Without a goal but with a lot of faith, the Maccabi players and their captain, Eran Zahavi will take to the pitch against Porto at Sammy Ofer Stadium, 21:45 just two weeks after falling to the Dragons in Portugal 2:0. Zahavi feels that the team is on the rise and that he and his teammates are in position to come away with a good result:

“The challenge that I have is that our opponent is better than us. When we were winning games no one asked if my position on the field was a problem. At the end of the day the coach will decide where I’ll play and I’ll do whatever I have to do in order to help my team.”

On the first three matches:

“I didn’t think that the Champions League would be difficult, I was sure that it would be. Just like the last time when I played in the competition it was hard to pick up points in the first round of matches. But just like the last time, the more we’ll play the better we will do and the results will come. I’m looking forward to it.”

His desire to score:

“Of course it’s bothering me and bothering every other player on the team. We all want to score and win on the grandest stage in the world. If we play well it will be easier for the players to show their qualities, pick up some points and give the fans a show because they deserve it.”

The mental side of the game after three defeats:

“It’s not fun to begin with three losses but we knew that this was a possibility since we are playing teams that are better than us. We’re not coming into the game with a defeatist approach but with an extremely positive one in order to give the best we can and to pick up some points.”