Riga Futsal Club kicked off their UEFA Futsal Champions League Main Round campaign in style, defeating hosts Luxol St Andrews of Malta 4-1 in the opening match.
Latvia’s top futsal side – currently ranked seventh in Europe by UEFA – entered the match as clear favorites, and they wasted no time proving why. Within the first ten minutes, Riga had built a commanding three-goal lead.
Veteran Brazilian Ferrugem opened the scoring, before Ribeirão and Bruno Coelho – the Portuguese international – struck in quick succession to make it 3-0.
Later in the first half, Coelho missed a chance to extend the lead from the penalty spot, but team captain Dylan Vargas added a fourth in the 18th minute, giving the visitors a dominant 4-0 advantage at halftime.
The only setback came early in the second half, when Ribeirão accidentally deflected the ball into his own net, gifting Luxol a consolation goal. Despite several opportunities, Riga couldn’t add to their tally, and the game ended 4-1 in favor of the Latvian champions.
Next up, Riga face a far tougher challenge against European powerhouse Benfica, who opened their campaign in devastating fashion with a 9-0 rout of Serbian side Loznica.
Elsewhere in the Main Round, Lithuanian champions FK Kauno Žalgiris will begin their tournament tomorrow in Gliwice, Poland, taking on Spanish giants Jimbee Cartagena in another highly anticipated matchup.
