Pro Recco is the second participant in the Quarter Final Stage of the 2026 Champions League.
The 11-time European champion defeated Novi Beograd 12:9 in the fourth round of Group B, thereby mathematically securing a spot among the top eight teams. The Italians join Ferencvaros, which secured its place in the QF Stage yesterday.
In the other game of Group B, Jadran Split achieved a home victory over Jadran Herceg Novi, winning 15:13. This win earned the Croats their first points of the season, keeping them in the running for second place alongside their Serbian and Montenegrin champions.
The match in Budapest produced the same score, but in favor of the visiting team. Radnicki defeated Vasas, 15:13 in Group A. The Kragujevac-based side continues to battle for a spot in the next stage, while Vasas lost its last chance to move from the bottom of the table.
Barceloneta beat Sabadell convincingly, 13:7, in the Spanish derby and climbed to the top of Group D as the only team with three wins.
2026 Champions League, Group Stage, Round 4
GROUP A
Vasas – Radnicki 13:15 (3:4, 3:4, 4:5, 3:2)
Vasas: Batori 5, Lakatos 2, Varnai 2, Dala 2, Szalai 1, Ragacs 1.
Radnicki: Vlachopoulos 5, Prlainovic 4, Dedovic 2, S. Rasovic 1, P. Jaksic 1, Ivanov 1.
Radnicki recorded a narrow win in Budapest, but the match wasn’t the same as the encounter between the same rivals in Kragujevac, when Vasas led for most of the game, and the Serbian champion achieved a one-goal victory.
This evening, Radnicki was in front throughout the match. Vasas managed to equalize only twice in the second period, and there were no thrills in the final minutes
Radnicki opened the match excellently, building a 4:1 lead. The Serbs failed to convert a penalty to make a four-goal lead. After that, the Hungarians netted two goals in the last 40 seconds of the first quarter and got back into the match – 3:4. In the second period, Vasas leveled at 4:4 and 5:5. Radnicki then tightened its defense again, and scored three goals in three minutes and rebuilt a 3-gol lead (8:5). The visitors’ goalkeeper, Radoslav Filipovic, was one of the key players, posting nine saves in the first half, but he couldn’t stop Dome Dala’s 6 on 5 shot and vasas was two goals behind at the mddle break (6:8).
Peter Szalai and Boris Vapenski Photo by Laszlo Balogh
The Hungarians made several attempts to close the gap in the third period, reaching 8:9 and 9:10. However, the Serbian team, led by experienced players Vlachopoulos and captain Prlainovic, successfully thwarted the hosts’ comeback. Radnicki once again established a 3-goal lead at 12:9 and maintained that advantage until the end of the quarter, finishing at 13:10. In the fourth quarter, the Serbs expanded their lead to four, at 14:10 and 15:11. Vasas scored the last two goals in the final 36 seconds, but it did not threaten Radnicki’s victory.
Standings: 1. Olympiacos 9, 2. Mladost 9, 3. Radnicki 6, 4. Vasas 0.
GROUP C
Jadran Split – Jadran Herceg Novi 15:13 (5:2, 4:3, 4:5, 2:3)
Jadran Split: Fatovic 5, Matkovic 2, Marinic Kragic 2, Skejic 2, Berehulak 1,Tomasovic 1, Zovic 1.
Jadran Herceg Novi: Janovic 4, V. Radovic 2, Merkulov 3, Kholod 1, Valera 1, Gojkovic 1, Lazic 1
Jadran Split achieved its first Champions League victory of the season, to stay in the race for the spots in the Quarter Final Round. However, the Croats failed to achieve their other objective in this match: improving their goal difference. This was important, as they had lost the previous two encounters with their direct competitors, Novi Beograd and Jadran HN, each by a three-goal margin.
In the first half, it looked like the Split-based team could pull off a convincing win.
Between the 5th and the 10th minute, Jadran Split went on a 4:0 run (two goals from Fatovic and two from Matkovic), jumping from 2:2 to 6:2. The visitors struggled to convert their man-up opportunities, and the hosts’ goalkeeper, Marko Bijac, posted several nice saves in the first half. Late into the second period, Jadran Split earned a 5-goal lead (9:4).
Jadran Split’s defense was excellent in the first half Photo by VK Jadran Split
However, the Montenegrins recovered. At the mid-break, their head coach, Vladimir Gojkovic, switched the goalkeepers (Radovic replaced Andric). Midway through the third period, the Herceg Novi-based team cut the deficit to one goal (9:10 and 10:11). Still, on both occasions, Jadran Split’s captain Jerko Marinic Kragic immediately replied to double his team’s advantage. Today’s encounter was Marinic Kragic’s first Champions League match this season.
Jadran Split entered the final eight minutes with a 3-goal lead, as 16-year Skejic closed the third period with a power-play goal to make it 13:10. Tomasovic widened the distance to 14:10. In the middle of the final quarter, Jadran Herceg Novi scored two goals within 33 seconds to halve the distance to 12:14. In the following minutes there were no goals. Just 12 seconds from the end, Skejic scored his second goal from a 7 on 6 (a field player replaced goalkeeper Bijac in the water). The Croats earned a 3-goal lead, 15:12. But, it wasn’t the end. Daniil Merkulov beat the buzzer, scoring from a distance with three seconds to go. In the remaining two rounds, we’ll find out if that goal will play a significant role in the standings.
Pro Recco – Novi Beograd 13:9 (3:2, 3:3, 5:2, 2:2)
Pro Recco: Granados 3, Cannella 2, Pavilalrd 2, Iocchi Gratta 2, Di Fulvio 1, Fondelli 1, Buric 1, Mladossich 1.
Novi Beograd: Cuk 2, Perkovic 2, Lukic 2, Trtovic 1, Dimitrijevic 1, Pljevancic 1,
Pro Recco controlled the match from the end of the first period, but it couldn’t record a convincing win.
In the balanced first half, both goalkeepers, Nicosia and Glusac, did their jobs very well. Novi Beograd took the lead twice, and Pro Recco went ahead only in the 7th minute, when Francesco Di Fulvio converted a man-up for 3:2. Mladossich doubled the hosts’ lead from a counterattack in the 10th minute. But Novi Beograd managed to keep up with the favorite until the end of the first half. Dusan Trtovic scored the last goal in the second period, finding the net just a second before the end, and the visitors trailed 5:6 before the third quarter.
Durik (Recco) and Lukic (Novi Beograd) Photo by Federico Schenone
Novi Beograd continued chasing the Italians after the middle break. However, in the 22nd minute, Recco earned a 3-goal lead for the first time, after Alvaro Granados converted a penalty shot for 9:6. A minute and a half later, the same player made it 10:6 with an extra player. Novi Beograd missed a man-up opportunity. Recco started a counterattack, and Pavillard hit the back of the net for 11:6, and it was clear that Novi Beograd couldn’t upset the big favorite.
Anyway, despite the loss, today’s performance was encouraging for Novi Beograd, but the Serbs need to improve their man-up conversion rate. They scored only six power-play goals in the match in which Pro Recco committed 23 personal fouls.
Standings: 1. Pro Recco 12, 2. Jadran HN 6, 3. Novi Beograd 3, 4. Jadran S 3.
GROUP D
Barceloneta – Sabadell 13:7 (2:3, 3:2, 5:1, 3:2)
Barceloneta: Tahull 3, Vigvari 3, Munarriz 2, Velotto 1, Biel 1, Sanahuja 1, Valls 1.
Sabadell: Panerai 2, Barroso 2, Cabanas 1, Famera 1, Carrio 1.
Sabadell took a one-goal lead four times during the first half. The hosts leveled immediately after each of these goals. Alessandro Velotto gave the Spanish champion a first lead at 5:4 with a long-distance shot 38 seconds from the end of the first half.
Alberto Munarriz Photo by Jordi López / CNAB
Valls doubled the hosts’ lead early in the third period, and Barrosso made it 5:6. However, following Sabadell’s fifth goal, Barceloneta’s crucial run started. The home side netted five unanswered goals between the 20th and the 26th minutes to earn a comfortable 11:5 advantage. In the rest o the match, the teams traded the goals, and Barceloneta kept a big lead.
With this victory, the Spanish champion made a big step towards the Quarter Final Stage.
Standings: 1. Barceloneta 9, 2. Marseille 6, 3. Hannover 6, 4. Sabadell 3.
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