The fifth day of the Champions League Group Phase was completed this evening, with two new teams qualifying for the quarterfinal stage – Novi Beograd and Olympiacos.
Novi Beograd triumphed over Brescia 13:5 in a derby match in Belgrade, securing at least 2nd place in Group A. Meanwhile, Sabadell also dominated against Steaua in the same group with a score of 13:6. Novi Beograd is currently leading the group. Sabadell and Brescia have similar chances to join the Serbs in the Top 8. Although Sabadell has two points more than Brescia, the two teams will have different tasks to accomplish in the sixth round. Brescia will be playing against an underdog Steaua, at home, while Sabadell will welcome Novi Beograd, which is determined to keep their top spot in the group .
In Group B, Pro Recco beat Jug and secured the 1st place, while Olympiacos easily defeated Dinamo to claim the 2nd place and also advance to the quarterfinals from this group.
I Before the last round, six teams have qualified for the quarterfinal stage: Pro Recco, Ferencvaros, Barceloneta, Novi Beograd, Olympiacos and Jadran Split
2024 Champions League, Day 5
Group A
Novi Beograd – Brescia 13:5 (2:1, 2:2, 4:2, 5:0)
Novi Beograd: Filipovic 3, Vlachopoulos 3. Lukic 2, Drasovic 2, Granados 1, Radulovic 1, Pijetlovic 1,
Brescia: Renzuto 2, Balzarini 1, Irving 1Del Basso 1,
Novi Beograd defeated Brescia convincingly, but the game was a close contest for two quarters and a half. Still, Brescia couldn’t find the net in the last 13th minutes. Novi Beograd secured a big win with an 8:0 run.
Brescia got on the scoreboard already in its first possession – from a penalty shot. On the other side, the hosts’ fans waited long to celebrate the first goal from Novi Beograd. The Serbian champion wasted a few man-up opportunities and lost the balls due to misses and wrong passes. Still, the defense, commanded by Lazar Dobozanov (who posted 5 saves in the first quarter – and 14 in the entire game), worked well. Novi Beograd leveled in the 7th minute – Granados scored from the 5m-line. Lukic put the hosts in front 32 seconds before the first break.
Lazar Dobozanov Photo by Slobodan Sandic
The second quarter was similar to the first one – there were not many goals, defenses dominated, and both teams made many mistakes in the attack. Each team committed eight personal fouls in the first half (one on each side was a penalty foul). The hosts converted one of its seven man-ups, Brescia none. Brescia leveled at 2:2 and 3:3. Still, Novi Beograd had a slim advantage at halftime. Just like in the 1st quarter, Nikola Lukic closed the quarter in the last minute – 4:3.
The game followed the same pattern in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Brescia successfully chased the hosts and leveled the score at 4:4 and 5:5. Then, Novi Beograd missed two penalty shots in ten seconds. First, Tesanovic saved a shot from Granados. The ball went to a corner. The hosts forced another penalty foul in the next attack. This time, Filip Filipovic took responsibility, but he hit the crossbar. It happened in the 19th minute. Shortly after, Novi Beograd left without Alvaro Granados, who committed his third personal foul. Still, Brescia didn’t score from that 6 on 5. The two missed chances from penalty shots and the exclusion of Novi Beograd’s best scorer were maybe a turning point, but not in favor of Brescia. On the contrary, Novi Beograd started rolling. The hosts continued playing well in defense, the attack was better and better, and they completely outplayed the rival. Novi Beograd made a 3:0 run and entered the final quarter with a solid 8:5 advantage. Filip Filipovic scored two back-to-back goals early in the fourth period. The Serbs jumped to 10:5, and it was more or less clear that three points would go to Novi Beograd.
Let’s mention the statistics for the end. Novi Beograd’s conversion of the power play shots was 3/8, and Brescia’s poor 0/8.
Sabadell – Steaua 13:6 (2:0, 3:1, 3:3, 5:2)
Sabadell: Averka 4, Barroso 3, Valera 2, Schuetze 2, Van Ijperen 1.
Steaua: Fulea 3, Georgescu 1, Bota 1, Neamtu 1.
Sabadell’s excellent start set the tone of the match. The Spaniards’ defense was up to the task in the first half. Steaua scored its first goal only in the 13th minute. Before that, Sabadell built a 5:0 lead. The Spaniards extended their lead to six in the middle of the third period (8:2). Steua restored a 4-goal gap (4:8), but Sabadell well enough in the final quarter to achieve a comfortable victory.
Standings: 1. Novi Beograd 12, 2. Sabadell 10, 3. Brescia 8, 4. Steaua 0.
Group B
Pro Recco – Jug 13:9 (5:3, 2:1, 4:3, 2:2)
Pro recco: Presciutti 3, Cannella 2, Fondelli 2,Younger 1, Kakaris 1, Hallock 1. Iocchi Gratta Di Fulvio 1
Jug: Lazic 3, Zuvela 3, Daube 1, Cabanas 1, Buric 1.
Pro Recco’s head coach, Sandro Sukno, counted on Francesco Di Fulvio, who recovered from an injury, but the captain, Aleksandar Ivovic is still out of the team.
Jug didn’t cause big headaches for the title-holder, but the Croats didn’t surrender easily and played much better than in its previous Champions League match against Olympiacos.
Recco led throughout the match. Still, Jug managed to come close in the 8th minute (3:4). Nicolas Presciutti doubled the champions’ advantage shortly after The hosts earned a 3-goal lead in the third period (6:3, 7:4). Francesco Condemi converted a 6 on 5 early in the third quarter to give Recco a “+4” for the first time (8:4). Pro Recco had a five-goal lead a few times, but Jug restored the distance to four.
All in all, both teams can be satisfied with the outcome. Pro Recco collected the points it counted on. Jug didn’t disappoint. Today’s performance is an encouragement before the final of the Croatian Cup and LEN Euro Cup eighth-finals.
Olympiacos – Dinamo T 16:8 (4:3, 6:1, 1:2, 5:2)
Olympiacos: Genidounias 3, Fountoulis 2, Gkillas 2, Buslje 2, Dimou 2, Loncar 2, Vamos 2, Nikolaidis 1.
Dinamo Tbilisi: Akhvlediani 2, Vapenski 2, Pjesivac 2, Dzikhtsiarenka 1, Magrakvelidze 1.
As expected, Olympiacos convincingly beat Dinamo to confirm 2nd place in the group and book the ticket for the quarterfinal stage. Dinamo started strongly. The visitors’ center-forward Stefan Pjesivac opened the game with two goals in the first 90 seconds (between these, Olympiacos missed a man-up). Still, Olympiacos recovered quickly from a 0:2 start. In the 6th minute, Vamos gave the hosts the first lead in the match (4:3). In the second period, the Greeks widened the gap to six (10:4). Everything was decided. Dinamo’s comeback efforts were halted by the hosts.
Standings:1. Pro Recco 15, 2. Olympiacos 11, 3. Jug 4, 4. Dinamo Tbilisi 0.
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