Champions League Quarter Final Stage Day 4 – Five Talking Points

1. For the first time in the Quarter Final Stage, the winners were decided by a shootout and not in just one game, but two. The penalty party is usually the occasion for goalkeepers to shine, however, this time, Unai Aguirre of Barceloneta and Marko Bijac of Jadran Split had already produced big saves in regular time. Indeed, Aguirre achieved something no goalie has managed to do, at least not at this level in recent years.

Every now and then, stopping a Dusan Mandic penalty is a feat alone – but saving two in the same night is truly exceptional. Aguirre did just that, with his catch in the fourth period coming in a key moment, then he also saved one in the shootout (and then another one, by Krisztian Manhercz – who had stunned him with a buzzer-beater winner in the semis of the 2023 World Champs, making the Spanish goalie’s save a bit of revenge for that).

If we call Aguirre’s feat exceptional, then what would be the perfect word for Bijac’s feat of stopping four penalties in a single game, before the shootout even started. Four different players stepped up, all four are great penalty-takers, but Bijac denied them all – Ioannis Fountoulis in the second period, Konstantinos Genidounias in the third, Dimitrios Dimou and Gergo Zalanki in the fourth.

With the exception of Dimou, they all had more attempts in the shootout and that time they buried their shots, at least in the first batch of penalties. Then Genidounias scored again, but Bijac outsmarted Fountoulis in round seven to secure two points for Jadran.

Indeed, after three defeats, this was nothing more than some consolation and to save some pride as the Croatian champions won’t finish with the same embarrassing scoreline of six straight defeats in the Quarter Final Stage as in last year.

2. It’s hard to see what went wrong with Olympiacos for this season. Apart from star goalkeeper Marko Bijac leaving them to return home – and now he came back with Jadran, and his four penalty stops, plus one in the shootout sank Olympiacos. Perhaps for good.

If there was a pool where visiting sides should give up hope in recent years, it was Papastrateio, the home of Olympiacos. Last season, eventual champions Ferencvaros won 46 matches out of 47 across all competitions – and their lonely defeat came in Piraeus.

This year, Papastrateio has been anything but a fearsome venue. Olympiacos were fortunate to save the Group Stage opener against Primorac Kotor to a tie, and on Day 3 they went down against Savona.

Still, they qualified, but in the Quarter Final Stage they have fallen to Novi Beograd, then, despite leading 6-3, they couldn’t hold on in the fourth quarter against Jadran Split.

Three away wins saved the day for the Greeks in the Group Stage, but their sound defeat in Marseille on Day 2 of the Quarter Final Stage, and now this loss to Jadran has put them on the brink of elimination.

3. It was Day 4 of last year’s Champions League Quarter Final Stage – 23 April 2024 – when Ferencvaros last lost a match. Indeed, in the previous season, that was the only time the Hungarian champions had to leave a pool empty-handed.

Now, on Day 4 this season, Fradi were beaten again, though this time it was a shootout loss – so they earned at least a point, which might help them secure the top rank with two home matches remaining.

Still, it was a loss, coming after a 40-match winning streak. And another FTC run came to an end in Barcelona this week – as they hadn’t lost a shootout since the 2017 European Super Cup Final, to fellow Hungarian side Szolnok. Since then, they’ve won six in a row.

Their goalkeeper Soma Vogel ended up on the losing side this time, but he’s built a reputation for saving penalties – for his club and the Hungarian national team. For example, Vogel’s saves helped Hungary win the 2020 European Championships and the 2023 World Championships, to name just two.

For Fradi, Vogel’s extraordinary ability to stop penalties landed them the 2018 Super Cup, the 2019 Champions League and the trophy last June, when his magic was needed in the semis.

This run of winning shootouts was ended by CNAB and, ironically, a Hungarian – Vince Vigvari, who netted the fifth penalty to seal the Spaniards’ win.

Vince is the younger brother of FTC’s Vendel, and Vince getting the better of his sibling was also a first. They’ve clashed many times in Hungary, but Vince’s OSC could never down FTC. He had to join Barceloneta to finally taste victory against Fradi and his elder brother.

4. When the third period ended in Marseille, Novi Beograd seemed to be in big trouble. Trailing by eight goals meant they would not only lose the match, but an Olympiacos’ victory against Jadran would put them in a dangerous situation.

And, indeed, this seemed to be a real threat, since, at the same time in the other corner of the Mediterranean, the Greeks led 6-3 with eight minutes to go.

Then came Jadran’s miraculous comeback in the fourth and even though Olympiacos could save the game to a tie and also save Novi Beograd from the grand mathematical combinations in case of a three-way tie.

Though the Serbs came back somewhat at the end, still, their five-goal defeat was something tough to swallow. Their defence – with young Milan Glusac in the goal – had worked perfectly in the previous rounds, as they held Olympiacos to five goals in Piraeus and let Jadran score only eight in the third round. Now they conceded 14 in Marseille, one more than in those two games combined.

This loss might cost them the top rank, which could land them in the semis against Ferencvaros, just like last year…

5. Savona delivered what had been considered mandatory – bagging three points at home against Oradea. After overpowering them in Romania 11-17, this home win was no surprise, and after cruising to a 7-2 lead by half-time, the Italians switched to energy-saver mode and drew the second half 7-7.

The victory keeps them in the hunt, but they’ll need something of a miracle to progress. And not just one miracle, but two, as they’ll have to win in Budapest, then Barcelona, against sides that blasted them in Savona. While this doesn’t seem realistic, in sport it’s still true – what’s not over is not over.

–

Day 5 of the Quarter Final Stage will take place on Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd April. You can watch all the Champions League Men action live on www.euroaquaticstv.com and stay up-to-date with live results/tables and real-time updates through the European Aquatics App. Download it here: Google Play.

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

The post Champions League Quarter Final Stage Day 4 – Five Talking Points first appeared on European Aquatics®.