Barça, KPRF, Murcia, Tyumen into Futsal Champions League finals: elite round report

The UEFA Futsal Champions League elite round has produced the four 2019/20 finalists

• Results
• Through: Barça (ESP), KPRF (RUS), Murcia FS (ESP), Tyumen (RUS)

Elite round groups

Group A
Through: KPRF (RUS, hosts)
Eliminated: Dobovec (SVN), Halle-Gooik (BEL), Mostar SG (BIH)

• Debutants KPRF came from behind against Dobovec in Moscow to prevail 5-2 for the win the Russian side needed to reach the finals at their opponents’ expense.
• Both teams had beaten Halle-Gooik and Mostar, the first Bosnian team to reach the elite round since Tango Sarajevo in 2013/14.

Group B
Through: Tyumen (RUS, hosts)
Eliminated: Sporting CP (POR, holders), Novo Vrijeme (CRO), Ayat (KAZ)

• Tyumen beat fellow debutants Ayat and drew with Novo Vrijeme before defeating holders Sporting 3-1 to reach the finals.
• Tyumen’s Bruno Taffy had previously helped Inter FS beat Sporting in the 2018 final.

Group C
Through: Murcia FS (ESP)
Eliminated: Pesaro (ITA), Benfica (POR), Kairat Almaty (KAZ, hosts)

• Murcia beat two former champions in Kairat (just as in the main round) and Benfica, before two late goals gave them a 3-3 draw against Pesaro, the record eighth different Italian club to grace the elite round.
  
• Murcia are into the finals for the first time since finishing runners-up in 2008.
• In their penultimate game, Kairat became the first club to reach 80 games in this competition.

Group D
Through: Barça (ESP)
Eliminated: Kherson (UKR), Sparta Praha (CZE), Stalitsa Minsk (BLR, hosts)

• Barça went through with a game to spare after beating debutants Sparta and Kherson, coached by Javi Rodriguez, before seeing off Stalitsa.
• It will be Barça’s seventh finals appearance in the post-2006/07 competition system, one off Kairat’s record.