As a result of Russian clubs being banned, the champions from countries 18 through 21 got moved from the First Qualifying Round to the Second Qualifying Round, and Israel is 21st. The bad news is that Maccabi Haifa (7.000) hosts the first leg against Olympiakos of Greece (41.000), who has the second best coefficient of the ten clubs Maccabi Haifa could have faced. The First Qualifying Round started today. Maccabi Haifa will be home on 20 July and away on 27 July. The Europa League only has direct spots for the top 17 countries, but Second Qualifying Round for Champions losers go to the Europa League Third Qualifying Round. That will not have seeding. If Maccabi Haifa loses, they will go to the Europa Conference League Playoff Round. They will reach a Group Stage unless they lose three consecutive aggregates. Hapoel Be'er Sheva (State Cup winner and second in the Israeli Premier League, hereafter IPL), Maccabi Tel Aviv (third in IPL), and Maccabi Netanya (fourth in IPL) will start in the Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round. Hapoel Be'er Sheva (14.000) was seeded and will host the first leg against Dinamo Minsk of Belarus (5.000) or Decic Tuzi of Monenegro (1.000). Maccabi Tel Aviv (24.500) was seeded and will host the second leg against Zira of Azerbaijan (3.400). Maccabi Netanya (4.875) was unseeded and will host the second leg against Istanbul Basaksehir of Turkiye (25.000). Those games are on 21 July and 28 July. It is the first time since 2014-2015 that no Israeli clubs had to start in the First Qualifying Round of any competition.
Champions Leagu Second Qualifying Round: Maccabi Haifa 1-1 Olympiakos Piraeus of Greece Olympiakos scored in the 7th minute and led almost the whole game. Dolev Haziza scored in the 90+2nd minute for a draw. Olympiakos's coefficient is much better, and I am satisfied with a draw. Maccabi Haifa had better statistics, including more shots on goal 8 to 2. The odds of each club winning and of a draw were about equal, with Maccabi Haifa slightly more likely to win. Israel got their first 0.125 points of the season. They are 22nd of 55 for the last four complete seasons and this season so far. Tomorrow Maccabi Tel Aviv (seeded) is at Zira of Azerbaijan at 7:00 P.M. Israel/12:00 P.M. USA Eastern, Hapoel Be'er Sheva (seeded) hosts Dinamo Minsk of Belarus at 8:30 P.M. Israel/1:30 P.M. USA Eastern, and Maccabi Netanya (unseeded) is at Istanbul Basaksehir of Turkey at 8:45 P.M. Israel/1:45 P.M. USA Eastern. Those are in the Europa Conference Leagus Second Qualifying Round first legs.
Europa League Second Qualifying Round: Zira of Azerbaijan 0-3 Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2-1 Dinamo Minsk Istanbul Basaksehir 1-1 Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Tel Aviv scored in the 18th, 22nd, and 54th. Hapoel Be'er Sheva scored in the 1st and 52nd and allowed in the 76th. Maccabi Netanya scored in 2nd, allowed in the 81st, and got a red from a second yellow in the 90+2nd. Israel got 0.625 coefficient points today and 0.750 this week. If Maccabi Haifa (7.000) loses to Olympiakos Piraeue of Greece, Maccabi Haifa will host the first leg of the Europa League Third Qualifying Round against Ferencvaros of Hungary (15.500) or Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia (13.000). Slovan Bratislava won the first leg of the Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round 2-1 away, so Maccabi Haifa will probably face Ferencvaros. That round does not have seeding. If Maccabi Haifa beats Olympiakos, Maccabi Haifa will host the first leg of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round against Apollon Limassol of Cyprus (14.000). Apollon Limassol is unseeded, and Maccabi Haifa could take Olympiakos's seed. The draws are done before the previous round. The next three possiblities are all for the Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round: If Maccabi Tel Aviv advances, they will host the first leg against Aris Thessaloniki of Greece (5.640) or Gomel of Belarus (2.500). Aris Thessaloniki won the first leg 5-1 at home. If Hapoel Be'er Sheva advances, they will host the second leg against Lugano of Switzerland (9.000). Lugano is the top unseeded club, and is tied with Shkendija Tetovo of North Macedonia. I do not know what the coefficient tiebreakers are, and it cannot be favoring the club from the better country because Switzerland is much better than North Macedonia. If Maccabi Netanya advances, they will host the second leg against Breidablik of Iceland (4.000) or Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro (7.000). Maccabi Netanya could take Istanbul Basaksehir's seed. To summarize, all four Israeli clubs have a chance to reach the Europa League or Europa Conference League Playoff Round, and other than Maccabi Haifa who can lose and drop to a lower competition, Israeli clubs will face clubs with coefficients under 10.000. I am happy with the draws.
Today's odds made these probabilities that add up to 100.1 percent due to rounding: Olympiakos Piraeus of Greece win: 48.6 percent Draw (which would cause extra time): 28.4 percent Macacbi Haifa win: 23.1 percent Maccabi Haifa leads 1-0 at halftime. Olympiakos Piraeus has big advantages in possession, attacks, and dangerous attacks, but Maccabi Haifa has more shots on goal, 4 to 1. Tjarron Chery scored in the 5th minute. Olympiakos Piraeus had a goal disallowed for handball in the 25th that contributed to their being 6 minutes of stoppage time. Olympiakos lost aggregates the last two times they faced Israeli clubs. In the 2010-2011 Europa League Third Qualifying Round, they beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 and lost 1-0 in Tel Aviv for Maccabi Tel Aviv to win on away goals. In the 2016-2016 Champions League Third Qualifying Round, they got a scoreless draw at Hapoel Be'er Sheva and lost 1-0 at home, so Maccabi Haifa is trying to do the same thing with a draw at home and win at Olympiakos Piraeus. Olympiakos Piraeus is 40th in the 5-year ranking for the last five complete seasons. They have reached a Group Stage in eleven consecutive seasons including eight in the Champions League.
Olympiakos Piraeus 0-4 Maccabi Haifa (1-5 aggregate) I am amazed. Tjarron Chery scored in the 5th, Frantzdy Pierrot scored in the 61st and 65th, and Mohammad Abu Fani scored in the 87th. Olympiakos Piraeus had 59 percent of the possesion, 61.3 percent of the combined free kicks and corner kicks, 62.4 percent of the attacks, and 61.3 percent of the dangeorus attacks. Maccabi Haifa had 63.6 percent of the shots (14 to 8), and 88.9 percent of the shots on goal (8 to 1). Israel is 22nd with 19.750 for the last four complete seasons and this season. They are 1.500 above Sweden, who had Malmo FF shockingly lose hosting Zalgiris of Lithuania to lose both legs and drop into the Europa League. Israel is 0.125 behind Cyprus, which makes the Third Qualifying Round games between Maccabi Haifa and Apollon Limassol of Cyprus be very important. They host the first leg on 2 August at 10:00 P.M. local/9:00 P.M. Central European Time (hereafter CET)/3:00 P.M. USA Eastern and go to Cyprus on 9 August. The Playoff Round draw is on 2 August. Maccabi Haifa is guaranteed to reach the Group Stage of one of the three competitions. Tomorrow's start times are: Maccabi Netanya vs. Istanbul Basaksehir of Turkey at 7:45 P.M. Israel/6:45 P.M. CET/12:45 P.M. USA Eastern (the first leg was 1-1) Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Zira of Azerbaijan at 8:30 P.M. Israel/7:30 P.M. CET/1:30 P.M. USA Eastern (Maccabi Tel Aviv won the first leg 3-0) Dinamo Minsk of Belarus vs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva at 9:00 P.M. Israel/8:00 P.M. CET/2:00 P.M. USA Eastern (Hapoel Be'er Sheva won the first leg 2-1)
Great win for Maccabi. Exceptional performance. Bravo. Pedro Martins badly underestimated them, but also a poor performance from some of the players.
Maccabi Netanya 0-1 Istanbul Basaksehir of Turkey (1-2 aggregate) Istanbul Basaksehir scored in the 9th minute and held on. Maccabi Netanya had more possession, attacks, and shots (10 to 5), but had only 1 shot on goal to Istanbul Basaksehir's 4. Istanbul Basaksehir had a much higher coefficient, but it is still disappointing to lose at home after an away draw. Istanbul Basaksehir did the same thing as Maccabi Haifa yesterday with a home draw followed by an away win. Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-0 Zira of Azerbaijan (3-0 aggregate) After a 3-0 away win, Maccabi Tel Aviv had an easy time advancing. I'm disappointed that they did not get a win to get another coefficient point. Dinamo Minsk of Belarus 0-1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (1-3 aggregate) Hapoel Be'er Sheva won each leg by 1. They would have advanced with a draw, but got an 85th minute goal to get a coefficient point for a win. Israel has 1.375 so far this season. For the last four complete seasons and this season so far, Israel passed Cyprus for 21st. Israel has 20.125, The Champions League Third Qualifying Round games between Maccabi Haifa and Apollon Limassol of Cyprus are important. Israel has three of four clubs left. Cyprus has four of five clubs left.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-713396 is titled "Maccabi Haifa routs Olympiacos in Champions League 2nd leg." It points out that Olympiacos rarely loses at home. In 2021-2022, they had 3 losses in 36 Greek Super League games, and their only home loss was at fourth place Panathinaikos.
If Maccabi Haifa advances over Apollon Limassol of Cyprus in the Champions League Playoff Round they will host the first leg against Red Star Belgrade (Crvena Zvezda) (hereafter RSB) of Serbia (46.000). Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia (49.500), Copenhagen of Denmark (40.500), and Viktoria Plzen of Czech Republic (31.000) were the other possible opponents, all of whom are hard. Copenhagen starts in the Playoff Round, while RSB, Dinamo Zagreb, and Viktoria Plzen are in the Third Qualifying Round. RSB faces Pyunik Yerevan of Armenia, who has a 4.250 coefficient. Pyunik Yerevan already advanced twice while unseeded, but both clubs they beat have a much lower coefficient than RSB, so I don't have any hope of RSB losing. If Maccabi Haifa reaches and is eliminated in the Champions League Playoff Round, they go to the Europa League Group Stage. If Maccabi Haifa does not advance over Apollon Limassol, Maccabi Haifa will host the first leg against Olympiakos Piraeus of Greece (41.000) or Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia (13.000). I wonder if two clubs have ever played each other in two qualifying rounds in one season, but it could happen, and Olympiakos Piraeus will know not to take Maccabi Haifa lightly. If Maccabi Haifa advances over Olympiakos Piraeus or Slovan Bratislava, Mccabi Haifa will go to the Europa League Group Stage. If Maccabi Haifa is eliminated by Olympiakos Piraeus or Slovan Bratislava, Maccabi Haifa will go to the Europa Conference League Group Stage, where it will be easier to earn points. Maccabi Haifa is guaranteed to reach a Group Stage. If Maccabi Tel Aviv advances over Aris of Greece in the Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round, Maccabi Tel Aviv will host the first leg of the Europa Conference League Playoff Round against OGC Nice of France (12.016), who has the third best coefficient of the 17 unseeded clubs. France has the fifth best league, and OGC Nice finished fifth in Ligue 1. The fact that their coefficient is not a multiple of 0.250 shows that the minimum coefficient for a club from their country is higher than their own points, which is 9.000. UEFA used to give each club the points they earned plus 20 percent of their country's coefficient. Then they switched to giving each club the country part or their own points, whichever is higher. The top 73 clubs have coefficients that are multiples of 0.500 before you get to clubs that have the minimum coefficient for a club from England. If Hapoel Be'er Sheva advances over Lugano of Switzerland in the Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round, Hapoel Be'er Sheva will host the second leg against Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine (18.000) or Universitatea Craiova of Romania (7.500). Zorya Luhansk has tied for the eleventh best coefficient of the 17 seeded clubs. To summarize, Maccabi Haifa will have to beat a club with a coefficient in the 40s, get help from Pyunik Yerevan, or play in the Europa Conference League Group Stage, but it is okay for them to get a difficult draw because they are guaranteed to reach a Group Stage. Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Be'er Sheva do not have to beat a great club to reach the Europa Conference League Group Stage, which could have three Israeli clubs. I do not remember there being three Israeli clubs in the same competition's Group Stage.
https://www.flashscore.com/match/zFEL6B73/#/match-summary/match-summary is about Maccabi Haifa vs. Apollon Limassol of Cyprus, which starts soon. Apollon Limassol are in Champions League qualifying for the first time since 2006. The odds make these probabilities: Maccabi Haifa win: 66.9 percent Draw: 21.7 percent Apollon Limassol win: 11.4 percent
Maccabi Haifa got their second consecutive 4-0 win. Maccabi Haifa had 54 percent of the possession, and dominated other statistics. They had 87.5 percent of the shots (21 to 3), 100 percent of the shots on goal (11 to 0), 62.0 percent of the attacks (111 to 68), 67.2 percent of the dangerous attacks (78 to 38), and a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (78/111 = 70.3 percent to 38/68 = 55.9 percent). Apollon Limassol of Cyprus had the only four cards, which included an ejection of a guy who got yellows in the 51st and 60th. They started only three defenders, one was ejected, and one scored an own goal in the 38st minute, which was the only goal of the first half. Maccabi Haifa scored in the 54th, and while up a man scored in the 62nd and 79th. I do not know how Apollon Limassol committed 3 more fouls and had 5 more free kicks. Each club had 17 combined free kicks and corner kicks. Assuming Maccabi Haifa does not lose by at least 4 goals in Cyprus, Maccabi Haifa will go to the Group Stage of the Champions League or Europa League. Red Star Belgrade (Crvena Zvezda) of Serbia (who lead 2-0) should know that Maccabi Haifa is playing much better than their coefficient. https://www.flashscore.com/match/zFEL6B73/#/report is titled "Apologetic Apollon pay the Haifa." Tomorrow's start times are Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Aris of Greece at 8:00 P.M. Israel/7:00 P.M. Central European Time/1:00 P.M. USA Eastern, and Lugano of Switzerland vs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva at 9:00 P.M. Israel/8:00 P.M. Central European Time/2:00 P.M. USA Eastern.
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 Aris of Greece Djordje Jovanovic scored in the 29th, and Eran Zahavi scored in the 84th after entering in the 67th. Last season, Jovanovic scored 20 goals in 31 league games for Cukaricki in the Serbian Super Liga and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and he previously played a little in Spain's La Liga2 and the Belgian Jupiler League. Zahavi scored 35 goals in 24 league games for them in 2015-2016, left for six seasons, and is back. In each of the last two seasons he scored 11 goals in 25 games for PSV Eindhoven of Netherlands. Maccabi Tel Aviv had 51 percent of possession and a little more attacks and dangeorus attacks. Maccabi Tel Aviv had more shots 13 to 10 and more shots on goal 7 to 4. Maccabi Tel Aviv committed more fouls 18 to 8. I do not know why the clubs combined for 26 fouls and 49 free kicks. Free kicks can come from handballs, but I doubt there were 23 handballs. Aris had a whopping 34 free kicks, and 69.0 percent of the combined free kicks and corner kicks (40 to 18). Maccabi Tel Aviv got more yellow cards 3 to 1 including Zahavi right after scoring. There were no ejections or penalty kicks. Maccabi Tel Aviv's 24.500 coefficient is so much better than Aris's 5.640, so a win was expected. Winning by 2 at home does not guarantee advancing, but it means a club probably will. Lugano of Switzerland 0-2 Hapoel Be'er Sheva Tomer Yosefi scored in the 39th, and Astrit Selmani scored in the 85th. Lugano had 53 percent of possession, and more shots 8 to 5, but had only 1 shot on goal to Hapoel Be'er Sheva's 3. Lugano had more attacks, 60 percent of the dangerous attacks, and 56.7 percent of the combined free kicks and corner kicks (21 to 16). Each club got two yellow cards, and there were no red cards or penalty kicks. Hapoel Be'er Sheva had a 14.000 coefficient, and Lugano had a 9.000. With three wins this week, Israel is up to 2.125 for this season and 20.875 for this season and the last four complete seasons. Highlights in Hebrew: Maccabi Haifa 1-1 Olympakos Piraeus of Greece Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece 0-4 Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa 4-0 Apollon Limassol of Cyprus Zira of Azerbaijan 0-3 Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-0 Zira of Azerbaijan Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 Aris of Greece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG1kYZ_j3cM Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2-1 Dinamo Minsk of Belarus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MysliHqeIig Dinamo Minsk of Belarus 0-1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YA6RGmEfac Lugano of Switzerland 0-2 Hapoel Be'er Sheva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGWRZyareHY Istanbul Basaksehir of Turkey 1-1 Maccabi Netanya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFqoQrWDb7w Maccabi Netanya 0-1 Istanbul Basaksehir of Turkey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DloLFywvEVQ
Apollon Limassol of Cyprus vs. Maccabi Haifa is tomorrow at 8:00 P.M. Israel/7:00 P.M. Central European Time/1:00 P.M. USA Eastern. I read a preview that predicts Apollon Limassol 1-2 Maccabi Haifa, and Maccabi Haifa is favored. The mean of nine odds makes these probabilities: Apollon Limassol win: 27.0 percent Draw: 28.1 percent Maccabi Haifa win: 45.0 percent It adds up to 100.1 percent because of rounding. On Thursday, Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs. Lugano of Switzerland is at 8:00 P.M. Israel/7:00 P.M. Central European Time/1:00 P.M. USA Eastern. Because Israel is attacked, the game could get moved to Haifa, or out of Israel to Cyprus. Aris of Greece vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv is at 9:00 P.M. Israel/8:00 P.M. Central European Time/2:00 P.M. USA Eastern. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-714228 is titled "Israeli sides sitting pretty ahead of second legs."
Apollon Limassol of Cyprus 2-0 Maccabi Haifa (2-4 aggregate) Maccabi Haifa played much worse than last weekend, and they did not get any coefficient points today, but they advanced, and they will play in the Champions League or Europa League Group Stage. Apollon Limassol scored in the 19th and 27th, so they had plenty of time to take the aggregate lead or force extra time, but they had 1 shot on goal after that. Both goals hit a goalpost and went in. Maccabi Haifa had better statistics with 53 percent of possesion, 64.3 percent of shots (9 to 5), 62.5 percent of shots on goal (5 to 3), 55.2 percent of the attacks (107 to 87), 61.7 percent of the dangeorus attacks (95 to 59), and a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (95/107 = 88.8 percent to 59/87 = 67.8 percent). I am guessing that I normally see under half of attacks being dangerous so I hope those high percentages are correct. Apollon Limassol had 1 more yellow card (5 to 4), and 1 more foul (9 to 8), but had more free kicks (23 to 15, 60.5 percent) and combined free kicks and corner kicks (28 to 22, exactly 56 percent). There were no red cards, penalty kicks, or own goals. Commentary says Apollon Limassol missed a sitter in the 84th, which would have given them hope of scoring one more to make each regulation be 4-0. Apollon Limassol got 1/5 = 0.200 coefficient points today to move to 0.200 behind Israel for 21st in the sum of the last four complete seasons and this season. Israel now has 7 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses in the Champions League and Europa Conference League combined. Maccabi Haifa will probably play in the Europa League Group Stage because the Champions League Playoff Round against Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) will be very hard. They won 2-0 at Pyunik Yerevan of Armenia to win the aggregate 7-0. https://www.flashscore.com/match/E5DP5VM9/#/report is titled "Maccabi hang on despite 2nd leg stumble." The recap was posted immediately after the game. Since Maccabi Haifa did not score, I am not going to watch or link to highlights.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-714405 is titled "Mac Haifa drops 2nd leg in Cyprus, but still advances." https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-714413 is titled "Enjoying Zahavi’s fairytale Maccabi return."
Europa Conference League Third Qualifying Round: Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3-1 Lugano of Switzerland (5-1 aggregate) There were no goals in the first half, and Lugano failed on a penalty kick in the 42nd. Miguel Vitor scored for Hapoel Be'er Sheva (hereafter HBS) in the 51st, Albian Hajdari scored an own goal in the 61s to make it 2-0, Lugano scored a penalty kick in the 73rd, and Rotem Hatuel scored in the 85th. Statistics were mixed. Possession was 50 percent each, HBS had 51.0 percent of the attacks (105 to 101), Lugano had 54.2 percent of the dangerous attacks (58 to 49), and Lugano had a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (58/101 = 57.4 percent to 49-105 = 46.7 percent). Lugano had 60 percent of the shots (12 to 8), and 64.3 percent of the shots on goal (9 to 5). Lugano committed 69.0 percent of the fouls (20 to 9), which gave HBS 67.4 percent of the free kicks (31 to 15). Lugano had 63.6 percent of the corner kicks (7 to 4), and HBS had 61.4 percent of the combined free kicks and corner kicks (35 to 22). Lugano had 57.1 percent of the yellow cards (4 to 3), and there were not any red cards. Allowing 9 shots on goal to a worse club at home is bad. Aris of Greece 2-1 Maccabi Tel Aviv (2-3 aggregate) In the 58th minute, I saw that Maccabi Tel Aviv (hereafter MTA) got two red cards, and Aris got a penalty kick. At that point I did not have much hope because I assumed that Aris would score the penalty kick, outscore MTA by at least 1 in the rest of regulation, and outscore MTA in extra time if necessary. It turned out that Flash Score was mistaken, and MTA got one red card. Aris scored the penalty kick in the 60th. Eran Zahavi scored in the 74th to take a 3-1 aggregate lead. Aris responded in the 81st, but did not score again to equalize the aggregate. Aris dominated statistics. They had 56 percent of possession, 73.7 percent of shots (14 to 5), and 81.8 percent of shots on goal (9 to 2). Flash Score says Aris had 23 attacks to MTA's 17, and 118 dangerous attacks to MTA's 90, but I am not calculating percentages because there cannot be more dangerous attacks than attacks, so Flash Score is wrong. There were a ton of cards, with 1 red and 7 yellows for MTA, and 4 yellows for Aris. MTA committed 68.6 percent of the fouls (24 to 35), and Aris had 63.9 percent of the free kicks (23 to 13), and I do not know how Aris had 1 fewer free kick than MTA's fouls. MTA had 57.1 percent of the corner kicks (4 to 3), and Aris had 60.5 percent of the combined free kicks and corner kicks (26 to 17). I wonder when the last time (if ever) two Israeli clubs allowed at least 9 shots on goal in second legs on the same day and both of them advanced. In the Champions League Playoff Round, Maccabi Haifa hosts the first leg against Red Star Belgrade (Crvena Zvezda) on Wednesday 17 August at 10:00 P.M. Israel/9:00 P.M. Central European Time/3:00 P.M. USA Eastern. In the Europa Conference League Playoff Round, MTA knew they would host the first leg against Nice of France, who starts then. HBS hosts the second leg against Universitatea Craiova of Romania, who won 3-0 hosting seeded club Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine to win the aggregate 3-1. Both first legs are on Thursday 18 August at 8:00 Israel/7:00 P.M. Central European Time/1:00 P.M. USA Eastern. Israel has a 2.375 coefficient for this season, which is tied for 11th. Israel is 21st for the sum of the last four complete seasons and this season. Israel is one of 20 countries with at least three clubs left. There are 55 countries.
Here are comments after I watched highlights. Aris shot a free kick off the crossbar. Aris and MTA helped each other score. MTA took a long goal kick. Aris took a short kick that went to an MTA player who passed to Eran Zahavi who scored. For Aris's second goal, MTA headed the ball down, and it went to the attacker who was there. Lugano shot their first penalty kick down the middle, and it was saved by kicking. Lugano got the rebound and shot the ball on top of the goal.
https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsl...0-1000--round-up-copenhagen-bodo-glimt-ahead/ says: "Maccabi Haifa vs Crvena zvezda Both sides are looking to make their third appearance in the group stage. Maccabi Haifa are aiming to progress from the qualifying rounds for the first time since the 2009/10 season. The Israeli club famously beat Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United 3-0 in their maiden group campaign in 2002/03 but must now attempt to navigate a route past Crvena zvezda, who finished bottom of their section three seasons ago but secured a memorable 2-0 victory over eventual winners Liverpool in 2018/19. Did you know? Milan Pavkov, whose double sparked that victory over Liverpool, has evidently not lost his goalscoring touch. The 28-year-old Crvena zvezda forward registered six goals in his first six games this term, including one in the third qualifying round second leg against Pyunik." https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsl...a-1000--maccabi-haifa-vs-crvena-zvezda-facts/ is titled "Maccabi Haifa vs Crvena zvezda facts." It says "Crvena zvezda striker Aleksandar Pešić scored ten league goals in 23 appearances for Maccabi Tel-Aviv in 2020/21." I am in the USA and pay for Paramount Plus which has Champions League games at https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/uefa-champions-league/ and it has all Playoff Round games after having some games but not Maccabi Haifa in the previous round.
https://www.flashscore.com/match/pGhZx96r/#/match-summary says Crvena Zvezda has won all 7 games this season by a combined score of 28-1, and they led at halftime in their last 15 competitive games. Maccabi Haifa lost the Israeli Super Cup and lost in Cyprus last week. Maccabi Haifa has 10 wins, 5 draws, and 1 loss in their last 16 UEFA home games. Crvena Zvezda has been in two of the last four Champions League Group Stages, which helped Serbia move up to 11th in the country coefficients for the last four complete seasons and this season so far. I took the mean of nine odds, which make these probabilities: Maccabi Haifa win: 41.8 percent Draw: 29.0 percent Crvena Zvezda win: 29.3 percent It adds up to 100.1 percent because of rounding. I would be happy with a home draw and away loss because the coefficient gap is so big. If Maccabi Haifa loses and goes to the Europa League Group Stage, they have a one half chance at facing Manchester United, Arsenal, AS Roma, or Lazio. Maccabi Haifa will be in Pot 4 for the draw in either group stage.
Champions League Playoff Round first leg: Maccabi Haifa 3-2 Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade, herefater RSB) of Serbia Frantzdy Pierrot scored in the 18th, RSB's Aleksandar Pesic scored in the 27th, RSB's Guelor Kanga scored in the 40th, Pierrot scored in the 51st, and Tjarron Chery scored in the 61st. Pesic accidentally scored by deflecting a shot from a teammate that would have missed. I watched the end, and RSB dominated. Their two chances were a shot saved, kicked out for a corner, and that shot wide; and a defender playing the ball back to the goalkeeper not knowing the goalkeeper came out, but able to kick the ball out. Maccabi Haifa had a small advantage in many statistics. They had 53 percent of possession, 59.3 percent of shots (16 to 11), 55.6 percent of shots on goal (5 to 4), 56.4 percent of combined free kicks and corner kicks (22 to 17), 51.2 percent of total passes (410 to 391), 52.3 percent of completed passes (332 to 303), a higher pass completion percentage (332/410 = 81.0 percent to 303/391 = 77.5 percent), 50.6 percent of attacks (90 to 88), 55.9 percent of dangerous attacks (66 to 52), and a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (66/90 = 73.3 percent to 52/88 = 59.1 percent). For the eight statistics in that sentence that were not a comparison of percentages, Maccabi Haifa had 50.6 percent to 59.3 percent. RSB had 51.9 percent of fouls (14 to 13). Each club got one yellow card, and Maccabi Haifa's was for time-wasting in the 86th. There were no red cards or penalty kicks. It was the first Champions League Playoff Round win by an Israeli club since 2017-2018 when Hapoel Be'er Sheva won 2-1 hosting Maribor of Slovenia and lost 1-0 to be eliminated on away goals. In the six seasons after Maccabi Tel Aviv advanced over Basel of Switzerland to reach the 2015-2016 Group Stage, Israeli champions have been eliminated in the Playoff Round three of six times including on away goals to Maribor and 5-4 aggregate to Celtic of Scotland. https://www.flashscore.com/match/pGhZx96r/#/report is titled "Haifa Chery pick a first-leg lead." The win was worth 0.250 for Israel to move them up to 2.625, which is in a three-way tie for seventh. For the last four complete seasons and this season combined, Israel is 21st of 55 with a 21.375. It will be hard for Israel to move up or down more than one spot. Reaching the Champions League Group Stage gives 4 bonus points, which would be 1.000 for Israel. The country coefficient is the points earned by clubs divided by the amount of clubs competing from that country. In qualifying rounds, which includes the Playoff Round, wins are 1, and draws are 0.5. In Group Stages and later, wins are 2, and draws are 1. In both cases wins are worth twice as much as draws, which is different from tables (standings).
Europa Conference League Playoff Round first legs: Maccabi Tel Aviv (24.500) 1-0 Nice of France (12.016) Nice had better statistics with 52 percent of possession, twice as many shots (10 to 5), twice as many shots on goal (6 to 3), and 56.8 percent of the attacks (208 to 158). Each club had 60 percent of their shots be on goal. Maccabi Tel Aviv had 51.5 percent of the dangerous attacks (102 to 96), a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (102/158 = 64.6 percent to 96/208 = 46.2 percent), and 51.3 percent of the combined free kicks and corner kicks (20 to 19). Nice had more yellow cards, 3 to 1. There were no red cards or penalty kicks. The only shot of the second half for either club was Maccabi Tel Aviv's goal by Stipe Perica in the 74th. He scored 15 goals for them in 34 league games last season, and had 10 goals in 75 Serie A games. Subbing him on for Eran Zahavi in the 69th was a good move. Universitatea Craiova (hereafter UC) of Romania (7.500) 1-1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (hereafter HBS) (14.000) UC was seeded because they beat Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine (18.000) in the Third Qualifying Round. UC dominated statistics. In the first half they had all 10 shots, including 2 on goal, and HBS had the only two yellow cards. UC got a straight red in the 46th, which was at the same time as Maccabi Tel Aviv's goal. Rotem Hatuel was subbed on in the 55th and scored in the 70th, but the lead did not last. HBS's fifth and final yellow card was a second yellow in the 73rd that caused a penalty kick goal, so the score and amount of players were equalized. The only event after that was UC's only yellow card in the 89th, and UC made only two substitutions. UC had 52 percent of possession, 76.7 percent of shots (23 to 7), a higher percent of shots that were on goal (8/23 = 34.8 percent to 2/7= 28.6 percent), exactly 80 percent of shots on goal (8 to 2), 60.5 percent of combined free kicks and corner kicks (23 to 15), 54.4 percent of attacks (124 to 104), 57.4 percent of dangerous attacks (62 to 46), and a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (62/124 = exactly 50 percent to 46/104 = 44.2 percent). HBS had 83.3 percent of the yellow cards (5 to 1), and 55.2 percent of the fouls (16 to 13). UC had 6 corner kicks, and HBS did not have any. HBS allowed 17 shots on goal in the last two UEFA games. All three Israeli clubs could advance or not advance. It is debatable whether winning by 1 at home or drawing away is better. Because of today's statistics, I am not confident that HBS will win at home. Israel got 1.5/4 = 0.375 coefficient points today to make 3.000 for this season, which is tied for fifth. If Maccabi Haifa gets 4 bonus points (4/4 = 1.000 for Israel) for reaching the Champions League Group Stage, Israel could have the best coefficient before the group stages, but the top leagues have only one club in qualifying and get points quickly in group stages. Israeli clubs have 10 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses. The two clubs who Maccabi Haifa eliminated from the Champions League played in the Europa League Playoff Round, and Apollon Limassol of Cyprus (who lost in the Champions League Third Qualifying Round) got a 1-1 draw hosting Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece (who lost in the Champions League Second Qualifying Round and won in the Europa League Third Qualifying Round).
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-714861 is titled "Maccabi Haifa to have hands full with Red Star." It is a preview from before the first leg. It says there will be 53,000 fans in Belgrade, and that Crvena Zvezda will probably start in the 2023-2024 Group Stage, so advancing would make this season and next season be consecutive Group Stage appearances. Serbia is is 11th in the country coefficients for the last five complete seasons (2017-2018 through 2021-2022), and for the last four complete seasons and this season so far. That is a giant improvement from 28th for 2012-2013 through 2016-2017. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-715053 is titled "Maccabi Haifa notch 3-2 1st-leg home win over Red Star." I did not find a Jerusalem Post article about the Europa Conference League first legs.
I found odds that make these probabilities: Crvena Zvezda win: 55.2 percent Draw: 23.7 percent Maccabi Haifa win: 21.1 percent I do not know if odds are made differently when games can go extra time. I think there are odds for draws of the second legs when the first leg is a draw, meaning that a second leg draw would cause extra time. I am guessing that the odds are for the outcome after regulation. If the odds are for the final outcome, it includes the possibility of one club winning after regulation and the other club winning after extra time. For example, Maccabi Haifa could trail by 1 after regulation and outscore Crvena Zvezda by 2 in extra time time to win the second leg by 1. I am not saying that will happen. I am just thinking about the rules for betting. If Crvena Zvezda's 55.2 percent chance to win includes them leading by 1 after regulation and Maccabi Haifa winning in extra time or penalty kicks, then the odds consider Maccabi Haifa more likely to advance. For example, if given a Crvena Zvezda win you give them a 1/3rd chance at winning by 1 after regulation and a 2/3rds chance at winning by 2 or more, and a 2/3rds chance of winning in extra time or penalty kicks if extra time is necessary, then in (1/3)(1/3) = 1/9th of Crvena Zvezda's wins, Maccabi Haifa advances. To the nearest tenth of a percent, 1/9th of 55.2 is 6.1 percent. Adding that to the probability of Maccabi Haifa winning or drawing makes 50.9 percent. Crvena Zvezda dominated possession at the end of the first leg, and if the second leg is tied with Maccabi Haifa leading the aggregate by 1 with a few minutes left, I am not confident Maccabi Haifa could avoid giving up a goal to tie the aggregate. The game will be on Tuesday at 10:00 P.M. Israel/9:00 P.M. Central European Time/3:00 P.M. USA Eastern. Paramount Plus will stream it at https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/uefa-champions-league/ I found odds that make these probabilities: Hapoel Be'er Sheva win: 52.2 percent Draw: 26.9 percent Universitatea Craiova win: 20.9 percent Nice win: 67.2 percent Draw: 21.7 percent Maccabi Tel Aviv win: 11.1 percent