Visiting teams recorded victories in the third round of Group B of the Champions League Quarter-Final Stage, demonstrating their status as favorites for spots at the Final Four.
Barceloneta secured three points in Italy, defeating Savona 14:10. Four goals separated the rivals, but the victory was hard-fought. Barceloneta had to dig deep and ultimately secured the win only in the fourth period. This away victory may prove crucial in Barceloneta’s quest to return to the top four teams in Europe. Savona isn’t out of the race, but it will have a demanding schedule in the next three rounds (away matches against Barceloneta and Ferencvaros and the home game with Oradea).
As expected, the defending champion, Ferencvaros, achieved an easy win against Oradea, demolishing the Romanians – 18:7.
2024/25 Champions League, Quarter Final Stage, Day 3, Group B
Savona – Barceloneta 10:14 (3:2, 2:5, 3:2, 2:5)
Savona: Guidi 3, Patchaliev 3, Figlioli 1, Merkulov 1, Bruni 1, Gullotta 1.
Barceloneta: Vigvari 4, Sanahuja 2, Perrone 2, Bustos 2, Famera 1, Granados 1, Burian 1, Aguirre 1.
Savona quickly earned a 2:0 lead in the first two minutes. Barceloneta didn’t need much time to tie the score at 2:2. Savona had a 3:2 advantage at the first break thanks to Patchaliev, who converted a man-up in the 7th minute after a nice assist from Gullotta. Vince Vigvari opened the second period with a goal from a counterattack to equalize at 3:3, while Gomilla put Barceloneta in front. Alvaro Granados delivered assists for both goals. Alvaro Granados delivered assists for both of these goals. In the next few minutes, Savona managed to equalize at 4:4 and then again at 5:5.
However, Barceloneta managed to build a 2-goal lead by the end of the first half. Just after Savona’s fifth goal, Sanahuja scored for 6:5 in a 6 on 5 situation. Savona was unable to equalize after that. As the quarter was coming to a close, Barceloneta’s goalkeeper, Unai Aguirre, improved his performance, even scoring the last goal of the first half. Twenty seconds before halftime, Aguirre saved an extra player shot from Erdely and then noticed that Savona’s goalie, Nicosia, was positioned a few meters in front of his goal. Aguirre then sent the ball into the empty net with a long shot over the entire field to make it 7:5.
Shortly after the middle break, Savona caught up with Barceloneta, thanks to two power-play goals from Guidi. The Spaniards responded in the same way, scoring twice in extra-player attacks (Perrone and Patchaliev), but they didn’t enjoy a 2-goal lead for long, as Patchaliev scored for 8:9. In the very last second of the third period, Savona forced a penalty shot, but Aguirre didn’t let the hosts equalize, saving a shot from Figlioli. Barceloneta’s goalkeeper was up to the task this evening. He posted 13 saves, while Savona’s No. 1 Nicosia blocked six shots.
Sanahuja doubled the visitors’ advantage early in the fourth period. Merkulov responded quickly. Still, in the following minutes, the visitors made a crucial 3:0 run within just 91 seconds. The series was opened by Bustos. Vince Vigvari added a goal from the 5m line, and Felipe Perrone made it 13:9 with 04:17 minutes left on the clock. Barceloneta controlled the game until the final buzzer and maintained the difference.
Oradea – Ferencvaros 7:18 (1:5, 1:5, 4:4, 1:4)
Oradea: Vancsik 3, Velkic 2, Gusarov 1, Gardasevic 1.
Ferencvaros: Di Somma 4, Argyropoulos 4, Vin.Varga 3, Mandic 2, Fekete 2, Manhercz 1, Nagy 1, Vismeg 1.
Ferencvaros was a clear favorite, so even before the game, only the margin of the Hungarians’ win was in question. The visitors quickly ruined the Romanians’ dreams of a surprise. Ferencvaros allowed Oradea to equalize only once – at 1:1 . In the following 11 minutes, Ferencvaros scored seven straight goals and was 8:1 up already in the middle of the second quarter.
Edoardo Di Somma Photo by Slobodan Sandic
At halftime, it stood 10:2. Oradea reduced the gap to six goals midway through the third period (6:12). Still, everything depended on Ferencvaros, which refound its rhythm in the fourth quarter and stretched the margin to 11.
Standings: 1. Ferencvaros 9, 2. Barceloneta 6, 3. Savona 3, 4. Oradea 0.
For the full statistics, visit Total Waterpolo Arena
