Spanish water polo will once again have two representatives in the final four of the women’s LEN Champions League, which will be held on March 31 and April 1, when Assolim CN Mataró and Astralpool CN Sabadell qualify. In the duels of the second leg of the quarterfinals, those from Maresme knocked down Olympiacos again, while the Vallesas lost to SIS Roma, but they made a good 5 of the first leg.

At El Sorrall de Mataró, the team led by Dani Ballart culminated a superb quarterfinal tie in which they struck down the current European champion, Olympiacos. Strengthened with the two goals from the margin of 9-11 that they brought from Piraeus, the Catalans underpinned the victory with a sensational reaction in the first quarter, a 4-2 run that equalized the dangerous initial 0-2 of Eleftheria Plevritou.

In the second quarter, another great run, 5-3, with two goals from Anni Espar, put the classification on track at halftime (9-7). Olympiacos resisted in the third round (3-3), but Mataró sealed the final (3-2) with goals from Rita Kesthelyi and Simone van de Kraats, the two best scorers of the duel (4 goals for the Hungarian and 5 for the Dutch), seconded by Anni Espar (3).

For CN Mataró it is the second qualification for the Champions League final four in its history. The previous one was in 2017, when she was fourth after losing in the semifinals with Kirishi and for bronze with Sabadell.

Five-time Champions League winners Astralpool CN Sabadell defeated SIS Roma to qualify for the 10th time in the four-way finals in the last 12 years. The Vallesanas had already won the first leg 15-10 in Can Llong.

In the second leg in the Roman pool, the players led by David Palma had a good start (2-3) with goals from their Spanish internationals Maica García, Bea Ortiz and Irene González.

However, the equality in the second and third quarters (3-3 in each one) that allowed the women from Valles to maintain the initiative (Nona Pérez and Elena Ruiz made it 7-9), was broken in the last set with a resounding 4-1 for the Romans that made it 12-10 with 2 minutes to go.

Picozzi increased the run to 5-1 with 13-10 with 19 seconds to go, with no time for the miracle. Classification was not in danger thanks to the 5 goals in the first leg, but the downturn in play was a wake-up call for David Palma’s men.

CE Mediterrani, in their first participation in the Women’s Champions League, lost again to the powerful Hungarian team Dunaujvaros, this time by a tight 9-8. In the first leg, played in the Horta pool, those from the Sants neighborhood fell 9-13. Paula Crespi and Axelle Crevier, with 3 goals each, were the best scorers for the Catalans.

The fourth classified for the final four of the women’s Champions League was Orizzonte Catania, who beat Glyfada 15-9.