Barcelona celebrate as rivals falter

UEFA Futsal Cup finals hosts FC Barcelona retained the Copa de España at the weekend but MFK Dinamo Moskva lost their grip on the Russian Cup and there were knockout losses too for Marca Futsal and Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Barcelona, who will welcome Dinamo, Marca and Sporting to the Pavelló Barris Nord in Lleida from 27 to 29 April, travelled to Logrono for the eight-sided Spanish showpiece and faced a tough route to the final. In the quarter-finals they defeated Caja Segovia FS 3-0 then a 4-1 win against Interviú Madrid set up a decider against Lobelle de Santiago FS.

The game was goalless at the break but Javi Rodríguez finally opened the scoring for Barça in the 27th minute, finishing strongly from Torras's corner. Raúl Campos levelled for Lobelle before Wilde put the holders back in front following another assist from Torras. With just four minutes of the contest remaining, Rubi struck to send an intense second half into extra time. There, two Sergio Lozano goals – adding to three in the previous two games – and another Wilde strike put Barcelona in control before Charlie's free-kick reduced their winning lead to 5-3.

"We always knew it was going to be difficult and that's how things turned out," said Barcelona coach Marc Carmona. "Our opponents defended intensely and it took a lot of effort to get the ball moving. We had chances to score but it was a while before we managed to do so. We went after them high up the pitch so that they wouldn't feel comfortable. Defensively we did our job well while in attack it cost us more effort than would normally have been the case but we got there in the end. It was hard scoring that second goal. They deserve a lot of credit for getting back on terms twice."

In the two-legged Russian Cup final, Dinamo went into Saturday's home return knowing their four-year grip on the trophy was effectively over following a 6-2 loss at TTG-Ugra Yugorsk last Tuesday. Two Fernandinho goals helped Dinamo win the return 5-3 and coach Faustino Pérez said: "The first result cannot be called normal, but in any case, we did everything we could to fix it. We must leave behind these unpleasant emotions and face the future with optimism."

Sporting's Portuguese Cup bid was ended in midweek with a 3-1 semi-final loss to SL Benfica after late goals from Joel Queirós and Ricardinho. They did bounce back at the weekend to win 4-1 at GS Loures and remain within two points of Benfica.

Marca's bid in the Coppa Italia, like in Spain played as a one-venue eight-team knockout tournament, ended with a 4-2 quarter-final loss to the side whose defence of the UEFA Futsal Cup they cut short in the elite round, ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5. ASD Asti C/5 went on to lift the trophy for the first time.