THW Kiel have one foot in the final of the Champions League after beating Rhein-Neckar Loewen 37-23 at home in their semi-final first leg.

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• Ciudad Real win at Hamburg

Kiel blitzed their fellow German opponents in the first half at the Sparkassen Arena, going into the break 20-8 ahead, and the visitors never recovered from that onslaught.

The result means that Kiel - winners in 2007 and finalists in each of the past three seasons - are odds on for a rematch with last year's final opponents, Ciudad Real, who hold a one-goal aggregate advantage over Hamburg in their semi-final.

The second leg of the all-German semi-final will be on April 30, with Hamburg travelling to Spain to days later.