The 24-year-old midfielder first addressed the team’s journey in the current campaign: “We played against top European teams. I think we deserved more, there were matches we played well, but the results weren’t what we wanted. This is a great opportunity for us to play a game like this tomorrow. We play in the league and win titles in order to reach games like these. We will be ready for tomorrow.”

On the opponents Maccabi will face tomorrow, Shahar added: “Both Freiburg and Stuttgart, that we faced, are excellent teams, in one of the best leagues in the world. They are well positioned in the league and in Europe. We have a good opportunity tomorrow and we’ll do our best.”

When asked about the security arrangements around the team, Shahar said: “We are used to it. But we are footballers and we focus on football. Everything around us doesn’t interest us, we focus on football.”

Maccabi continue their Europa League campaign as today (Wednesday) the team departed for Germany ahead of Thursday’s MD7 match away to Freiburg (19:45), the penultimate round of the league phase.

Earlier this morning, the team held their final training session at the Kiryat Shalom training complex, before heading for Ben Gurion Airport. This evening, the team will hold the pre-match Press Conference ahead of the match at the Europa-Park Stadion.

While Maccabi, collected one point from six matches and are ranked second from bottom, Freiburg are currently fifth in the Europa League standings with 14 points, a position that guarantees automatic qualification for the next phase.

Freiburg are currently 8th in the German Bundesliga with 24 points from 18 matches, and will face Maccabi on the back of a 2-2 draw away to Augsburg on Sunday.

Preview:

Maccabi arrived at Sammy Ofer stadium for the MD19 WINNER League match away to fourth place Maccabi Haifa. While Maccabi are third with 36 points, seven ahead of Haifa in the table, they will look to narrow the nine point-gap from leaders Beitar Jerusalem and six behind second place Hapoel Be’ersheva. Boosted by the dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Zarko Lazetic’s side that beat Hapoel Jerusalem (3-1) and Bnei Sakhnin (1-0) in the league will try and continue their run. Since the re-appointment of Barak Bachar in October, Haifa have improved their results and are on a run of 1 defeat in 13 matches in all competitions.

With Roy Revivo serving a one-match touchline ban following his dismissal in the derby, Lazetic was forced to make changes. Itay Ben Hemo who scored the winning penalty, partnered Ali Camara as the two central defenders. Noam Ben Harush stepped in to replace Revivo at left-back with Tyrese completing Maccabi’s defensive line infront of the other Cup hero goalkeeper Ofek Melika. Issouf Sissokho in the anchorman role was joined by Ido Shahar with the captain’s armband in the engine room while Kervin Andrade kept his place at the top of the midfield trio. Helio Varela whose goal on Wednesday was his second for Maccabi in the Cup, will seek his debut league goal. With the Cape Verde winger on one wing, Lazetic named Osher Davida on the opposite flank with the 24-old aiming to end his barren run in the league that stretches since MD on September 16th. Upfront, Lazetic named Elad Madmon who scored three league goals and five in all competitions.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Roi Mishpati, Heitor dos Santos, Sagiv Jehezkel, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Ben Lederman, Itamar Noy, Saied Abu Farchi and Dor Peretz.

First Half:

A sea of colour and a wall of noise welcomed both sets of players at Sammy Ofer with Maccabi’s 3000 travelling fans tucked in the south west corner of the stadium aiming to give the hosts a vocal fight.

A counter attack in the 15th minute almost saw the hosts draw first blood in as a counter attack reached Guy Melamed in the middle of the penalty area. But with only the keeper to beat and in a comfortable position to score Melamed fired his shot wide. Three minutes later Michael Ohana shrugged off a challange and burst forward but his shot which beat Ofek Melika bounced off the base of the post. Tyrese Asante who was carrying an injury from Wednesday’s derby was forced to limp off and replaced by Raz Shlomo in the 19th minute.

The fatigue from the derby claimed another casulty just before the half hour mark Osher Davida also limped off and was replaced by Sagiv Jehezkel.

Four minutes later Melika was at full stretch when Melamed sent a shot from the edge of the area that was accurate but lacked the power to beat the Maccabi custodian.

Inside added time Haifa had the ball in the back of the net as Maccabi’s defense didn’t manage to clear the danger as the ball fell to Michael Ohana who buried his half volley past Melika. The linesman raised his flag for offside but VAR intervened and after several minutes of waiting referee Gal Leibovic awarded Haifa the goal.

Haifa almost doubled their lead before the break as Navot Ratner curled a cross into the area which was headed by Kenny Saief but Melika managed to pull a reflex save and claw the ball which was making its way in.

Second Half:

Lazetic made a third change after the break introducing Heitor dos Santos for Ali Camara at the restart switching to three central defenders across the back. The change almost paid off instantly as a Jehezkel cross into the box was missed by Elad Madmon but fell to Ido Shahar. Maccabi’s top scorer took his volley first time but Haifa’s keeper Georgiy Yermakov pulled a stunning save to deny the skipper on the night from increasing his tally.

In the 52nd minute Maccabi were back on level terms as Shahar carved Haifa’s defense open with a through ball to Jehezkel whi raced clear through. Jehezkel bursting run into the box resulted with a powerful shot which was saved by Yermakov but as Haifa failed to clear the danger the ball fell to Jehezkel who didn’t fail in his second attempt as he rifled his shit home.

In the 68th minute Lazetic made a double change as he introduced his two final substitutions sending out Dor Peretz and Saied Abu Farchi for Kervin Andrade and Madmon.

Four minutes after their introduction Peretz was released into the box by Abu Farchi but once again Yermakov came to Haifa’s rescue with a save.

Jehezkel was in the thick of things on 78 as he cut inside from the right and with his left unleashed a powerful drive which was punched away by Yermakov. Less than 30 seconds later at the opposite end Haifa restored their lead as Pierre Cornud floated a cross from near the corner before Melamed swept it home with a volley. Haifa increased their lead to 3-1 in the 81st minute as Kenji Gore was given the time and space to dribble down the left as he cut inside and blasted a shot that found Melika’s bottom corner. Maccabi came close to cut the deficit as a corner fell to dos Santos whose powerful volley was saved by Yermakov.

Haifa had the ball in the back of the net in the 88th minute as Lisav Eisaat carried the ball out of defense before releasing Nov Gabay who rounded Melika and rolled the ball home to make it 4-1.

Abu Farchi, who gave his all over 120 minutes in the Cup derby, began the match as a striker but was deployed as a left back following the dismissal of Roy Revivo for two bookings. Speaking at a Press Conference before the match in Haifa, Abu Farchi reflected on the derby as he said: “I feel good. We had a tough, intense match. I think we recovered well, the medical staff worked with us properly, and now we’re focused on tomorrow.”

“It’s obviously good to arrive after a game like that derby, full of excitement and motivation,” Abu Farchi added. “We are coming up against Maccabi Haifa, a team I don’t need to tell you about. We’re coming to do our very best. I hope and want us to leave there with three points.”

On the compliments he received after the match, Abu Farchi added: “All the compliments and the appreciation feel great. I received a lot of love from both the fans and the club. It’s a wonderful feeling, a moment I dreamed about for a long time. It was my first derby, and the first for many players in the squad. Winning it in that way is very emotional.”

“The staff and the coach needed me as a full-back, and I’m happy I did the job there properly,” he added. “It doesn’t matter where the coach puts me, I’ll give everything, because that’s who I am, and that’s how every player at Maccabi Tel Aviv should be.”

On the impact of the derby victory, he said: “It really gives a lot of confidence going forward, but it’s more than just confidence. The players won’t be afraid, they’ll try to do more and take responsibility. It’s a very important moment, for the young players and the veterans alike. I’m also happy the youngsters got the chance to take part.”

On the importance of Sunday’s match against Haifa, Abu Farchi concluded:

“We can’t afford to drop points, but we also can’t think about it that way. We’ll come to every match aiming to win, because that’s this club. That’s its DNA, no matter where or when. As for the chase after Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Be’ersheva, it’s better to be in a three-team race than just a two-team one”.

The morning after the dramatic victory over arch city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv in a penalty shoot-out, Maccabi entered the Quarter Finals draw and were handed another derby in the next round. The ties are scheduled to be played on February 3^rd – 5^th.

Maccabi Jaffa that are ranked 13^th in the second division will host Maccabi at Bloomfield in a repeat of the round of 16 tie which was played in February 2024.

Quarter Finals:
Maccabi Jaffa (2^nd) vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Haifa vs SC Kfar Qasem (2^nd) or Hapoel Kfar Sava (2^nd)
Maccabi Bnei Reineh – Hapoel Be’ersheva

Beitar Jerusalem – Bnei Yehuda (2^nd)

Maccabi’s goalkeeper, Ofek Malika, and defender, Itay Ben Hemo, who both played a significant role in the penalty shoot-out that secured Maccabi’s place in the quarterfinals, spoke after the match.  The 20-year-old keeper who made a spectacular penalty save to deny Liran Rotman and take the shoot-out into sudden death, said: “I never stopped believing, even after the red card. In the end, we did it and I’m very happy about that. Everyone came out as winners, and after this, I believe we can do anything.”

Ben Hemo, who together with his teammates battled for an hour with 10 men following the dismissal of Roy Revivo in the 64th minute, added: “To come into a match like this, with everything that happened, and to get a red card early in the second half, and still look like that the entire game, everyone fought and never stopped believing for a second. This is something worthy of extra time. There’s no feeling like winning a derby, especially in this way. It’s emotional, and we’re happy about it.”

Melika, who started the season with a red card in the Champions League tie against Pafos to cement his place in Maccabi’s goal several months later, said of his save: “It’s a bit stressful. I know that if I don’t stop it, I don’t get another chance. I’m always ready to give my heart and give it my all. I threw myself to the corner and I’m glad I managed to stop the penalty. Both I and Ben Hemo deserve credit for tonight, we fought with 10 men from a relatively early minute. I’m happy we did it together.”

On the special moment of scoring a winning penalty in a derby, Ben Hemo who captained Maccabi’s U19’s before spending a couple of seasons on loan at Bnei Sakhnin, summed up: “I felt confident. I’m glad it went in, but if not for Ofek, we wouldn’t be standing here. I’m happy for him and happy for the team that he was there for us when we needed him. For me, as a defender, it’s just a bonus. It’s a happy moment for me, and for everyone.”