Weslley Patati joined Maccabi in the summer from Brazilian side Santos as the 21-year-old who scored his debut European goal on MD5 against Besiktas, is looking forward to another fine display. “I am really hoping that we will we have a good game tomorrow” he said. “The last match we played in Europe had a good result and I hope we continue to play well and get another victory which could help us in the forthcoming matches.”

As Maccabi arrives in Belgrade on the back of a 1-1 draw in the league, Patati said: “The match tomorrow will be totally different. We will need to be focused, correct our mistakes we committed in the past few matches and do everything we are required to do in order to win.”

On his settling in at the club and in Tel Aviv, Patati, who left Brazil for the first time this summer, said: “I am getting used to a new place, new teammates and a new club. I am no different to anyone else as every player needs time to adapt and thank god that all the players here helped and welcomed me amazingly. I struggled with the language at first but I am taking English lessons and making progress so the communication with the players and everyone else is improving.”

With regards to life in Israel, Patati concluded: “At first it was tough as I was alone, but I have help from the staff and friends, my agent’s family are living here so overall I am more and more confident. In every day that goes by I am happier”.