The draw takes Maccabi’s tally to eight points in the table, two more than Turksih outfit Sivasspor who were beaten 1-0 on the night by group winners Villarreal. Maccabi now host the Turkish side at Bloomfield stadium next week for a match which will decide the second team to qualify from the group.

Pregame
Maccabi’s coach Georgios Donis made three changes to the side which beat Hapoel Kfar Sava for the Europa League MD5 match against Qarabag at Basaksehir’s Fatih Terim stadium in Istanbul.

With Enric Saborit serving a one match touchline ban, Ofir Davidzada filled the role on the left side of a five-man defense. Eytan Tibi lined-up alongside Sheran Yeini and Luis Hernandez with Maor Kandil completing the defensive line in front of Daniel Tenenbaum. Eyal Golasa and Dor Peretz were the two anchormen in midfield while Yonatan Cohen and Dan Biton were the two wingers. Upfront, Nick Blackman replaced Alaksandar Pesic as the Serb dropped to the bench together with Tal Ben Chaim.

First Half
Maccabi dominated the opening stages as they started the game with pressure on Qarabag’s goal resulting with four corners in the space of 10 minutes. Dor Peretz rose high above Qarabag’s defense but couldn’t direct his header on target. In the 15th minute Peretz sent a ball over Qarabag’s defense into the path of Ofir Davidzada who struggled to bring the ball down before it was collected by the advancing keeper.

Yonatan Cohen had a shot blocked by a defender on 17 before missing a glorious chance to score within two minutes as his powerful left foot drive was parried by the keeper. Maccabi’s pressure paid off in the 20th minute as Biton sent Cohen into the box with a delicate chip before he was brought down in the area by Donald Guirrier. Referee Robert Hennessy awarded a penalty before Cohen stepped up and successfully converted the spot kick past Shakhrudin Magomedaliyev to put Maccabi in front.

Kwabwena Owusu tried a shot in the 25th minute but his shot sailed high over Daniel Tenenbaum’s goal. Three minutes later, Eyal Golsa won a tackle deep inside Maccabi’s half, skipped past two Qarabag’s players and sent Nick Blackman clear through. But the tall forward had could have doubled Maccabi’s lead, his effort blocked by a last gasp tackle. Right on the half hour mark, Biton sent Cohen into the area, but his shot was blocked by the keeper who collided with his own defender in the process.

In the 38th minute however, Qarabag were back on level terms as Jaime Romero was given the time and space on the edge of the are before firing a low shot which beat Tenenbaum and went in off the post.

Second Half

With no changes at halftime, Maccabi began the second half just like they did with the first – with pressure on Qarabag’s defense down the wings.

Donis made his first change in the 64th minute as Eduardo Guerrero replaced the tired Blackman while Dan Glazer came in for Kandil four minutes later switching to a flat-back-four with Hernandez moving to right-back.

But in the 73rd minute, Eytan Tibi was required to head the ball from the goalmouth in order to clear a dangerous cross which threatened to beat Tenenbaum.

Guerrero could have scored in the 80th minute as the Panama striker received a pinpoint chip from Biton to find himself in a glorious position only to have his close range volley saved by the keeper.

In a bid to try and win the game, Donis made a double substitution as Tal Ben Chaim and Etey Shechter replaced Peretz and Golasa for the final seven minutes.

But on 86 it was Qarabag who came closest to snatch a goal as Guerrier rose high to rattle Tenebaum’s crossbar with a powerful header.

Biton could have won it in the 88th minute after Shechter found him with a square ball, but the midfielder wasted the chance allowing the defense to clear.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s European campaign reaches its vital stages. After holding a morning training session at the PenguinPickUp complex at Kiryat Shalom, the Champions traveled to Turkey today (Wednesday) ahead of the Europa League matchday 5 Group I match against Qarabag (Thursday 19:55).

Maccabi jet off to Istanbul this afternoon, ahead of the match at Bashakshehir’s Fatih Terim stadium.

Shortly before travelling to Turkey, Maccabi’s full-back, Maor Kandil, said: “This is a very important match for us. Qarabag have yet yet to collect a point in the group but they are still a very strong opponent. We must remain focused in order to win the match. We have a great opportunity to do something nice”.

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC and Mey Eden Group signed a new two-year sponsorship deal. Mey Eden will become the official and exclusive water supplier of Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club.

As part of the collaboration, both organizations will work together to promote values of a healthy and sporty lifestyle alongside correct nutrition, in the general public and in particular amongst the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan-base. 

Maccabi’s acting CEO, Sharon Tammam, welcomed the introduction of the Mey Eden as a business partner: “We are delighted to start the collaboration with MeyEden which is the leading provider in the Israel mineral water sector. We are looking forward to promote together a healthy lifestyle thus creating an added value to the team as well as our fans”.

Alon Alperovich, General Manager at Mey Eden: “The Mey Eden Group raises the banner of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and as a company we are acting to promote physical activity, correct nutrition and a balanced life. Mey Eden supports most of the major sporting events in Israel in recognition that it is important for professional and amateur athletes alike to hydrate themselves with quality natural mineral water. The connection to a leading football club such as Maccabi Tel Aviv is a natural progress to this activity and is an excellent opportunity for us to endow such important values to a wide range of the Israeli public”.

Mey Eden is the pioneer amongst the Israeli mineral water companies that deals with the production, marketing and distribution of natural mineral water. Mey Eden began and led the mineral water consumption culture in Israel, believing that the consumption of natural drinking water is the foundation for a correct and healthy lifestyle”.

      

Pesic on Kubika’s trail

Aleksandar Pesic who scored the opening goal against Hapoel Kfar Sava, scored his second in the league and third for the club.

The 28-year-old Serbian striker who also scored Maccabi’s equalizer in the 1-1 Europa League draw against Villarreal, scored in three of the four matches he started in all competitions.

Only eight other players in the club’s history managed to register such an achievement, the last of whom was Haris Medunjanin in the 2010/11 season.

Pesic entered a lucrative list which includes former Polish striker Andzej Kubika who also scored 3 in his first 4 matches at Maccabi. 

Former players who reached the same achievements were Vicky Peretz, Evgeni Kashentsev, Rafi Levy, Ben Luz, Yeghia Yavruyan and Eliezer Vilensky.

Yonatan Cohen’s treble

Yonatan Cohen enjoyed an extremely successful night. It began with an assist for Aleksandar Pesic, continued with another assist for Dan Biton and ended with a goal he headed to take his tally to 3 league goals so far.

The last player to be involved in three goals during one game was no one else than…Yonatan Cohen. The 24-year-old winger was involved in three goals last season as he assisted three times in the 3-0 victory over Bnei Yehuda on December 24^th 2019.

Maccabi’s special date

The 3-0 win over Hapoel Kfar Sava was played on November 29^th – the date in which the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution, which adopted the plan for the partition of Mandatory Palestine, calling for the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel.

This date proves to be historically successful as in 2010 Maccabi recorded a 2-0 win over Maccabi Netanya, a 3-0 victory over Hapoel Haifa in 2014, while in 2015 a 4-0 win over Bnei Yehuda.