Eyes on Sofia: Maccabi Tel Aviv conceded three and is in deep trouble

Maccabi Tel Aviv is in deep trouble this Thursday in the Europa League qualifiers, following a 3:0 defeat against CSKA Sofia in the first leg of the third qualifying round. Kenny Miller's squad arrived with a depleted roster, without Roy Revivo and Sagiv Jehezkel, and even without their fans. The coach had to improvise with the lineup, using Shahar Rosen and Itay Ben Hamo.

The start belonged to the yellow-and-blues, as Elio Varela found Dor Peretz alone in the box in the first minute, but the midfielder failed to produce a shot. Eight minutes later came the punishment: Godoy headed the ball down to Abong, who remained free on the edge of the box and shot into the corner to give the lead to the visitors. In the 29th minute, Godoy took control of a rebound and fired a massive volley into the left corner, making it 0:2.

The State Cup holders, who arrived after promising performances against Sheriff Tiraspol, tried to get back into the game in the second half and even took control at times, but continued to miss. Peretz headed out in the 62nd minute, and Ester Sokler came on for his debut four minutes later. In the 78th minute, he headed a great ball down to Elad Madmon, who remained free in front of the goal but carelessly missed the biggest opportunity for the yellow-and-blues in the match.

In the 90th minute came the goal that complicated Maccabi even further, as Zwartz broke through the defense and fired a wonderful shot from outside the box into the corner. The yellow-and-blues will return from Sofia with an almost impossible task in the second leg and will need to erase a three-goal deficit to remain in the Europa League. If they are eliminated, they will drop to the Conference League playoffs.

Lineups

Maccabi Tel Aviv: Ofek Melika, Itay Ben Hamo (Noam Ben Harush, 46), Ali Camara, Raz Shlomo, Shahar Rosen (Tyrese Asante, 46), Issouf Sissokho, Itamar Noy, Dor Peretz, Elio Varela (Elad Madmon, 77), Ido Shahar (Osher Davida, 66), Sayed Abu Farchi (Ester Sokler, 66).

CSKA Sofia: Fedor Lapukhov, Pastor, Facundo Rodriguez, Teodor Ivanov, Angelo Martino, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Bruno Jordao, Stefano Sensi, Max Abong, Ioannis Pittas, Leandro Godoy.

Match flow

Minute 1: A big miss by the yellow-and-blues. Elio Varela found Dor Peretz alone in the box, but he failed to release a shot.

Minute 9: 0:1 for the Bulgarians! Godoy headed the ball down to Abong, who remained free and shot into the bottom right corner.

Minute 29: 0:2 for CSKA Sofia! Godoy fired a massive volley into the bottom left corner.

Minute 32: Another miss by Dor Peretz after an accurate pass from Varela.

Minute 42: Raz Shlomo struggled against Pittas, but the goalkeeper was alert.

Minute 62: Dor Peretz headed out from the center of the box following an Ido Shahar corner.

Minute 66: Ester Sokler made his debut for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Minute 78: The best opportunity for Maccabi. Sokler headed to Madmon, who missed in front of the goal while unmarked.

Minute 90: 0:3 for the Bulgarians! Zwartz fired a curling shot from outside the box into the left corner.