Brescia enters 2022 as a leader of the Champions League Group A.
The Italians narrowly beat Olympiacos in the derby of the 6th round – 8:7 and climbed to 1st place, while Olympiacos dropped to 2nd.
Barceloneta and Ferencvaros recorded convincing wins. Barceloneta beat Radnicki 13:7, while Ferencvaros defeated Jadran Split 14:8. Each of these two games was practically decided in the first two quarters. The Spaniards and the Hungarians built solid advantages before halftimes. Each team had a 9:3 lead at the middle break.
Barceloneta and Ferencvaros continued their neck-and-neck race. They share 3rd and 4th place. But, after the 6th round, they are just three points behind Olympiacos. The fourth match of the round in Group A, Dinamo Tbilisi – Novi Beograd, is scheduled for Wednesday. If Dinamo doesn’t cause a big surprise, Novi Beograd will catch up with Barceloneta and Ferencvaros in points.
Olympiacos suffered the first loss in the season today. After the 6th round, Brescia and Ferencvaros remain unbeaten, but four points separate these two sides because Ferencvaros has recorded only two wins to date.
2021/22 Champions League, Group A, Day 6
Brescia – Olympiacos 8:7 (2:2, 3:0, 2:4, 1:1)
Brescia: Constantin Bicari 2, Di Somma 2, Vapenski 1, Renzuto 1, Alesiani 1, Luongo 1.
Olympiacos: Filipovic 2, Genidounias 1, Fountoulis 1, Gouvis 1, Dervisis 1, Mourikis 1.
As expected, the game was a fierce battle between the great teams. Brescia was in front for most of the time. Olympiacos equalized just once (2:2), but everything was open until the end.
Brescia opened the match with a 2:0 lead. Still, Olympiacos caught up with the hosts with two power-play goals (Filipovic and Gouvis) in the last two minutes of the quarter.
Brescia forced a penalty shot in its first possession in the second quarter. Renzuto Iodice converted it to a 3:2 lead. After that, there were no goals for a while. Both defenses were up to the task. Goalkeepers Bijac (Olympiacos) and, especially, Tesanovic (Brescia) played very well. Tesanovic posted 10 saves this evening. Brescia earned a nice 3-goal lead in the final two minutes of the first half. Luongo converted a man-up, and Vapenski added an action goal for 5:2.
Brescia kept Olympiacos scoreless for more than nine minutes. The Greeks got back into the race in the 18th minute when Dervisis converted a man-up (3:5). The Greeks came very close to the rival in the 23rd minute, after Ioannis Fountoulis converted a man-up for 5:6. But, Canada’s center-forward Nicolas Bicari replied in the same way immediately and gave Brescia a 7:5 lead. But, the series of goals continued shortly after – Genidounias netted a nice action goal from the perimeter. Brescia wasted a man-up in its last possession in this quarter and entered the final period with a minimal 7:6 lead.
Edoardo Di Somma doubled the hosts’ advantage (8:6) in the early stage of the fourth quarter. Five minutes before the end, Filipovic netted for 7:8. Olympiacos wasted two man-ups in the following two minutes and missed good chances to equalize.
In the last minute, Genidounias’ long-distance shot went wide and Brescia was one small step away from the victory. Seventeen seconds before the end, the hosts earned a man-up, and they kept the ball and the win after that.
Barceloneta – Radnicki 13:7 (4:2, 5:1,2:3, 2:1)
Barceloneta: Granados 3, Bustos 3, Pavillard 2, Fernandez 2, Asensio 1, Perrone 1, Biel 1.
Radnicki: Jankovic 2, Milicic 2, Stanojevic 1, Radulovic 1, Vrlic 1.
At the start of the match, it seemed that the game would be an even contest. It stood 2:2 in the 5th minute. But, Barceloneta scored six unanswered goals between the fifth and the 15th minute, which was crucial for the hosts’ win.
The Spaniards dominated the second period. Their defense was superb. After a long time, a 42-year-old Barceloneta’s goalkeeper Dani Lopez was between the posts throughout the game, while Aguirre was on the bench. Lopez did his job well. Radnicki’s goalkeeper Lazar Dobozanov also posted some nice saves in the first half, but Barceloneta’s attack was excellent. The hosts scored four unanswered goals to go to 8:2. Radnicki’s goalless phase lasted for 09:40 minutes. In the 15th minute, Radulovic converted a man-up for 3:8. Still, the Spaniards had a 6-goal lead at halftime. Ten seconds before the buzzer, Granados finished Barceloneta’s excellent and quick attack (9:3).
Radnicki entered the third quarter without Milos Cuk, who was excluded at the finish of the second. Still, the Serbs strengthened their defense and reduced the gap. In the 24th minute, Stanojevic converted a man-up for 6:10. But, Barceloneta earned a penalty shoot in its last possession in this period. Perrone sent the ball to the net from the 5m line, and the Spaniards had a safe 11:6 advantage before the final quarter. They kept the distance until the last minute. Twenty seconds from the end, Bustos converted a 6 on 5 for the final score. Interestingly, Barceloneta scored a goal in dying seconds in each of the four quarters.
After the fourth loss in the season, Radnicki is far from the Final Eight.
Ferencvaros – Jadran S 14:8 (4:1, 5:2, 4:3, 1:2)
Ferencvaros: Ubovic 3, Merkulov 2, Vamos 2, Vigvarri 2, Varga 2, Gabor 1, Jansik 1, Damonte 1.
Jadran Split: Marinic Kragic 4, Setka 2, Cagalj 1, Duzevic 1.
Marton Vamos (Ferencvaros) and Antonio Duzevic (Jadran) Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo
Jadran, which arrived in Budapest without Niksa Dobud, didn’t save energy after winning the Croatian Cup last weekend.
Ferencvaros defeated the Croats easily than expected. The game turned into a one-sided contest quickly. Ferencvaros took an early 2:0 lead. Jadran got on the scoreboard in the 6th minute (1:2). But, Ferencvaros responded with two goals for a 4:1 lead at the first break. Five goals separated the rivals already in the 11th minute when Gabor netted for 6:1.
At halftime, Ferencvaros had a six-goal advantage (9:3). Jadran started well into the third period, it reduced the gap twice (5:9 and 6:10). But, Ferencvaros scored three goals in the last two minutes of the third quarter, jumped to 13:6 and secured the victory.
Jadran has collected only six points so far and has slim chances of reaching the F8. But, Group A is quite balanced, therefore Jadran and Radnicki are still in the race for the F8 berths.
Dinamo Tbilisi – Novi Beograd (Wednesday 19,local time)
1 Brescia 6 – 14
2 Olympiacos 6 – 13
3 Ferencvaros 6 – 10
4 Barceloneta 6 – 10
5 Novi Beograd 5 – 7
6 Jadran S 6 – 6
7 Radnicki 6 – 4
8 Dinamo 5 – 0
Day 7 (January 11)
Barceloneta – Novi Beograd
Brescia – Jadran
Olympiacos – Radnicki
Dinamo – Ferencvaros
