Füchse Berlin overwhelm Melsungen in first half – Langhoff outstanding on opening day

In the end, it was a deserved home win whose origins lay almost entirely in the first 30 minutes. Füchse went into the dressing room with a 17:9 lead – an advantage that was never seriously threatened in the second half despite an impressive Melsungen fightback.

The defining figure of the evening was Langhoff. In his first match of the season he scored nine times and missed his personal HBL best by just one goal. He also defended uncompromisingly in the inside block. Pivot Mijajlo Marsenić summed up Berlin's mood in the half-time interview: "That energy and emotion from the start, that was really important for us. We really wanted to show today that we're still Füchse Berlin, that this is our home and that we can still play brilliant handball."

Alongside Langhoff, Mathias Gidsel and Palicka shaped the match. Gidsel contributed seven goals and reached his 1,000th Bundesliga goal during the game. Palicka stood firm in the first half and finished with seven saves. Tim Freihöfer was reliable from the seven-metre line with five conversions, whilst Tobias Grøndahl added five goals and plenty of pace. For MT, Aaron Mensing (6 goals) and Dimitri Ignatow (5) led the offensive effort, whilst Johannes Golla was named Melsungen's best performer by the handball performance index.

After a balanced start – Palicka saved after just 40 seconds, Gidsel opened the scoring – Füchse pulled away relentlessly. Melsungen repeatedly ran into dead ends, produced a string of technical errors and found few solutions against Berlin's defence. With the score at 8:4, Roberto García Parrondo called his first timeout, but the errors continued.

What had been a tight opening phase became a 9:3 run that effectively decided the contest. At one point it stood at 17:8, before Melsungen reduced the deficit to 17:9 with the last attack. Eight technical errors from just nine goals of their own – the half-time score was a brutal assessment for the visitors. MT sporting director Jesper Larsson admitted at half-time: "Pretty much everything that shouldn't happen on a season opener came together." On Palicka, he said: "He showed why he's been world class for the last 20 years."

The second half told a completely different story. With the introduction of Erik Balenciaga at playmaker, Melsungen found structure and tempo. The visitors scored 22 goals in the second half and at times worked their way back to within four goals. But for every Melsungen push, Füchse had an answer – carried by their ball movement and repeatedly by Langhoff, who broke through even in the closing stages.

Berlin's lead remained stable, before two late goals from Ignatow made the final score a more respectable 33:31. Coach Nicolej Krickau assessed the opener soberly: "We knew it was a 50-50 match, and that's why we're obviously super happy with the two points." Parrondo conceded: "Seven against six worked well, but I'm not satisfied with the six against six."

Melsungen continue as early as Wednesday, 2 September 2026, at 19:00 with their home match against FRISCH AUF! Göppingen. Füchse face their next test a day later: on Thursday, 3 September 2026, at 20:15 they visit SC Magdeburg – the very opponents who beat them in the Super Cup.