The two favourites were ruthless as they left no chance for their respective Group B rivals on Day 2 of the men’s Champions League Quarter Final Stage. Both FTC and Barceloneta fired in 17 goals – Fradi powered past Savona in Italy, while Zodiac CNAB made no mistakes against CSM Oradea. FTC’s 71% shooting percentage away from home was more proof the title-holders are playing in their own league right now.
Champions League Men
Quarter Final Stage
Group B – Day 2 Results
Wednesday 26th February 2025
Zodiac CNAB (ESP) 17-4 CSM Oradea (ROU)
RN Savona (ITA) 9-17 FTC Telekom Waterpolo (HUN)
Standings: 1. FTC 6pts, 2. Zodiac CNAB 3pts, 2. RN Savona 3pts, 4. CSM Oradea 0pts
Ferencvaros didn’t hold anything back – in the first three minutes they netted two man-ups, then killed one and soon Krisztian Manhercz scored in another six on five to make it 0-3.
It took almost six minutes for Savona to open their account, as Andrea Patchaliev sent the ball home from an extra. Still, Fradi’s response was clinical, a fourth man-up goal, by Miguel de Toro, followed by a great action goal from Manhercz.
In a dominant 1-5 opening quarter – the title-holders made it perfectly clear what their intentions were.
The hosts were sparked into action at the start of the second and hit two from back-to-back man-ups in 44 seconds. Fradi’s reply was just as swift – two six on five goals in 45 seconds to reset the four-goal cushion at 3-7.
The last two minutes saw two goals apiece, with Stylianos Argyropoulos chipping in the last one three seconds from the buzzer for 5-9, so at half-time, four goals still separated the sides.
After the turnaround, FTC’s were just as stunning, as Argyropoulos netted another extra, 20 seconds later Edoardo di Somma finished off a counter and 48 seconds into the third, the Hungarians were 5-11 up.
Savona went on fighting and pulled two back quickly, however, FTC didn’t let them get any closer. Adam Nagy blasted one in from distance in a dying man-up and even though Patchaliev scored a nice one from action, Argyropoulos netted his fourth, again from man-up.
This was Fradi’s 10th man-up goal from 11 opportunities – pure world class indeed. Their 12th didn’t go in though, 10 seconds before the last break, as Nicolo da Rold – who came in for national team goalie Gianmarco Nicosia – managed to stop Dusan Mandic’s shot, but Fradi still enjoyed a comfortable 8-13 lead.
Da Rold came up with a couple more fine saves in the fourth, though Soma Vogel also did well as he denied Valerio Rizzo in a one-on-one.
Since the clock was ticking down, Fradi didn’t push that hard, and they focused on defending, though di Somma hit another one from the perimeter 3:15 from time.
The last minutes brought some more goals, including a sixth goal for Argyropoulos. Fradi, after hitting 18 against Barceloneta, now scored 17 in Italy in another powerful demonstration of their strength.
They only had 24 attempts in total, which puts their shooting percentage 71% – and that’s what you call a class of their own.
In Spain, Oradea managed to survive the first few waves against Barceloneta, though Bernat Sanahuja’s man-up goal still gave the hosts a 2-1 lead by the first break.
Then a storm hit the Romanians in the second, as two fast goals in a span of 73 seconds, and a bit later a fine action goal from Roger Tahull gave the Spaniards a 5-1 advantage by half-time.
Still, the bigger blows were yet to come in the third. Not in the first four minutes, though, as Petar Velkic managed to score two goals from the centre to bring Oradea unexpectedly closer at 5-3.
Those strikes only fired up the hosts, as they responded with a sensational 6-0 rush – practically scoring from every possession they had before the final break.
And they didn’t slow down in the fourth either, adding six more to claim a really easy win. Indeed, after 5-3, they staged a 12-1 rout.
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