Futsal Champions League quarter-final first-leg latest: Palma beat Riga; Kairat-Cartagena, Etoile Lavalloise-Semey, Benfica-Sporting CP to come

The new UEFA Futsal Champions League quarter-finals started on Sunday with holders Illes Balears Palma beating Riga Futsal Club 7-4 in the opening first leg.

Palma, aiming for a fourth straight title, are now unbeaten in all 30 of their all-time European fixtures, but a late Riga recovery gave their Latvian rivals hope for the second leg – which, for all of the ties, will be held on Friday 6 March.

The remaining quarter-finals begin on Monday, with the victors in each contest reaching the knockout finals in Pesaro, Italy, on 8 to 10 May. The four ties were set by the round of 16, the other two-legged knockout stage replacing the elite round from this season.

Sunday's first leg

Illes Balears Palma 7-4 Riga Futsal Club 

Palma went ahead on 12 seconds when a corner was played back for Fabinho to produce a low, long-range shot, and David Peña produced an almost carbon-copy strike in the fifth minute to double to lead. The provider on that occasion, Alisson then swiftly added a third with a smart turn and finish, and then the fourth following a kick-in move. Late in the first half, Alisson set up Mateus Maia to make it 5-0, and he served up a third assist six minutes after the break, playing a one-two with Deivão, who chipped in.

Ángel Claudino pulled one back for Riga after winning the ball deep in Palma territory, and Riga keeper Diego Roncaglio then took advantage of an empty home goal to punt in, though he was himself beaten by Charuto soon after. The visitors were not done yet, however, and after Claudino's shot was turned into his own net by Fabinho, the Riga player notched his second goal of the day after combining with Argentina team-mate Dylan Vargas.

Monday's first legs

Kairat Almaty vs Cartagena Costa Cálida 

Last May in Le Mans, two-time champions Kairat reached their fourth final with a thrilling 3-2 last-four win against debutants Cartagena, although their double goalscorer that day was Alisson, now starring for Palma. Still, Kairat were not short of goals in the 12-6 aggregate round of 16 defeat of Sporting Anderlecht as they look to reach the last four for the 11th time.

Cartagena provided four of Spain's Futsal EURO-winning squad, including Team of the Tournament laureates Mellado and Pablo Ramírez. They came through the main round without conceding a goal and then defeated Luxol St. Andrews 14-2 on aggregate, and also retained the Spanish Super Cup last month with a 5-2 win against Palma after extra time.

Etoile Lavalloise vs Semey 

One of these teams will be reaching the four-team finals for the first time, and either would be only the second club from their nation to do so after France's ACCS and Kazakhstan's Kairat. These sides already met in the main round in Palma de Mallorca and it was a thriller as Etoile overturned a three-goal half-time deficit to win 4-3 and anticipation is certainly high for them as they sold out their home first leg at Espace Mayenne within a few hours in December.

Souheil Mouhoudine (an ACCS player when they took part in the 2021/22 finals) has seven goals from Etoile in this run and got the same number to finish as Futsal EURO 2026 joint top scorer. But Semey hardly lack star power, not only boasting legendary goalkeeper Higuita but also Brazilian international Marcelo, a winner with Palma for the last two seasons before his move east.

Benfica vs Sporting CP 

Club futsal boasts few greater rivalries than that between the Lisbon giants, both former European champions, who faced off 11 times in 2025 alone and only on Thursday drew 2-2 in the league, Benfica's Pany Varela scoring two late goals against his former club. Earlier this season Sporting beat Benfica 6-1 to claim September's Portuguese Super Cup but the Eagles won 4-2 in the league the following month, having in the summer beaten their neighbours in the play-off final series for their first title since 2018/19.

In Europe these teams have played twice; in 2018/19, a 1-1 elite round draw at Pavilhão João Rocha ensured Sporting pipped their neighbours to the finals on goal difference and went on to win their first title. In the 2023/24 third-place match, Benfica won 6-3 in Yerevan.

Five Benfica and four Sporting players together helped Portugal to the Futsal EURO 2026 final but squad-mates earlier this month put all that fellow feeling aside for what will be two encounters of the highest competitiveness. Last weekend Zicky returned for Sporting from the three-month injury absence that kept him out of Futsal EURO.