1. While Olympiacos were always famous for their strong performances in Piraeus, this season they are having to chase the points they’ve lost in their home games. And, so far, they’ve always come up strong in their following away matches.
After saving the game to a shootout against Kotor on Day 1 in Greece, they thrashed Sabadell 8-15 in Spain. Next came their stunning home defeat against Savona in the third round, which meant they found themselves playing under tremendous pressure in Kotor on Day 4.
Again, Olympiacos produced another brilliant away performance and built a massive 3-9 lead by half-time, and added nine more goals in the second half to win 9-18.
This means last season’s bronze medallists are well placed to advance from Group D, and it’s perhaps also good news – for them – that they only have one more match at home…
2. Vince Vigvari had an outstanding match in Budapest, scoring four (from four shots), much to the sorrow of his fellow Magyars in the home side, Vasas, while Alvaro Granados also added four to his tremendous tally.
Barceloneta were flying high once more, but coach Elvis Fatovic might not have been happy with the number of goals conceded. Their offence may have been clicking across the four rounds, producing 68 goals, but in the last two matches they’ve leaked 10 or more goals on both occasions.
As Fatovic put it, had someone told him before the Marseille game that they would win by five, he would have gladly accepted it – but not in the way the match unfolded – 19-14.
Beating Vasas 15-10 this round, which also secured the Spaniards a quarter-final round ticket, looked somewhat better, but not that much to fully satisfy the Croatian maestro.
3. The two other sides that secured their spot in the next round, Ferencvaros and Novi Beograd, are also looking strong.
The Hungarian title-holders enjoyed another flawless win, this time in Tbilisi. Indeed, FTC are yet to play a tight match this season, as they’ve won all of their 13 matches across all competitions, with their ‘narrowest’ victory being by seven goals…
Novi Beograd have had much closer battles, but in the Champions League they’ve also posted four wins. Interestingly, while having some struggles at home, they passed their two tests in Romania with flying colours – after taking down Oradea 9-15, they produced an almost similar blast in Bucharest, beating Steaua 8-15.
4. Montenegro’s clubs looked much stronger on Day 1, as Primorac almost stunned Olympiacos away, losing only after a shootout, and Jadran Herceg Novi kept pace with Marseille before they lost a tight endgame in France, trailing 13-11 at the end.
Last week, playing the reverse fixtures at home, neither Kotor or Herceg Novi were anywhere close to gaining the three points.
Olympiacos thrashed Primorac 18-9, while Jadran were no match for Marseille, whose defence has probably never been so effective, and Montenegrin goalie Petar Tesanovic was simply spectacular.
The 3-9 win was a huge step for Marseille and a new record for the fewest conceded goals in a single game should be a massive confidence booster for them.
5. Savona’s Gianmarco Nicosia had an extraordinary game against Sabadell, as he saved five penalties – two in regular time and three in a row in the shootout.
The Italians will be disappointed the game was decided by penalties, as they were dominating the match, with 40-year-old Pietro Figlioli leading the charge with five goals, until the final few minutes.
Sabadell’s late comeback came during in a phase where they forced four exclusions to Savona’s none, as they managed to erase a three-goal deficit and take the match to a shootout.
Nicosia’s saves denied Sabadell any more joy and they had to settle for a point. The Spaniards are now in danger of dropping down to the Euro Cup as they sit two points below leaders Savona, and the Italians finish the Group Stage with two home games.
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