Sporting, Benfica, Inter join Barça: Futsal Champions League last-32 report
Saturday, January 16, 2021
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Holders Barça and former winners Inter, Benfica, Sporting, Kairat and Ugra made the last 16 while ACCS pipped Pesaro on penalties.
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Holders Barça and former winners Inter, Benfica, Sporting, Kairat and Ugra are among the teams into the last 16 after the UEFA Futsal Champions League round of 32 was played on Friday and Saturday.
The round of 16 draw is streamed live at 14:00 CET on Thursday with the ties from 16 to 21 February deciding the eight teams progressing to the finals.
- Barça began their title defence in some style against debutants Prishtina with Esquerdinha scoring a hat-trick at Palau Blaugrana, where they lifted the trophy in October, though Sergio Lozano went off injured.
- Record five-time winners Inter became the first team to reach 400 goals in this competition when Cecilio Morales, on his European debut, got their fifth against Hovocubo.
- Among twice champions Kairat's scorers was Humberto, who returned last week from ACCS to the club where he lifted the trophy in 2015.
- 2019 winners Sporting became only the fourth team to reach 70 UEFA futsal club games after Kairat, Chrudim and Inter with nine different players on target against Gentofte, the Lions' 49th European victory.
- 2016 champions Ugra had to come from behind to win at Bosnian debutants Salines.
- The other Russian entrants, 2020 bronze-medallists KPRF, moved through more comfortably.
- 2010 victors Benfica's win at Minerva ensured all past champions involved this season progressed.
- Daniel Araujo scored five as United Galati continued their debut run with an impressive win at Record Bielsko-Biała.
- Another team kept their maiden campaign going into the round of 16 as Olmissum defeated Charleroi.
- The third debutants to progress are ACCS, who pipped Pesaro in the longest penalty shoot-out in UEFA futsal competition history, winning 8-7 after nine kicks each.
- Aktobe are the other team in the last 16 for the first time, having missed out on the elite round on debut last season.
- Dobovec trailed twice but Tihomir Novak's last-minute winner ended the hopes of Luxol becoming the first Maltese club to reach the last 16 of a UEFA club competition since 1984/85 (and only fourth ever).
- Twins Pavel and David Drozd both scored in Chrudim's defeat of Differdange.
Results
Friday 15 January
Barça 9-2 FC Prishtina
Saturday 16 January
Viten Orsha 3-5 Kairat Almaty
Inter FS 6-2 Hovocubo
Kherson 5-1 Shkupi 1927
AEK Futsal Club 2-5 Aktobe
Sporting CP 12-1 Futsal Gentofte
Record Bielsko-Biała 3-6 United Galati
Hohenstein-Ernstthal 0-2 Vytis
Omonia Nicosia 0-2 Berettyóújfalu
Lučenec 1-7 KPRF
Luxol St. Andrews 2-3 Dobovec
FC Salines 2-5 Ugra Yugorsk
Olmissum 4-1 Futsal Team Charleroi
ACCS Asnières Villeneuve 92 2-2 Pesaro (aet, ACCS win 8-7 on penalties)
Chrudim 4-0 Differdange
Futsal Minerva 1-5 Benfica
- Nine teams seeded to this round were joined by the 23 preliminary round winners.
- Barça became only the second three-time champions last season.
- Among teams also starting in this round were record five-time winners Inter FS and fellow former champions Sporting CP, Kairat Almaty, Benfica and Ugra.
- Kairat are entering for a record 17th time.
- Five teams came through the preliminary round on debut: Olmissum, United Galati, Salines, Prishtina Futsal, ACCS.
- French champions ACCS's squad includes Ortiz and Ricardinho and they are coached by Jesús Velasco, all multiple winners with Inter.
- All UEFA futsal matches must be played behind closed doors until further notice.
Match calendar
Round of 16: 16–21 February (draw: 14:00 CET, Thursday)
Finals (Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, Final): April/May tbc