In the second leg of the UEFA Champions League playoffs, Berlin (Germany), where Tsuiki Satoshi plays, played against Tours (France) on Thursday, February 8th local time, and won 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22).
First set starting lineup
Berlin
OH: Karl (France), Schott (Germany)
MB: Tammemaa (Estonia), Mote (Australia)
OP: Sotra (Czech Republic)
S: Tille (Germany)
L: Castle construction
Tours
OH: Mendes (Argentina), Tammeal (Estonia)
MB: Nascimento (Brazil), Parkinson (Netherlands)
OP: Dramenet (Brazil)
S: Coric (Bosnia)
L: Ramon (France)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, Tour took a 1-3 lead thanks to a block from MB Parkinson. Berlin then tied the score with a spike from OP Sotola, but Tour continued to score with a spike from OP Dramenet, putting them ahead at 15-16. However, Berlin turned the game around with a pipe attack from OH Karl and a block from MB Tammemer to take the lead at 19-16. Tour quickly tied the score at 19-19 with a service ace from OH Mendes, but then Berlin pulled away again with a block on an OH shot to take the lead at 22-19. Berlin then took the set at 25-22 with a serve error from Tour.
In the second set, Berlin took a 5-2 lead early on with spikes from OP Sotola. They then widened the gap to 11-6 with a service ace from MB Mote, and 17-9 with a service ace from MB Tammemer. Finally, OH Karl's spike was successful, giving Berlin the win at 25-18 (at this point, Berlin's advancement to the quarterfinals was decided).
The third set was a dead end set, so both teams made major changes to their lineups. Berlin took the lead 8-6 in the early stages with spikes from OP Mareša (Germany). After that, Tour scored consecutive points with blocks from MB Kleimon (Czech Republic) and took the lead 9-11, but Berlin took the lead again with a block from MB Sašo (Slovenia) and a service ace from MB Klick (Germany) at 17-15. In the final stages, OH Tat (Estonia) and others continued to score points, and a service error from Tour made it 25-22, giving Berlin the lead to win this set as well.
As a result, Berlin won against Tours 3-0.
MVP: Marek Sotola 11 points, attack efficiency rate 71.42%
L Tsuiki Satoshi Serve receive success rate 31%
As a result, Berlin won the first leg 3-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Their opponent in the quarterfinals will be Trentino (Italy), and the first leg will be played at 27:30 on Wednesday, February 21st, Japan time.
CEV Champions League Men's:https://championsleague.cev.eu/en/men/
Toshiki's comment
I watched this match live.
The gymnasium, which has a capacity of over 3,000 people, was filled with home Tour fans and the atmosphere was filled with excitement.
However, it was Berlin that had the strength. There was a big difference especially in the attack success rate. While Berlin scored relatively easily, Tour's attacks were hard to score and they conceded many goals.
In terms of the overall league level, the French league is probably at a higher level, but when it comes to a match between top teams, Germany wins. Among them, Berlin's team strength is particularly outstanding.
Tsuiki, who is in his second season with the team, has been performing steadily and has been very good not only in defense but also in communication. This is expected of a player in his fourth season in the German league. I was worried because he was not even on the bench due to injury at the beginning of the season, but I was glad to see him recovering and playing well.
He is the only Japanese player participating in the European Champions League, so I hope he continues to do his best in the future!
However, Berlin has lost in the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the past three consecutive seasons, and this year their next opponent is Trentino, a strong team that anyone who watches the Italian league knows, so a very tough battle awaits them.
But just like how Monza won the Coppa Italia without Takahashi, you never know what's going to happen, so I hope they can do their best!!!
You can watch the highlights of the match for free, so please check it out! (You can see me on the right side of the screen when I serve lol)
Photo: CEV
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