Olympiacos secured three points in the big derby on the opening day of the 2026 Champions League, defeating Mladost 13:9 at home in Group A. The Greek champions started slowly, allowing Mladost to establish an early three-goal lead. However, the hosts, spearheaded by Gergo Zalanki, made a timely comeback.
In the second match of Group A, the favorite trailed for most of the time. Radnicki defeated Vasas, but the Serbian champion was behind the Hungarians for most of the first three quarters. In the fourth period, Radnicki, led by Andrija Prlainovic, built a 3-goal lead and eventually recorded a narrow 17:16 victory.
In Group C, Jadran Herceg Novi triumphed over Jadran Split with 14:11. Marseille blew Waspo Hannover away in the first game of Group D – 20:19.
The remaining four matches of the first round are scheduled for Wednesday.
2026 Champions League, Day 1
GROUP A
Olympiacos – Mladost 13:9 (2:3, 4:1, 5:4, 2:1)
Olympiacos: Zalanki 6, Angyal 2, Gkillas 2, Genidounias 2, Dimou 1.
Mladost: Nagaev 2, Basic 1, Buljubasic 1, Biljaka 1, Bukic 1, Lazic 1, Vukicevic 1, Kharkov 1.
Mladost furiously entered its first Champions League since 2020. The Croatian side scored in each of their first three possessions and earned a 3:0 lead after just 03:02 minutes. Olympiacos’ head coach, Elvis Fatovic, called a time-out and managed to shake up his team and halt Mladost’s rush. Immediately after the 1-minute break, the Greeks forced an exclusion, and Angyal converted a man-up. Just 34 seconds later, Zalanki made it 2:3. After five goals in the first four minutes, the next one came only in the 11th minute, when Zalanki leveled with a man-up. Genidounias converted another man-up to put the Greeks in front. Konstantin Kharkov ended Mladost’s 10-minute scoring silence by converting a man-up to level the score. Zalanki didn’t score from a penalty in the next possession, but the Greeks built a 2-goal lead by the middle break (6:4).
The hosts continued dictating the pace in the second half, going to 8:4 early in the third period. Mladost couldn’t recover from the second 0:4 run. At the finish of the quarter, the Zagreb-based team managed to halve the deficit (8:10). But, just three seconds before the last break, Zalanki found the net with a nice shot from a distance (it was his 6th goal today) and secured his team a solid 11:8 advantage before the final period. The hosts restored a 4-goal lead in the 25th minute when Angyal scored from a six-on-five (12:8). Playing disciplined at both ends of the pool, Olympiacos maintained control over the game until the end. Olympiacos recorded a quite convincing win even though it missed three penalty shots.
Radnicki – Vasas 17:16 (3:5, 6:4, 5:3, 3:4)
Radnicki: Prlainovic 6, Rasovic 4, Vlachopoulos 3, Murisic 2, Vapenski 2.
Vasas: Gyarfas 5, Djurdjic 3, Batori 3, Szalai 3, Lakatos 2
Radnicki played without the injured Nikola Jaksic, but despite this setback, the Kragujevac-based team was a strong favorite in this match. However, Vasas proved to be a formidable opponent. The visitors established a three-goal lead twice in the first period—first at 4:1 in the 4th minute and then at 5:2 in the 6th minute. The hosts tightened their defense late in the quarter but struggled to catch up with Vasas. It wasn’t until the 12th minute that the Serbs equalized; Strahinja Rasovic scored from an extra player to make it 7:7. Vasas responded by regaining a two-goal lead at 9:7. Nevertheless, by halftime, the teams were tied at 9:9, with Strahinja Rasovic scoring another equalizer just 39 seconds before the break.
Strahinja Rasovic Photo by Igor Lazarevic
One of Vasas’s left-handed players, Tamas Gyarfas, opened the third quarter with his third goal to put his team in front again – 10:9. Batori made it 11:9 from a penalty. The Hungarians, playing without psychological pressure, held their advantage until 12:10. After that, Radnicki produced a 5:0 rush. At the end of the quarter, Radnicki finally took the lead. It was Strahinja Rasovic who equalized for the third time, 12:12 in the 22nd minute. A minute later, captain Andrija Prlainovic gave Radnicki the first lead in the match, scoring from a distance for 13:12. Strahinja Rasovic doubled the hosts’ advantage before the last break. Vlachopoulos made it 15:12 in the 26th minute to conclude the hosts’ pivotal series of five goals in a row. Vasas didn’t give in, but didn’t equalize. The visitors narrowed the gap to one when it was too late. Lakatos scored the last goal in the match 25 seconds before the final buzzer.
Visit Total Waterpolo Arena for live results and the statistics of the 2025/26 Champions League
GROUP B
Jadran HN – Jadran Split 14:11 (4:3, 3:2, 5:2, 2:4)
Jadran Herceg Novi: Stupar 3, Janovic 3, Merkulov 2, Kholod 1, Vujovic 1, Valera 1, Gojkovic 1, Lazic 1, Vranes 1.
Jadran Split: Matkovic 3, Fatovic 3,Zovic 2, Butic 1, Berehulak 1, Nemet 1,
The visitors from Split set the pace for most of the first quarter of the match played in Trebinje, taking an early lead of 3:1 by the 5th minute. However, the Montenegrins rallied with a 3:0 run in the final 2 minutes and 6 seconds of the first period, ending the quarter with a 4:3 advantage. The home team maintained its momentum and scored a fourth consecutive goal, extending its lead to 5:3.
Two minutes before halftime, the Split-based team managed to equalize at 5:5. However, shortly after, Jadran began to assert its dominance, launching a crucial 6:1 run. By the end of the first half, the Montenegrin champions led 7:5 and opened the second quarter strongly. Kholod gave them their first three-goal lead of the match at 8:5. Matkovic responded immediately, but that did not stop Jadran Herceg Novi. The home side’s defense, commanded by goalkeeper Andric, was better and better, providing a solid foundation for their attack.
In the 22nd minute, Jadran Herceg Novi jumped to 11:6, and at that point, the contest was essentially decided. The visitors, who struggled with their power play conversion (7/20), couldn’t make a comeback.
GROUP D
Marseille – Waspo Hannover 20:9 (6:3, 5:3, 5:2, 4:1)
Marseille: Bouet 5, Vernoux 4, Crousillat 4, Kalgeropoulos 3, Larumbe 2, Bodegas 1, Nagy 1.
Waspo 98 Hannover: Kueppers 2, Strelezkij 2, Lozina 2, Buha 1, Gansen 1, L.Vukicevic 1.
Waspo Hannover did its best, but the Germans couldn’t surprise the semifinalist of the 2025 Champions League. Hannover kept up with Marseille until 2:2. Between the 6th and 9th minute, Marseille scored five, conceding only one goal. Hence, the French had a 4-goal advantage already at the beginning of the second period (7:3). Deep into the second period, Marseille extended its lead to six goals for the first time (11:5). Marseille reached a double-digit margin in the 27th minute (19:9) and added one goal in the remaining part of the game.
