The night Metz took Europe
Sarah Bouktit scored twelve times in the final of her life, and Metz Handball became the first French club to win the Women's EHF Champions League. The margin was narrow. The moment was not. Metz Handball defeated Györi Audi ETO KC 31:29 in Sunday's final at the sold-out MVM Dome in Budapest, ending the Hungarian powerhouse's dominance in the EHF Champions League, and became the first-ever French club to lift the trophy.
It was decided in two surges. Led early in the first half, Metz absorbed the pressure and drew level before the break, moving in front to lead 18-17 at half-time. Bouktit set the tone. A comeback signed by Sarah Bouktit, who strung together two important goals to put Metz ahead on the scoreboard. The second push came after the interval. By the 50th minute Györ trailed by six goals, at 24-30, before rallying suddenly to close within two in five minutes. Too late. Metz held on, and a late goal from 21-year-old Lylou Borg, her only strike of the match, killed the suspense as the thirty-first of the evening.
Györ, twice defending champions, played before a crowd overwhelmingly their own. A crowd of 20,022 watched the final in the sold-out MVM Dome in Budapest, matching the world record for a women's club match set at the FINAL4 2023. Bouktit answered all of it. She finished as the match's top scorer by a distance, with twelve goals against the seven of former Metz player Bruna De Paula. The reward was individual as well as collective. Sarah Bouktit was named MVP of the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026.
Full circle
The title had long eluded Metz. To reach the final at all, they had come through a taut semi-final. A fine save from goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen helped them past Bucharest the day before, 32-27. Then came the ogre. It was Györ, conquerors of Brest, who had to be tamed to claim this first Champions League.
For Bouktit the performance carried its own weight of history. She had not scored more than ten goals in a single match since January 2024. She chose the largest stage to do it again. There was a farewell in it too. A near-perfect act of goodbye for Bouktit, who has known almost only Metz, in training and as a professional, and who will leave after this season to join Györ, her opponent of the day.
She grew up at Metz. She leaves it a European champion.
