The draw for the group stage placed Maccabi Tel Aviv in Group E with Ukrainian top flight runners-up Dynamo Kiev, English side Stoke City and Turkish stalwarts Besiktas, the millionaire team of Istanbul.  The media reported that the club had escaped with a “relatively comfortable draw”, considering the fact that they had avoided such formidable rivals as Atletico Madrid and Lazio.  In practice, however, the group turned out to be particularly difficult. Most of the team’s fans had bought tickets for the entire series, but they hardly enjoyed the results. Maccabi managed only two points, in two draws with Dynamo Kiev, and suffered four losses accounting for a goal difference of -10, leaving them in the bottom spot in the Group.

Matchday 1: