Olympiacos narrowly defeated Radnicki in Kragujevac 13:12 in one of the biggest derbies of the Group Stage, played in Round 3 this evening. The two powerhouses fought a close battle, with a few lead changes, but the Greeks emerged victorious, scoring a late winner. Olympiacos kept a perfect record in Group A, while Radnicki suffered its second consecutive loss.
Ferencvaros achieved its third win in Group C by beating Primorac in a 41-goal match, 26:15.
There are no more unbeaten teams in Group D, as the group leader, Marseille, suffered a surprising home defeat to Sabadell (11:12). Barceloneta recovered from a defeat to Marseille in Round 2, with a strong 27:11 victory over Waspo 98 Hannover in Germany.
2026 Champions League, Group Stage, Roun 3
GROUP A
Radnicki – Olympiacos 12:13 (1:3, 3:3, 6:4, 2:3)
Radnicki: S. Rasovic 2, Dedovic 2, Prlainovic 2, Vapenski 2, Vlachopoulos 2, Pijetlovic 1, Murisic 1.
Olympiacos: Zalanki 5, Gkillas 2, Kakaris 2, Nikolaidis 1,Angyal 1, Genidounias 1, Alafragkis 1
The first quarter of the derby was very tough, with a few chances and goals. Olympiacos converted its first man-up opportunity in the 4th minute. Shortly after, the visitors doubled their advantage, while Radnicki missed three 6 on 5s in the first eight minutes, and finally got on the scoreboard in the 7th minute, when Strahinja Rasovic found the net, but Gergo Zalanki responded immediately.
In the second period, Radnicki played more aggressively in the attack than the hosts, creating more scoring opportunities, but Olympacos goalkeeper Emmanouil Zerdevas was outstanding with nine saves in the first half. Still, Radnicki started converting its chances and cut the deficit to one goal three times, but Olympiacos responded on each occasion. Just a second before the middle break, Gergo Zalanki hit the back of the net from a distance to make it 6:4.
Photo by Darko Cojic
After just 15 seconds of play in the second half, Olympiacos took a 3-goal lead when Nikolaidis scored for 7:4 with an extra player. However, the hosts remained composed and continued their comeback. In the 21st minute, they managed to equalize when Strahinja Rasovic scored from a counterattack, making it 9:9. Less than a minute later, Boris Vapenski added another goal from another counterattack, putting the hosts ahead for the frist time, 10:9. The teams traded goals until the end of the first period, with Zalanki scoring a late goal, just nine seconds before the buzzer, to tie the game at 10:10.
The beginning of the fourth period belonged to the Greeks. Zalanki hit the back of the net from a penalty, and Gkillas scored from a nice lob, so the visitors led 12:10 with 05:41 minutes remaining on the clock. Radnicki quickly leveled with two goals within 36 seconds (Prlainovic from a penalty and Murisic from an action with a nice backhander). In the following minutes, both defenses were strong, and goalkeepers Filipovic and Zerdevas stood out. Olympiacos was unable to convert a 6-on-4 situation, while Radnicki missed a penalty during that time. Gergo Zalanki broke the deadlock by scoring his fifth goal, bringing the score to 13:12 with just 49 seconds remaining. He emerged as one of the heroes of Olympiacos’ victory. Another key player for the visitors was goalkeeper Emmanouil Zervedas, who made his 13th save with 28 seconds left by blocking a power-play shot from Vlachopoulos. Olympiacos maintained possession of the ball until the final buzzer.
Standings: 1. Olympiacos 9, 2. Mladost 6, 3. Radnicki 3, 4. Vasas .0.
GROUP C
Ferencvaros – Primorac 26:15 (7:6, 7:3, 4:3, 8:3)
Ferencvaros: Argyropoulos 5, ven. Vigvari 4, Ak. Nagy 3, Jansik 3, Fekete 3, Vamos 2, De Toro 2, Vismeg 1, Lugosi 1, Haverkampf 1.
Primorac: Mrsic 7, Cetkovic 2, Inaba 2, Brguljan 1, Vidovic 1, Vuckovic 1, Vico 1.
Just like in the match against Brescia, Ferencvaros’ defense did not perform as expected. However, the title holders’ offensive play led them to another victory. Late in the first period, Ferencváros established a 3-goal lead, with a score of 6:3. However, the Montenegrins scored three goals in the last 79 seconds of the first period. Still, they conceded one, and Ferencvaros had a slim advantage at the first break. In the second period, Ferencváros maintained its offensive rhythm while tightening its defense at the same time. After a quick exchange of goals in the 10th minute, Ferencvaros produced a 6:0 run to move from 8:7 to 14:7.
Photo by FTC Telekom Waterpolo
The third period was similar to the first one, but with fewer goals. Primorac, with an excellent Marko Mrsic, reduced the gap to four goals on two occasions (11:15, 12:16), but the Hungarians didn’t let them come closer. The third period was similar to the first, while the second and fourth quarters were almost identical. Ferencvaros achieved an 11-goal victory with almost a perfect percentage of extra-player shots (12/15).
Standings: 1. Ferencvaros 9, 2. Brescia 6, 3. Oradea 3, 4. Primorac 0.
GROUP D
Marseille – Sabadell 11:12 (3:3, 4:5, 1:2, 3:2)
Marseille: Vernoux 3,Ad.Nagy 3, Drasovic 1, Bouet 1,Larumbe 1, Spaic 1, Gbadamassi 1.
Sabadell: Averka 4, Vergara 3, Barroso 2, Cabanas 2,Famera 1.
Having won six points in the first two rounds, Marseille entered the match against Sabadell as a heavy favorite. The French took an opening 1:0 lead. However, Sabadell then netted two quick goals and went ahead at 2:1. From that point, Marseille had to chase the Spaniards, who had no points before this duel.
The French favorite leveled the score at 2:2, 3:3, 4:4, 5:5. Midway through the second period, Sabadell netted two goals in a minute – Panerai from a 6 on 6 and Barroso from a penalty shot to earn a 2-goal lead for the first time – 7:5.
As the game was approaching its end, there were fewer goals, but Marseille managed to catch up with Sabadell once again. In the 22nd minute, Adam Nagy scored for 8:8. However, by the end of the period, Barroso and Averka gave Sabadell a 10:8 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Marseille halved the deficit three times, Sabadell replied on two of these three goals. Adam Nagy scored for 11:12 with more than four minutes left in the game. There was plenty of time for both teams. There were nice shots at both ends of the pools in the final minutes, but there were a lot o saves, lost balls and misses. Nobody could find the net, and Sabadell collected its first points in the 2026 Champions League, making the battle for the top 2 spots in the group more interesting.
Waspo 98 Hannover – Barceloneta 11:27 (3:6, 4:7, 2:9, 2:5)
Waspo 98: Gansen 3, Bozic 2, Lahiewicz 1, Lozina 1, Milradovic 1, Van den Burg 1.
Barceloneta: Vin. Vigvari 7, Munarriz 5, Sanahuja 4, Echenique 3, Burian 3, Tahull 3, Valls 1, Bustos 1.
Photo by Gianluca Tancredi
Barceloneta recorded the most convincing win of the 2026 Champions League. The Spanish team didn’t underestimate the hosts, who Sabadell in the 2nd round. Barceloneta, led by Vince Vigvari and Alberto Munarriz, jumped to a 4:0 lead in the first four minutes. The Spaniards didn’t allow Hannover to recover. They maintained a high pace until the very end, improving their goal difference, which could be crucial at the end of the Group Stage. An interesting fact: Hannover scored 11 goals in total (including three with with an extra player), while Barceloneta netted 11 powerplay goals from 18 attempts.
Standings: 1. Marseille 6, 2. Barceloneta 6, 3. Hannover 3, 4. Sabadell 3.
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