Barceloneta won the bronze medal in the 2025 Champions League, beating Marseille 19:9 in the 3rd-place match at the Final Four in Malta.
Today’s duel was Barceloneta’s seventh 3rd-place game at the Champions League final tournaments and the fifth win (2013, 2015,2018, 2023, and 2025).
The game was practically decided in the first half. Barceloneta recovered much better from the semifinal loss and imposed its rhythm from the beginning. The Spaniards led 10:3 at halftime. Marseille was far from its best. The French team, which debuted in the semifinals, ran out of energy after a good performance against Ferencvaros in the semifinals.
2025 Champions League, bronze-medal game
Barceloneta – Marseille 19:9 (6:2, 4:1, 6:4, 3:2)
Barceloneta:Granados 6, Famera 3, Vigvari 2, Biel 2, Sanahuja 1, Munarriz 1, Gomila 1, Burian 1, Tahull 1, Bustos 1.
Marseille: Vernoux 3, Marion-Vernoux 2, Prlainovic 1, Angyal 1, Bouet 1, Bodegas 1
Alvaro Granados and Unai Aguirre did damage in the first quarter. Aguirre recorded five saves in the first eight minutes, thwarting the French team’s efforts. Granados led the attack. He scored two goals within the first 75 seconds, By the seventh minute, Barceloneta built a 3-goal lead (5:2). In the very last second of the first period, the Spaniards were awarded a penalty shot, which Granados converted, bringing the score to 6>2. This was Granados’s fourth goal of the match.
The match continued in a similar vein after the first break, with Barceloneta maintaining control of the pace. Marseille struggled with several missed man-up opportunities. The French’s situation worsened in the middle of the second quarter when they lost their captain, Ugo Crousillat, due to a third personal foul. Bustos capitalized on this advantage, converting a 6-on-5 opportunity to extend the lead to 9:3. By the end of the first half, Barceloneta stretched the margin to 10:3. Barceloneta scored ten goals in the first 16 minutes of the match, despite Marseille’s goalkeeper, Petar Tesanovic, maked nine saves in the first half.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Granados added one more goal from a penalty, and Barceloneta earned a 8-goal lead for the first time (11:3). Marseille slightly narrowed the gap after Prlainovic scored with an extra player for 7:13. The Spaniards responded with a 3:0 run by the end of the quarter and entered the final quarter leading 16:7.
Barceloneta built a 12-goal advantage in the fourth period (19:7). However, the French closed the match with two goals.
Ten goals separated the rivals at the end of the match, but the 19:9 victory wasn’t Barceloneta’s biggest win at the Champions League final tournaments. Four years ago, the Spaniards defeated Olympiacos 22:9 in the quarterfinals of the 2021 F8 in Belgrade..
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