UEFA Futsal Champions League Main Round Results: Barça Hit Six Again, Holders Sporting CP Cruise, Benfica Edge ElPozo
The UEFA Futsal Champions League main round continued on Thursday, October 29, with the second round of matches in the four Path A groups and the second round in Path B Groups 7 and 8. Barça, holders Sporting CP and Benfica all made it two wins from two, while Sporting Anderlecht and L84 Torino produced the night’s biggest scorelines.
Path A: Barça, Sporting CP and Benfica stay perfect
In Group 1, Barça followed up their 6-1 opening win over Futsal Minerva with another 6-1 victory, this time over Semey in Lučenec. Eric Martel scored twice, with Higor, Adolfo, Mouhoudine and Antonio also on target, while Dedezinho pulled one back for the Kazakh side. The win sends Barça through to the round of 16 with a game to spare, while Minerva kept their own hopes alive with a 4-3 win over hosts Lučenec in the group’s other game.
Holders Sporting CP were just as convincing in Group 3, beating Étoile Lavalloise 5-1 in Omiš after leading 4-0 at half-time. Tomás Paçó opened the scoring inside two minutes, Rúben Teixeira struck twice and Merlim also scored twice, with Aberkan replying for the French side. Sporting sit top of the group on six points, while hosts Olmissum and Stalitsa Minsk shared eight goals in a 4-4 draw.
Group 4 produced the night’s tightest big-name clash, as Benfica edged ElPozo Murcia 3-2 in Roermond after the sides went in level at 2-2 at half-time. The win takes Benfica to four points, level with HIT Kyiv, who beat hosts Tigers Roermond 5-3 in the group’s late game. ElPozo stay on three points, while Tigers are still pointless after two games.
In Group 2, hosts Sporting Anderlecht thrashed European debutants TFK Beitar 6-0 in Roosdaal, with Edu, Lucas Pedala, Gréllo, Jean Carmo, Raúl Jiménez and Dillien all scoring. Kairat Almaty, who beat Beitar 5-3 on Wednesday, were awarded a 5-0 win over the withdrawn United Galați, so Kairat, Anderlecht and Beitar are all already through to the round of 16 from the three-team group, with Saturday’s Anderlecht against Kairat clash deciding top spot.
Path B: Luxol and Athletic stay perfect, Torino hit ten
In Path B, where only each group winner advances, Luxol St Andrews made it two wins from two in Group 7 with a 5-3 win over Futsal Mad Max in Leinì, but they were overshadowed by hosts L84 Torino, who thrashed Hjørring 10-0. Torino and Luxol both sit on six points, so Luxol must win Saturday’s head-to-head decider — a draw sends the hosts through on goal difference.
In Group 8, Athletic Futsal Dnipro beat Athletic Club Graz 3-1 to move joint top on four points alongside Chrudim, who thrashed hosts KMF Loznica 6-2. Graz sit one point behind on three, so all three sides can still win the group on Saturday, when Chrudim face Graz and Loznica meet Athletic.
What happens next
The Path A groups conclude on Saturday, October 31, with Barça facing hosts Lučenec and Sporting CP travelling to hosts Olmissum among the final fixtures, while Groups 7 and 8 also play their deciders. On Friday, Path B Groups 5 and 6 reach their climax, with hosts Piast Gliwice facing Araz and Differdange hosting Kauno Žalgiris. The round of 16 draw follows on November 4, with the two-legged ties played on November 23 and December 4.
