Futsal Champions League final report: Palma retain title as comeback overwhelms Barça

Mallorca Palma Futsal proved their UEFA Futsal Champions League triumph as hosts on debut last season was no fluke as they defeated Barça 5-1 to retain the title in Yerevan.

Match in brief: Palma pick their moment

Missing the suspended Ernesto, Palma still began the game the brighter and Didac Plana was soon made to work by Chaguinha, Bruno Gomes (back from a semi-final ban) and former Barça man Mario Rivillos.

For all the holders' vim, however, it was Barça who took the lead late in the first half, Catela sending Adolfo clear on the right to place his shot inside the far post.

With just under two minutes left in the first half, Rômulo levelled as he connected perfectly with Chaguinha's deep corner – but Palma were not out of the woods yet. On five fouls, they then conceded two ten-metre penalties, swapping in captain Carlos Barrón for Luan Muller to deny both Catela and Ferrao.

Getting to half-time at 1-1 seemed enough for the reigning champions, yet with seven seconds to go before the break they struck again, Vilian Lourenço powering in a low free-kick.

Vilian Lourenço (second left) put Palma in frontUEFA via Getty Images

Barça piled on the pressure in the second half, with Sergio Lozano (aiming for a record fifth personal title) smashing the ball against the crossbar. Palma kept holding out even as Mamadou Touré hit the post with a shot as powerful as Lozano's, and Catela seemed certain to score but was denied by a sensational Luan Muller reflex save.

Not long afterwards, it was 3-1 as Luan Muller began an attack that ended with Vilian Lourenço squaring for Neguinho to stretch and poke home. Barça tried everything, with Lozano on as flying keeper, but he was to receive a red card with just over a minute left for handball.

Now Palma pressed home their advantage as Chaguinha, named Player of the Tournament, rolled the ball into an empty net. Neguinho then added another in the final seconds to truly begin Palma's party.

Vilian Lourenço savours victoryUEFA via Getty Images

Reaction

Antonio Vadillo, Palma coach: "What's better than winning a second time in a row? To win a third! Seriously, I couldn't be prouder of my players because what we achieved was unbelievable. It's not easy at all to play at the level we played tonight and against such a strong opponent like Barça. We fully deserved to win the final and I think we were by far the better team."

Rômulo, Palma player: "Whatever I say won't be enough to explain how this feels. We came a long way and we were able to play at the top of our game tonight. That made all the difference against a team like Barça. We had a lot of injury problems during our season and it takes a very focused team to do what we did in this match.

"We were stronger than our opponents and I don't think anybody can say we don't deserve this result. I'm very happy to be able to experience this because I made a huge effort to recover from serious injuries I've suffered in the past, but everyone deserves all the praise because we were a true team tonight."

Chaguinha, Player of the Tournament: "To win the Champions League last year was already like a dream come true, but to do it twice in a row? I can't even put it into words. Of course, I'm happy with this award, but I think every single one in the team deserves it and I'm not talking only about the players. It took a lot of hard work from everyone to get here, and tonight we left it all on the pitch because that was the only way we could be celebrating right now."

Jesús Velasco, Barça coach: "We are very disappointed, of course, but when you start a final the way we did, this can happen. We were not sharp or intense enough and Palma were simply better than us in the way they approached the match.

"We tried to react and we had our chances to change the match, but we are to blame ourselves for this outcome. It's true that maybe all the injuries we sustained this season to very important players played a part in these finals, but that cannot be used as an excuse by us."

André Coelho, Barça player: "How to explain this defeat? We didn't deserve to win, that's the simple truth. We lacked pretty much everything tonight. No intensity, no desire, no nothing. You cannot have this attitude in a final and expect to win it. Things do not work like that."

Coach Antonio Vadillo salutes the win with his playersUEFA via Getty Images

Key stats

• Palma are 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.
• Palma have not lost any of their 16 Champions League matches since their debut last season.
• The only other club to successfully defend the trophy are Inter, who won their fourth and fifth titles in 2016/17 and 2017/18, under current Barça coach Jesús Velasco.
• Velasco became the first head coach to have been involved in 80 UEFA futsal club matches.
• Barça had won the only previous one-nation final, beating Murcia FS 2-1 in Barcelona in 2020. That was also the only previous final four to involve teams from just two nations.
• Luan Muller, Carlos Barrón, Bruno Rocha, Mario Rivillos, Moslem Oladghobad and Cleber de Souza all were in Palma's side for last year’s final.
• Rivillos also won with Velasco's Inter in 2017.
• Palma's Rômulo, once of Barça, previously lost three finals with FC Dynamo in 2012, 2013 and 2014, the first and third of them against the Blaugrana.
• A Spanish club won the title for the 13th time in the 23 editions.

Third place: Benfica take bronze again

Benfica secured third place for the third year running after a 6-3 defeat of Lisbon rivals Sporting CP. Higor de Souza's hat-trick was the key while, late on, Lúcio Rocha – on his 20th birthday – shot in twice from inside his own half.

Having also scored a hat-trick in the semi-final loss to Palma, Lúcio Jr now boasts a new record of five goals in a single final-four tournament (though his tally has been bettered in an eight-team final tournament). Benfica also have a new record tally of four bronze medals, one more than Barça and Kairat Almaty.