Mladost Zagreb beat IBB Polonia London without Giba, Benfica crown their maiden Champions League appearance with 3-0 victory!

Mladost Zagreb beat IBB Polonia London in straight sets in the first leg of the 1st Round in the 2020 CEV Volleyball Champions League.
The Croatian champion recorded an easy victory against English powerhouse Polonia in the first match of the CEV Men’s Champions League this season, getting heavy chances of advancing to the next round: 3-0 (25:11, 25:17, 25:14).
Polonia came to the Croatian capital for their inaugural match, but also an inaugural match of any English and UK team, in the strongest club competition in Europe without world volleyball legend Gilberto Filho “Giba”. The absence of a Brazilian veteran was a bit surprising knowing that he was on the court against Polish champions Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, a few days ago, in the last test of Polonia prior to today’s match.

Benfica Lisboa, a team from Portugal, outplayed Bosnian team Mladost Brčko on the road in the first leg of the 1st Round in the 2020 CEV Volleyball Champions League.
In their maiden participation in the Champions League, Benfica beat the rivals in straight sets (25:22, 25:17, 25:21) and will have a chance to celebrate qualification to the 2nd Round in front of their own crowd on October 29. Benfica’s appearance today was the first one of any of the Portuguese teams in the most prestigious European club tournament since 2009.
Brazilian Raphael Oliveira “Rapha“ was the top scorer for Benfica with 17 points, while Montenegrin Jovan Delić made 14 points for Mladost. Yesterday, one more team played the Champions League for the first time ever.

2020 CEV Volleyball Champions League – 1st Round (1st leg)
October 22:
Mladost Zagreb (CRO) – IBB Polonia London (ENG) 3-0 (25:11, 25:17, 25’14)
October 23:
Mladost Brčko (BIH) – Benfica Lisboa (POR) 0-3 (22:25, 17:25, 21:25)

Source and Photo: CEV