Champions League

The French midfielder gave the middle finger to Lyon fans after the Turkish team's victory, a brawl broke out in the tunnel and a French staff member was injured. Openda: "We must avoid such things."

The Turkish giant secured an impressive 2:1 victory in Lyon, Norway's Viking celebrated a surprising 3:1 win over Dinamo Zagreb, AEK Athens advanced after a 4:0 victory against Levski Sofia, and Christian Martinez propelled Slovan Bratislava to the next stage.

The list of teams participating in this season's Champions League was finalized on Wednesday evening following the conclusion of all playoff matches. All 32 clubs now await tomorrow's draw, which will determine the matchups for the eight rounds of the league phase.

The Champions League is approaching the first big moment of the 2026/27 season: the league phase draw, which will be held on Thursday, August 27, in Monaco. According to UEFA, the upcoming season will be the 72nd in the history of the competition and the third in the new format, in which there is no classic group stage but a single table of 36 teams.

After the disappointment of Hapoel Be'er Sheva and the historic qualification of Sabah to the Champions League, two more tickets were distributed on Tuesday to the prestigious tournament via the playoffs: the Norwegian Bodo/Glimt secured the first, while Celtic lost the second in a magnificent collapse and saw LASK make history.

The gap between participating in the Europa League and the Champions League stands at about ten million euros, even before bonuses for results. Even in the secondary competition, tough rivals may await them.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva faces one of the most important matches in its history this evening. Ran Kozuch's team will play the decisive Champions League qualification playoff leg against Sabah in Baku.

Igor Zlatanovic took advantage of a defensive error and scored (10th minute), but the Azeris equalized (38th minute) after confusion in the Be'er Sheva defense, with Christian Nwachukwu scoring into an empty net. Currently, Be'er Sheva leads 3-2 on aggregate. About 30,000 fans are supporting the hosts, who are dreaming of a comeback.

The champion will depart tonight for Baku ahead of the return leg against Sabah on Tuesday: "Everyone is alert and focused." Joao Victor is fit and may be included in the squad for the match.

The Azerbaijanis lost 2:1 after having led in Romania, but in the previous round they already knew how to turn a loss in the first game into a 4:0 victory in Baku: "We will need to make them make mistakes."

The 2:1 victory over Sabah in the first leg strengthened the belief at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, which aims to complete the mission in Baku and record a historic qualification for the Champions League: "If we feel a sense of missed opportunity after trailing, it says it all." Compliments to Eliel Peretz and Pedro Amador.

Without Turner, without shining stars and without an unlimited squad, Ran Kozuch and his group continue to collect obstacles and turn them into another reason to believe. Against Sabah, they proved once again that this team does not know how to accept "the end" as an answer - and next Tuesday it will not be the end, it will only be the beginning.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva took a significant step toward history on Wednesday, coming back from a deficit to beat Sabah 2:1 in the first leg of the Champions League qualification playoffs. Igor Zlatanovic completed the turnaround in the 79th minute, sending the Israeli champions to the return leg in Azerbaijan with a valuable advantage.

Parallel to the meeting between Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Sabah, three more matches were held this Wednesday as part of the Champions League qualifying playoff round. Celtic and Bodo/Glimt took a significant step toward the goal, and an Israeli Premier League ex-player provided an assist.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva is just 90 minutes away from history. The Israeli champion won 2-1 this Wednesday against Sabah in their "home" match in Bucharest, gaining an advantage ahead of the return leg in Azerbaijan and moving closer to their first-ever qualification for the Champions League league phase.

The Sabah coach addressed the meeting in the Champions League playoffs and complimented the opponent: "Both teams like to press, want to control the game and play offensively."

Everything is open between Fenerbahçe and Lyon (1:1), Dinamo Zagreb and Viking (2:2), and Levski Sofia and AEK Athens (0:0). Everything will be decided next week.

Two disappointments in the playoffs in the past, being benched as the fourth center-back, and a magnificent comeback in the money time: exactly ten years since he arrived at Hapoel Be'er Sheva with the goal of taking it to the Champions League, the 37-year-old captain gets one final chance to close the circle and complete the mission.

The Spanish national team captain arrived in the Catalan capital to finalize his move from Manchester City to Barcelona, with a contract expected until 2030. The midfielder stated: "Playing for Barcelona is a dream for me."

Ran Kozuch will rest the heroes of the victory over Red Star Belgrade during tonight's Toto Cup match against Hapoel Haifa. Amit Ohana, Itay Hazut, and others are expected to start as they look to prove themselves ahead of the clash with Sabah.

The club doubts it can add new foreign players before the Champions League playoffs begin. The squad that defeated Red Star Belgrade is expected to remain unchanged for the match against Sabah. Matan Baltaxa returns from suspension, but Pedro Amador is likely to keep his starting spot.

A score of 9 for Ventura in Hapoel Be'er Sheva's great victory in Belgrade, on the way to the Champions League playoffs. Danny Dvorin's column

Coach Ran Kozuch is searching for two foreign signings, with owner Alona Barkat demanding proven talent to significantly upgrade the squad. The club is accelerating contract talks with Eliel Peretz, while Lucas Ventura has confirmed his commitment to the team, citing the allure of the Champions League.

The local media attacked: "Red Star embarrassed itself, the Champions League is not for Red Star". Coach Dejan Stankovic announced his resignation after the loss.

Ofir Marciano kept another clean sheet, Miguel Vitor helped Itay Rotman shine, Eliel Peretz proved his worth, and Javon East emerged as a "football genius." All the stories behind Hapoel Be'er Sheva's triumphant victory in Belgrade.

Serbian media did not spare the Red Star Belgrade players following the 2-0 home loss to Hapoel Be'er Sheva and the early exit from the Champions League. The players ignored the mixed zone, failing to provide comments after the match, which sparked widespread outrage in the press.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva players testified to a change in the coach's approach after a difficult start to the summer: "He made us understand that we are capable of great things, and we will not give up on the dream."

Hapoel Be'er Sheva is 180 minutes away from a historic qualification for the Champions League group stage. The Israeli champions won 0:2 in Belgrade against Red Star, securing a 0:3 aggregate victory. They will face Azerbaijan's Sabah in the playoff round.

Parallel to Hapoel Be'er Sheva's convincing victory in Belgrade, several other interesting results were recorded this Tuesday in the Champions League qualifiers. The surprise came from the Netherlands, where NEC Nijmegen beat Olympiacos 2:1 after extra time (0:0 in the first leg) to advance to the playoff round in their debut season. Captain Tjaronn Chery played the full 120 minutes of the...

Hapoel Be'er Sheva achieved a major feat on Tuesday with a 0:2 victory over Red Star Belgrade in Serbia, qualifying for the Champions League playoff round. The team's doctor, Dr. Hanna Karmiko, drew attention by proudly waving the Israeli flag in front of the opposing fans' stand.

Eyal Berkovic does not spare the Israeli club and warns of a collapse on the European stage, following what he defines as a serious management failure, lack of professional planning, and even stinginess.

Red Star Belgrade will try to make a comeback tonight (Tuesday, 21:00, Sport1) against Hapoel Be'er Sheva. After a 1:0 loss in Hungary, in a match the club defined as "our worst since the start of the season," the Serbs expect massive support from the fans at the Marakana, with the goal of reaching the Champions League qualification playoff round. The winner will face the winner of the match...

He is not the flashiest star and not a man of numbers, but when the money is on the table, Zahi Ahmed is always there. Nothing came easily to the kid from Abu Snan, and in Be'er Sheva they were not in a hurry to give him the keys, until the connection with Ran Kozuch arrived, who identified something in him that others missed. Since then, he has repaid with a goal in the State Cup final and in the...

The Israeli champion landed in Belgrade ahead of the big second leg against Red Star (Tuesday, 21:00, Sport1) at the legendary stadium: "Everyone here is talking and breathing the game." The club is optimistic but expects a completely different game, and also: Amador's integration and the focus on Zlatanovic.

After the victory over Novi Pazar, the Red Star coach admitted that his and his players' minds are on the return leg against the Israeli champion: "We want to show that last Tuesday was a bad day"

The Israeli champion will fly this afternoon to Belgrade ahead of the return leg against Red Star: "We will have to defend more, I hope we can play our football there too." Efforts continue to sign a foreign defender and midfielder.

Stankovic rotated the squad, Katai and Enam scored against Novi Pazar, and Abu Fani came off the bench in the 73rd minute. On Tuesday, the Israeli champion will try to maintain the 1:0 lead at the Marakana (21:00, Sport1).

Hapoel Be'er Sheva began preparations on Friday for one of the biggest weeks in its history, as it will play on Tuesday (21:00, Sport1) in Serbia at the Marakana stadium of Red Star Belgrade for the return leg of the Champions League third qualifying round. After a surprising 1:0 win in the home game held in Hungary, the players believe in their chances despite the fragile lead.

Dejan Stankovic will rotate the squad in the league to give his stars a rest before Tuesday: "A loss we didn't expect and apparently weren't ready for."

Ahmad Ahmad spoke on the 103fm sports show following his son's major achievement with Hapoel Be'er Sheva: "Everyone aspires to advance - to Europe and to the national team."

The Israel national team midfielder helped Ferencváros beat Górnik Zabrze 0:1 and gain an advantage ahead of the second leg in Poland. Aarhus defeated Sabah 1:2 in a meeting between potential opponents of Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Champions League playoffs.

UEFA has announced two significant rule changes for the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. The updates involve suspension thresholds and stadium clock displays.

After the tough victory over the Serbian champion, Hapoel Be'er Sheva is preparing for the return leg and Alona Barkat is incentivizing the Israeli champion's players.

The Red Star coach claimed he did not make a mistake when starting against Hapoel Be'er Sheva with the former Maccabi Tel Aviv player, despite the error: "A wonderful and experienced player, it will be much better in the second leg."

The national champion has cautious optimism regarding the continuation of Lucas Ventura's path, who did not hide his ambitions to upgrade professionally and financially. Alona Barkat clarified to Ran Kozuch that she will allow him to sign two additional players.

Zahi Ahmed scored the winning goal in a 1:0 victory over Red Star Belgrade, giving Hapoel Be'er Sheva a significant advantage ahead of the Champions League return leg. Coach Ran Kozuch urged his team to remain humble.

The Israeli winger nearly scored with a header, and the Belgian side led 3:2 in the 88th minute, but conceded in stoppage time to finish 3:3 in the first leg of the Champions League qualifiers.

Kozuch's talks with the players about faith, the surprising practice of Kanaan, and those who will earn the coach's trust. Hapoel Be'er Sheva expects a good result tonight (20:30, Sport 3), which will leave it a chance to qualify ahead of the return leg against Red Star next week in Belgrade.

Even after Hapoel Be'er Sheva's final training session in Hungary, coach Ran Kozuch has still not decided who will start in place of Kings Kangwa in the first match tomorrow (Tuesday, 20:30, Sport 3) against Red Star Belgrade in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Similar to yesterday's training, this evening the coach is deliberating between Eliel Peretz and Hamudi Kanaan. Peretz...

After securing a "hot winter" with participation in at least the league phase of the Conference League, Hapoel Be'er Sheva wants to achieve more and will try to surprise Red Star Belgrade tomorrow (Tuesday, 20:30, Sport 3) in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. For the Israeli champion, which is forced to host in Szombathely, Hungary, this will be the first match without Kings...