Olympiacos secured their third consecutive victory in the men's water polo Champions League group stage with a 15-10 win over Spanish club Sabadell in Piraeus.
The Greek hosts took control of the Group A encounter by establishing an eight-goal cushion at 13-5, sealing the result comfortably despite competing without Konstantin Kharkov, who was ruled out with a fractured finger on his right hand.
Sabadell opened brightly and took an early 2-1 lead following a goal by Larsen. Olympiacos responded by moving ahead 3-2, but the visitors struck back to level the score at 3-3 before the end of a competitive opening quarter.
Second quarter defensive shutout
The decisive momentum shift arrived in the second eight-minute period. Olympiacos goalkeeper Panagiotis Tzortzatos pulled off a series of crucial saves while the home defense clamped down, shutting out Sabadell entirely with a 5-0 run to establish an 8-3 advantage at the interval.
Sabadell were unable to recover from that second-quarter blitz. Olympiacos head coach Elvis Fatovic saw his team maintain command through varied attacking options, winning the third period 4-2 before the Spanish side narrowed the final deficit by taking the fourth quarter 5-3.
Match scorers and team line-ups
Olympiacos displayed balance across their roster, with six players scoring two goals each: Daniel Angyal, Alexandros Papanastasiou, Nikolaos Gkillas, Aristeidis Alafragkis, Dimitrios Dimou, and Pouros. Konstantinos Genidounias, Luka Spahic, and Manolis Solanakis each scored once, while Emmanouil Zerdevas, Loren Fatovic, Ioannis Fountoulis, and Luka Loncar also featured.
For Sabadell, Larsen led the scoring with three goals, while Kanstantsin Averka and Saboya Vergara each found the net twice. Valera, Carrio, and De Toro contributed one goal each for the side managed by Albert Español, who also fielded Corres, N. Stromayer, Bonet, Cabanas, Perez, Romeva, B. Stromayer, and goalkeeper Edu Lorrio.
European competition and group standings
The Men's Water Polo Champions League is Europe's premier club water polo tournament, organised annually for the continent's elite clubs. Olympiacos, based in the port city of Piraeus, has long been one of the traditional powers in European water polo, having previously won the competition in 2002 and 2018. Sabadell, based in Catalonia, represent one of Spain's established water polo programmes.
Italian referee Calabrò and Serbian referee Andjelic officiated the contest at the Piraeus swimming pool. In the other Group A fixture played on the same matchday, Croatian club Jadran defeated German side Waspo 98 Hannover 18-12.
The result keeps Olympiacos at the top of Group A with eight points from three matches. Sabadell occupy second place with six points, Jadran sit third with four points, and Hannover remain bottom without a point.
Upcoming fixtures and qualification path
Olympiacos return to action on Wednesday, November 18, when they host Hannover in Piraeus at 19:30. A victory in that match will guarantee the Greek side qualification for the tournament's round of eight, while Sabadell travel to face Jadran at the same time.
