Futsal Champions League semi-finals: Benfica-Palma, Barça-Sporting

Benfica play holders Mallorca Palma Futsal and Barça meet Sporting CP in the 2023/24 UEFA Futsal Champions League semi-finals on Friday 3 May at Yerevan's Demirchyan Arena SCC, with the final and third-place play-off two days later.

We look at the two semi-final ties, which were set by the draw on 14 March.

Tie by tie

Benfica vs Mallorca Palma Futsal

• Palma defeated Benfica 4-3 in the semi-finals as hosts last year before going on to beat Sporting CP on penalties to win the title.
• Palma hope to become only the second club to win the title in their first two campaigns after Playas de Castellón, winners in the inaugural seasons of 2001/02 and 2002/03. The only other club to successfully defend the trophy are Inter FS, who won their fourth and fifth titles in 2016/17 and 2017/18.
• Benfica were crowned European champions in Lisbon in 2010 and first reached the final in 2004 (prior to the current format).
• Benfica have taken bronze in the last two seasons.
• Benfica's squad includes former Palma player Diego Nunes.
• Palma's squad includes former Benfica players Rômulo (who moved last summer after playing for the Eagles in the 2022/23 semi-finals) and Chaguinha, though another, Hossein Tayebi, is injured (having scored twice against his old club in the 2023 semi-final).

Past UEFA competition meetings:
2022/23 semi-finals: Palma 4-3 Benfica (Palma de Mallorca)

Benfica (POR)
Top scorer: Arthur (7 goals)
Previous best: winners (2010)
2022/23: third place (L3-4 vs Palma, W4-3 vs Sporting Anderlecht)
Semi-final record: W1 L4

Mallorca Palma Futsal (ESP)
Top scorers: Jesús Gordillo, Moslem Oladghobad (5 goals)
Previous best: winners (2023)
2022/23: winners (W4-3 vs Benfica, W1-1aet, 5-3pens vs Sporting CP)
Semi-final record: W1 L0

Barça vs Sporting CP

• Barça beat Sporting in the semi-finals in 2011/12 and 2014/15. Sporting then beat Barça 4-3 in the 2021 final, but 12 months later fortunes were reversed as they lost 4-0 to their Spanish rival in the decider.
• Both these teams are in the post-2006/07 finals for a joint-record tenth time. Including the one-off inaugural eight-team final tournament of 2001/02, Sporting are setting a new record of 11 appearances. They are also the first team to reach the semi-final stage 11 times.
• Barça are aiming to equal Inter FS's record of five titles. Sporting are aiming to equal Inter's record of eight final appearances.
• Sporting are vying to reach an unprecedented fourth final in a row (and seventh in eight years). They also hope to be the first club from outside Spain to win a third title.
• Erick Mendonça joined Barça last summer from Sporting (where he was part of their 2018/19 and 2020/21 triumphs).
• Coaches Jesús Velasco of Barça and Nuno Dias of Sporting not only faced off in the 2022 final (when Velasco's side won 4-0) but also in the deciders of 2017 and 2018, when Velasco's Inter defeated Dias's Sporting 7-0 and 5-2 respectively.
• Dias hopes to equal Velasco in winning three titles as coach. Dias would be the first to do so with a single club as Velasco won twice with Inter and once with Barça (the three wins against Sporting).
• Velasco holds the record for matches coached in this competition (78), with Dias second on 65. However, in final tournaments, Dias holds the records for matches coached (15) and final tournaments coached in (7), even prior to Yerevan 2024.
• Sporting's João Matos holds the record for matches played in this competition (81) and in final tournaments (19).

Past UEFA competition meetings:
2021/22 final: Barça 4-0 Sporting (Riga)
2020/21 final: Barça 3-4 Sporting (Zadar)
2014/15 semi-finals: Barça 5-3 Sporting (Lisbon)
2011/12 semi-finals: Barça 5-1 Sporting (Lleida)

Barça (ESP)
Top scorer: Adolfo (7 goals)
Previous best: winners (2012, 2014, 2020, 2022)
2022/23: elite round
Semi-final record: W6 L3

Sporting CP (POR)
Top scorer: Zicky Té (7 goals)
Previous best: winners (2019, 2021)
2022/23: runners-up (W7-1 vs Sporting Anderlecht, L1-1aet, 3-5pens vs Mallorca Palma Futsal)
Semi-final record: W7 L3