A terrible refereeing situation keeps Barça out of the fight for its 13th Champions League title.

Barça gave their all to break the curse of their bête noire, Magdeburg; they tore their guts out to reach their fifth European final in the last six years in search of their 13th Champions League ; they gave their all to survive the injury to their leader Dika Mem (8 goals)... but they didn't count on the terrible, pathetic, and inappropriate refereeing of the Nachevski-Nikolov duo.

The Macedonians ruined the semifinal with three red cards: Thiagus Petrus in the 26th minute, and Carlsbogard and Ariño in the final minute, forcing the Blaugrana to attack with four players in their final attack to win. Richardson missed, and Hornke executed the Blaugrana (30-31). For the sixth time in the last five years, the Germans frustrated Barça.

Unworthy of a Champions League semi-final in one of the world's best club competitions, the final will be the one the EHF wanted for its Cologne home: Magdeburg against Füchse Berlin, who thrashed Nantes (34-24).

Part One Barça performed at a very high level, led by Mem's 7 goals, reaching a +4 advantage (16-12) but Magdeburg equalized in seven minutes after Petrus was sent off.

He was well aware of his rival, Barça: his most recurrent bête noire of the last five years, the most indigestible opponent, the one that had beaten him the most (a 2-5 run since 2021), and the one that had inflicted the most damage, with defeats in two consecutive Club World Cup finals (2021, 2022) and a semi-final in Cologne (2023). “An uncomfortable team for Barça, who base their game on one-on-one with their smaller players,” explained Tomas Svensson, Carlos Ortega's assistant.

The Malaga coach started with Makuc in the center-back position, N'Guessan and Mem on the wings, and Ariño and Janc on the wing. In defense, the usual 6-0 formation was used, with a lot of attention to the one-on-ones of Magnusson and Claar, whom they stifled with pressing attacks. Good defensive intensity and Mem's success in seizing the initiative with four goals allowed them to take an early lead (3-1, 4-2, 7-5) and consolidate their dominance.

As Nielsen began to come into his own with his third save, a penalty saved from Magnusson, and Makuc fine-tuned his pace, Barça shot to a three-goal lead (8-5, 9-6, 10-7). The Slovenian center-back was masterful in moving the team and unleashing his power with three goals that consolidated the advantage.

With the score at 12-9, Bennet Wiegert called a timeout to stem the oncoming bleeding. But he couldn't stop the slugger Dika Mem, who maintained the lead (14-11) with his sixth goal from six shots. The captain was impressive, once again showing up in the crucial moments.

Richardson, coming on as a substitute for Mem, joined the party with a 16-12 lead, the Blaugrana's largest advantage (+4) in the 23rd minute. Barça took off… but for a short time. Far from consolidating their lead, they slacked off.

Magdeburg pulled one back again thanks to an inspired Lagergren and Hornke (17-15), and were gifted a gift by the Macedonian referees, who incomprehensibly sent off Thiagus Petrus (26th minute) for an alleged assault on Kristjansson during a six-meter penalty. A controversial decision because Petrus is a key pillar of the Blaugrana defense.

The Brazilian's expulsion weakened Barça, and Magdeburg took advantage of the situation to close the gap by just one goal (17-16 by Hornke). Ortega had to stop the clock and restore order. Mem restored the scoring with his seventh goal from seven shots (18-16), but Kristjansson came around and Lagergren tied the score before the halftime buzzer, completing a painful 6-2 run in the final seven minutes, from the Blaugrana's largest lead (16-12). The Blaugrana team headed into the locker room with the score on the decline.

Second A pathetic refereeing performance prevented Barça from competing on equal terms.

Barça needed a dramatic impact in the second half to reestablish the dominance they had displayed in the first half. They sought a comeback with a solid defense, while in attack Ortega opted for Aleix Gómez on the right wing and returned Makuc to the center back. But the one who pulled the trigger was Aitor Ariño, with two goals to restore the lead (23-21, min. 40). The winger was playing his penultimate game for Blaugrana before moving to Füchse.

It was time to keep on rowing. Nielsen made his 8th save and allowed Aleix Gómez, with a penalty, to restore the lead to +3 (24-21). Although facing them, Portner also heated up and with his saves (5) allowed Magdeburg to get closer again (24-23) and to level the duel with two more penalties from Magnusson.

The German team grew, pushed by the Lanxess Arena. Makuc lost in attack, Magnusson scored on the counterattack to make it 24-25, Germany's first lead (46th minute), and Dika Mem was injured after a drive, colliding with O'Sullivan. Javi Rodríguez then fouled Barça. Things were looking bad with 13 minutes remaining. Ortega took a gamble by bringing on center back Petar Cikusa, who wasn't fully fit.

With the Bordils native on the court for the final 12 minutes, Barça would need a lot of magic and some serious stone-cutting to regain control. With Lagergren leading 26-27 with 10 minutes remaining, Ortega called for time to rebuild the team, without Mem, on the touchline recovering under medical attention. Melvyn Richardson inherited the mantle and assumed the responsibility of keeping the team afloat (27-27).

Far from being disoriented, two empty-net goals from Nielsen and Frade put Barça back in front (29-27) with eight minutes remaining. But Magnusson and Mertens leveled the score (29-29), Portner made his seventh save, and Ortega reacted by replacing a struggling Cikusa in place of Makuc for the final five minutes.

It was the moment for heroes. Nielsen made a voluntary save, stopping a penalty from the infallible Magnusson and preventing the 1-1 lead that made it 29-30. Makuc also wanted to join the list, but made a mistake at the most inopportune moment, hitting the post with three minutes left. Nielsen made another save (his 10th), and Ariño counterattacked to make it 30-29 with 2:20 left. Barça survived with few resources.

But with 1m40s remaining, Carlsbogard received another blow with straight red cards for a push (m. 58) and Ariño (m. 58), 12 seconds later, for slipping and touching the Magdeburg winger while jumping. An incredible double expulsion forced the Blaugrana to attack with four in the last minute to overcome Hornke's 30-30 lead.

There were 45 seconds left on the final drive with four players on the field. Richardson shot with 25 seconds left and Portner saved. On his final drive, Hornke made no mistake from the wing in the final second: 30-31.