Pro Recco will fight for another European crown in Saturday’s Champions League final against Barceloneta.
The Italian powerhouse delivered a commanding performance in the second semifinal of the Final Four in Malta, thoroughly outclassing Olympiacos to secure its place in the title match. The 11-time European champion defeated Olympiacos by six goals, 19:13.
Unlike the thrilling first semifinal between Barceloneta and Ferencvaros, the clash between the Italians and the Greeks offered little drama.
Pro Recco dominated from the opening whistle and never looked back, while Olympiacos was unable to recover from the Italians’ explosive start. Already at halftime, Recco had a six-goal lead (13:7) and controlled the match and the result for the next 16 minutes.
2026 Champions League Final Four, Semifinal 2
(quarters 8:4, 5:3, 3:2, 3:4)
Pro Recco: Granados 4, Irving 4, Cannella 2, Presciutti 2, Condemi 2, Di Fulvio 1, Fondelli 1, Pavillard 1, Iocchi Gratta 1, Buric 1.
Olympiacos: Zalanki 4, Alafragkis 2, Papanastasiou 2, Nikolaidis 2, Genidounias 1, FOuntoulis 1, Gkillas 1
Pro Recco got off to a furious start in the match. The Italians earned a 2:0 lead in their first two possessions. In the middle of the quarter, Recco was three steps ahead of the Greeks (4:1). In the 7th minute, Giacomo Cannella converted a double man-up to make it 7:3. The Italians maintained a 4-goal difference until the end of the first period – 8:4. Pro Recco had seven different scorers in the first quarter, which tells a lot about the team’s depth. Zalanki scored three out of Olympiacos’s four goals.
Olympiacos’s head coach, Elvis Fatovic, made a few substitutions of goalkeepers Zerdevas and Tzortzatos during the first half. But these changes did not benefit the Greek team. Just 16 seconds into the quarter, Max Irving scored, extending Recco’s lead to 9:4. Recco was in command throughout the match, and in the 14th minute, the Italians established a six-goal advantage – 12:6.
Recco had an impressive shooting percentage in the first half, scoring 13 goals from 17 attempts, which included six goals from seven powerplay shots. In contrast, Olympiacos managed to net seven goals from 16 shots, with the Greeks’ powerplay performance being 5 out of 11.
Alvaro Granados stretched the margin to seven (14:7) from a penalty shot. Even though Recco missed a few nice chances, it maintained a big difference, heading into the final period leading 16:9. The winner was decided after 24 minutes, and during the fourth period, both teams already started thinking about their upcoming matches on Saturday and saving energy for the medal games.
The final Barceloneta – Pro Recco begins on June 13 at 21:00 CET. Ferencvaros and Olympiacos will battle for bronze from 19:00 CET.
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