Final Four complete as Marseille and Novi Beograd advance

Novi Beograd fended off Olympiacos’ late surge in a 31-goal classic to seal their fifth straight appearance in the finals, while the Greek champions will miss the endgame for the second time after 2022. Marseille claimed their fourth win in a row as they routed Jadran in Split in the most lop-sided contest Group A has seen so far. This great win also sent the French side through, so for the first time in their history, they belong in the top four European sides.

Champions League Men
Quarter Final Stage
Group A – Day 5 Results
Wednesday 23rd April 2025

VK Novi Beograd (SRB) 16-15 Olympiacos SFP (GRE)
VK Jadran Split (CRO) 6-18 CN Marseille (FRA)

Standings: 1. Marseille 12pts, 1. Novi Beograd 12pts, 3. Olympiacos 4pts, 4. Jadran Split 2pts

Olympiacos’ dramatic fall began with their stunning 5-8 home defeat by NBG on day two of the Quarter Final Stage and they arrived in Belgrade this week with their season on the line.

Only three points would have saved them from elimination, but the first minutes of the game was anything but a dream start for the Greeks. NGB took a flying start and led 4-1 before a double from Dimitrios Nikolaidis halted the Serbs’ march.

Still, the Greek defence didn’t click, as the hosts’ blasts from the perimeter were finding the corners of the net.

In contrast, Olympiacos’ attack was relying on their great centre-forwards, who delivered exclusions, then finished off the man-ups from 2m – but NBG still managed to keep the gap at 2-3 goals, as there was always a hole in the Greek wall which they were able to find six more times in the second period.

It was 11-8 at half-time – again, a reminder: the first match ended 5-8 – and even though the third saw more success at the back and only two goals apiece, Novi seemed to be sitting in the driving seat comfortably.

Olympiacos at least found some support in the goal as incoming goalie Panagiotis Tzortzatos delivered a couple of important saves.

Early in the fourth, he added two more, one in a man-down, and the top Piraeus snipers Gergo Zalanki and Konstantinos Genidounias found the back of the net in quick succession.

In four minutes, NBG had stumbled into trouble – marked by the unusual move of bringing in their reserve goalie Francesco De Michelis, then sending back the subbed starting red-capper Milan Glusac. It happened after Genidounias’ third successive perimeter shot, which gave Olympiacos a 13-14 lead with 3:41 on the clock.

Young Vasilije Martinovic stepped up and halted the Greeks’ 0-4 surge with a fine finish from a man-up, three minutes from time. A turnover foul and an exclusion in transition, and another brilliant Martinovic shot gave the plot another twist.

At 15-14, a steal killed another Greek attack – so after scoring four, they couldn’t take a shot in their next two possessions and they couldn’t stop NBG scoring another 6 on 5 either.

It was Martinovic again who sent the ball home, which also sealed NBG’s Final Four spot.

Genidounias hit his fifth 1:06 from time, but Olympiacos needed a regular time win to keep their slim hopes alive, and couldn’t even force a shootout as an over-cooked long pass ruined their last counter.

In Croatia, it took just eight minutes for Marseille to blow Jadran Split away – the French giants stormed into a 0-4 lead in the first period and that did the damage and set the tone.

After four minutes of fine defending at both ends, Thomas Vernoux opened the scoring. Jadran missed their fourth man-up soon after and next came a classic whirlwind, three possessions, and three action goals by the French in a span of 101 seconds – Ugo Crousillat, Vernoux and Alexandre Bouet all did a splendid job.

A brilliant counter early in the second quarter, finished off by Andrija Prlainovic, further expanded the gap and Marseille could even afford missing man-ups at this stage, as Jadran couldn’t find a way past the French defence and especially their excellent Montenegrin goalie Petar Tesanovic.

The first home goal came after almost 12 minutes, as Duje Pejkovic blasted one from 6m, but Marseille just went on with their business, burying 6 on 5s, and adding another one from action to make it 1-8.

Loren Fatovic pulled one back, but the scoreline still looked devastating from Jadran’s angle. The two goalies’ performances were like heaven and earth, Marko Bijac was 1 on 9, while Tesanovic 7 on 9 – though this usually also mirrors the support level.

Indeed, the second half didn’t look any better for the hosts. Jadran struck early, but then conceded five more in the third.

This was too much to handle for a couple of players, as first to exit was Fatovic with a red card, while Josip Buselic was ejected for four minutes in the fourth.

No wonder, it ended up in a rout, Marseille stopped at 18 to cap off their best European run in their history. They have reached the F8s in the past, but never made it through the quarters – now they are in the top four sides in the Champions League, after their fourth straight victory.

The Champions League Men Quarter Final Stage concludes on Wednesday 14th May and you can catch all the 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

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