantes out of harm when Elverum started to come back. Despite a red card in the last 10 minutes, Cavalcanti was clearly Nantes' leader tonight