December 17, 2020 – The Jug AO water polo club from Dubrovnik secured their third victory in the Champions League Group A tournament in Ostia, Italy, after beating Greek Olympiacos 9-8 (0-1, 2-4, 3-0, 4-3) on Wednesday.
In the first two quarters, Olympiacos outplayed Dubrovnik, leading 5-2, and at the beginning of the third quarter, they also had a penalty, which was defended by goalkeeper Toni Popadić. This was followed by a turnaround, and by the end of the third quarter, Paulo Obradović scored two goals, and Daniil Merkulov and Jug equalized for 5-5.
In the last quarter, although Jug was constantly in the lead, Olympiacos kept the game equal. However, in the last three minutes, the Dubrovnik side inched ahead with goals by Loren Fatović and Paul Obradović for the 9-7 lead. By the end of the match, Olympiacos had only managed to mitigate the defeat.
Paulo Obradović was the most efficient for Jug with four goals. Loren Fatović scored two, and Javier Garcia, Marin Tomasović and Daniil Merkulov scored one goal each, while goalkeeper Toni Popadić collected 12 saves. Olympiacos was led by Marios Kapotsis with three and Konstantinos Genidounias with two goals.
Previously, in the Group A tournament of the Champions League in Ostia, Italy, Jug defeated Marseille 11-10, and German club Spandau 13-7.
Most importantly, Jug took all 9 points in Ostia. In the last ten matches in the Champions League, this is the sixth victory of Jug, the third on neutral ground (twice in Budapest) plus one in Piraeus, and two in Gruz. They also have two victories against Olympiacos, both at home, with two draws, both in Greece.
The second Champions League tournament is played from March 1 to 5, 2021, (four rounds) and the third from April 19 to 22, 2021 (three rounds), while the final tournament, Final 8, is in Hanover from June 3 to 5, 2021.
Source: Slobodna Dalmacija
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