While Trieste and BVSC are dominating Group B, in Group A Padova, De Zaan and Lille have six points apiece midway through the group stage. Padova and De Zaan both claimed three points after winning their respective thrillers.

Group A: Antenore Plebiscito Padova (ITA) v ANO Glyfada iRepair (GRE) 8-7, ZV De Zaan (NED) v Lille UC (FRA) 12-9.

Standings: 1. De Zaan 6, 2. Lille 6, 3. Padova 6, 4. Glyfada 0

After beating De Zaan by a single goal on the opening day, Padova bagged three more points in another tight game. Glyfada rushed to a 1-4 lead early in the second period, but the Italians clawed it back to 3-4 by halftime. They started rolling in the third and when they added four more goals for 7-4, they appeared to be on the brink of cruising to victory. The Greeks ended their scoreless period after 16:36 minutes before Beatrice Cassara netted an action goal to restore the three-goal lead with 2:04 to go. Glyfada pulled two back, and there were still 34 seconds to play at 8-7, but Padova held on to secure back-to-back victories at home.

Lille appeared to continue its momentum in the Netherlands as the French, who had already claimed two wins, led 3-5 early in the second and were still 4-5 up before De Zaan staged a comeback. Four possessions and four action goals – all in the space of 105 seconds – guided them to an 8-5 lead by halftime. Lille seemed to be done and were unable to score in the third period, and though the Dutch added only one, they were still sitting comfortably in the driving seat. Bente Rogge’s action goal was their sixth in a row early in the fourth and Lille could only score after a scoreless period of 13:35 minutes, for 10-6. That triggered something unexpected as the French added three more to come back to 10-9 with 3:53 on the clock. However, the Rogge siblings won the game for De Zaan as Bente replied in 20 seconds and Lieke added another one with 2:06 to go. This victory set up a three-way tie with Lille and Padova and promises an exciting second half in this group.

Group B: Grand Nancy (FRA) v BVSC-Zuglo (HUN) 4-18, Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v Pallanuoto Trieste (ITA) 8-11.

Standings: 1. Trieste 9, 2. BVSC 6, 3. Spandau 3, 4. Grand Nancy 0

The two favourites made no mistake in this round although Spandau caused some headaches for Trieste in Berlin when the Germans scored four connecting goals after 2-5 to take the lead by halftime. The top-ranked Italians had to dig deep in the third, but three goals in a row after 7-6 put them in a much better position ahead of the last period. The Germans still had some chances but missed three 6 on 5s in a row before Guisy Citino netted a morale-boosting action goal for 7-10 after five minutes of battling. Spandau finally scored, after 11 barren minutes, but another action goal from Trieste 52 seconds from time put the game to bed.

BVSC showed no mercy in France, a 0-5 opening set the tone and the Hungarians pushed all the way to clinch a huge 14-goal win.