The final round of the Champions League Quarter Final stage did not result in any changes in the group standings.
The only remaining question regarding the Final Four participants was whether Pro Recco would maintain its position at the top of Group B. Of course, the Italians made no mistakes in their match against Hannover, defeating the Germans 19:9. In the same group, Ferencvaros also had a convincing performance against Mladost, winning 16:10.
Barceloneta remained the only unbeaten team in the Quarter Final stage. In the day’s derby match in Gropu A, the Spaniards triumphed over Olympiacos 12:9 in Piraeus. Brescia finished 3rd here. The Italans earned an away victory ove Novi Beograd in a 35 goal match, 18:17. only team that finished
The pairs of the semifinals (Malta, June 11): Pro Recco – Olympiacos, Barceloneta – Ferencvaros.
2026 Champions League Quarter Final Stage,Day 5
Group A
(quarters 1:3, 3:3, 2:4, 3:2)
Olympiacos: Genidounias 3, Zalanki 2, Dimou 1, Alafragkis 1, Nikolaidis 1, Papanastasiou 1.
Barceloneta: Vigvari 3, Munarriz 2, Biel 2, Echenique 2, Tahull 1, Bustos 1, Velotto 1.
Olympiacos didn’t avenge an away 12:20 defeat against Barceloneta. Today’s win by the Spanish champion wasn’t as convincing as in the previous game in Barcelona, but the visitors maintained control of the game for most of the time. A few quick series of goals from the Spaniards made the difference.
Alafragkis scored an opening goal in the match. As it turned out, it was Olympiacos’s only lead in the match. The hosts managed to hold a slim 1:0 advantage for a while, in part due to the good performance of the hosts’ goalkeeper, Panagiotios Tzortzatos. However, deep into the first quarter, Barceloneta started to take control of the match. As the Spaniards have done many times this season, they quickly turned the game around with three consecutive goals, entering the second quarter with a 3:1 lead.
Photo by EUROKINISSI Photo Agency
The hosts missed several opportunities during man-up situations but managed to level the score at 3:3 in the 12th minute, thanks to an action goal by Genidonuias. Nevertheless, the quarter ended in favor of Barceloneta, which made a 3:1 run. In the 14th minute, Vince Vigvari scored his third goal, this time from a penalty shot, putting Barceloneta ahead. By halftime, Gonzalo Echenique added two more goals, while Zalanki found the net from a counterattack. At the break, the score was 6:4, with two goals separating the teams.
The Spaniards continued dictating the pace in the second half. Munarriz ave them the first three-goal lead in the 19th minute, from a penalty (8:5). Immediately after, Unai Aguirre saved a penalty shot from Genionuias at the other end of the pool. Late into the third period, Zalanki reduced the gap to two (6:8), but Barceloneta had a response, as usual. In the very last second of this quarter, Biel widened the difference to four (10:6).
Barceloneta didn’t let the hosts come back in the final eight minutes.
(quarters 6:4, 5:4, 3:5, 3:5)
Novi Beograd: Martinovic 6, Dimitijevic 3, Urosevic 2, Gladovic 2, Trtovic 2, Cuk 1, Lukic 1.
Brescia: Del Basso 5, Ferrero 2, Popadic 2, Gianazza 2, Alesiani 2, Viskovc 2, Dolce 1, Guerrato 1, Balzarini 1.
Brescia kept 3rd place in the group in a high-scoring game with several twists and turns and 40 exclusions (16 for the hosts and 24 for the visiting team).
The first period indicated a scoring festival for the spectators in Belgrade. Brescia initially took the lead, going up 1:0 and then 2:1. However, Novi Beograd quickly regained control, building a two-goal lead at 5:3 and again at 6:4, thanks to the effective conversion of man-up opportunities. The hosts managed to score five goals with an extra player during the first quarter and one goal from a penalty, while Brescia’s initial two goals came from counterattacks, followed by two more from man-up shots.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern, with plenty of personal fouls and goals. Midway through the quarter, Vasilije Matinovic stretched Novi Beograd’s lead to three for the first time, making it 9:6 with the hosts’ second action goal of the match. Novi Beograd maintained the three-goal difference until the end of the first half, 11:8.
Photo by VK Novi Beograd Tehnomanija
Luka Gladovic converted another man-up in Novi Beograd’s first possession in the second half, making it 12:8. The Serbs were on a good way to a victory. But, then Brescia made a 4:0 run, and regained a lead (13:12) in the 22nd minute. Novi Beograd scored the last two goals in the quarter for a new turn (14:13). Still, Brescia had more energy for the finish of the match. Just 77 seconds before the final buzzer, the visitors built a 2-goal lead for the first time (18:16). In the rest of the match, Novi Beograd scored just a consolation goal.
Standings: 1. Barceloneta 18, 2. Olympiacos 8, 3. Brescia 7, 4. Novi Beograd 4.
Group B
(quarters 4:3, 3:0, 6:2, 6:4)
Pro Recco: Di Fulvio 5, Fondelli 4, Granados 3, Iocchi Gratta 2, Cassia 2, Buric 1, Mladossich 1, Irving 1.
Waspo Hannover: Gansen 3, Vukicevic 3, Kuppers 1, Milradovic 1, Buha 1.
Pro Recco recorded the win it counted on, but Waspo Hannover, as expected, fought hard. The Germans leveled the score even thrice in the first period (1:1, 2:2, 3:3). Only a second before the first break, Francesco Di Fulvio converted a man-up to put Pro Recco in front for the fourth time , 4:3.
Photo by Federico Schenone
In the second period, there were no goals until the 12th minute, when Fondelli scored with an extra player and launched Recco’s decisive run. Hannover couldn’t kept up with the big favorite anymore. In the following eight minutes, the Italians scored as many goals, jumping to 12:3 midway through the third period. In the final 12 minutes, Recco slowed down, but reached a double-digit margin seven seconds before the end, when Granados set the final score.
(quarters 5:3, 3:3, 5:1, 3:3)
Ferencvaros: Manhercz 3, Vigvari 3, De Toro 2,Mandic 1, Nagy 1, Vamos 1, Lugosi 1, Fekete 1, Argyropoulos 1, Jansik 1, Vismeg 1.
Mladost: Basic 1, Tonicic 1, Babic 1, Erenda 1, Biljaka 1, Bukic 1, Lazic 1, Vrlic 1, Vukicevic 1, Kharkov 1.
Neither team fielded its strongest lineup. Ferencvaros was without Soma Vogel and Edoardo Di Somma, while Loncar, Nagaev, Buljubasic, and Radulovic weren’t on Mladost’s roster.
The teams were in an even contest until 3:3. Then, Ferencvaros produced a 3:0 run. Krisztian Manhercz scored two goals in the final 50 seconds of the first period. Lugosi opened the second-quarter scoring from a counterattack, making it 6:3. But Mladost answered with three straight goals in less than two minutes to catch up with the hosts, 6:6.
Photo: FTC Telekom Waterpolo
Still, it was the last equalizer in the game. Vamos and Jansik gave Ferencvaros an 8:6 lead until the end of the first half. Basic halved Mladost’s deficit early in the third period. However, Ferencvaros then started dominating, scoring five unanswered goals in the rest of the third period. De Toro made it 14:7 at the beginning of the fourth.
Mladost narrowed its deficit in the rest of the game, which saw 26 goals and 21 different scorers.
Standings: 1. Pro Recco 15, 2. Ferencavros 15, 3. Mladost 3, 4. Waspo Hannover 3.
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