Bulgarian futsal champion Amigo Severozapad suffered a heavy 1-7 defeat against Finland's Mad Max in the decisive match for the top spot in Group H of the UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary qualifiers. The match took place at the Arena Burgas sports hall.
For the start of the match, Amigo fielded Pavlov in goal, with Shenyuk, Shalamanov, Kuzmanov, and Baharov starting in the field in front of him. The guests from Finland showed greater intensity from the very beginning, earning a corner just 40 seconds after the opening whistle, from which captain Sergey Korsunov failed to score. Within the first two minutes of the match, Mad Max applied serious pressure, firing a total of four shots at the Bulgarian goal.
As time passed, Amigo Severozapad managed to level the play, creating several dangerous situations through Minchev and Videv, while a shot by Kalinin in the third minute was blocked. The Bulgarian team's efforts were rewarded in the 8th minute when Tsvetelin Dobrichov scored to make it 1-1.
Despite the equalizer, Mad Max's lead was restored just a minute later when Sergey Korsunov connected with an assist from Marcos Felipe. For the remainder of the first half, the two teams traded attacks, with the Finn Kohonen missing several chances, while Pavlov and Dobrichov came close to scoring for the Bulgarian champions. In the 14th minute, Do Nascimento hit the woodwork of the Amigo goal. In the final moments of the half, the Bulgarian team tried to organize a push, but instead conceded a third goal, scored by Manu Kuisma just 15 seconds before the break.
In the second half, Mad Max solidified their dominance as Manu Kuisma scored his second goal of the match in the 23rd minute, bringing the score to 4-1. The Bulgarians looked for a breakthrough through Baharov, Dobrichov, and Kalinin, but were unable to overcome the Finnish defense. Between the 27th and 29th minutes, Mad Max completely controlled the proceedings on the pitch.
In the closing stages of the match, Amigo continued to search for a consolation goal through Benkov, Kalinin, Dimov, Dobrichov, Shenyuk, and Baharov. However, clinical efficiency was on the side of the visitors, who took advantage of the open spaces:
- In the 39th minute, Eeli Niemelä scored the fifth goal;
- Seconds later, Miikka Hosio extended the lead to 6-1;
- In the final moments of the match, Eetu Kaikola sealed the final score at 7-1.
With this decisive victory, Mad Max secured the top of the group, while Amigo Severozapad ended their campaign with a heavy defeat in front of their home crowd and finished in third place in the final standings due to an inferior goal difference compared to Click Chisinau.