Here is the Europa League Group F schedule with times in Israel Time followed by USA Eastern Time (Central European Time is one hour earlier than Israel Time), and all games are on Thursdays: 21 September at 7:45 P.M./12:45 P.M.: Rennes of France vs. Maccabi Haifa Panathinaikos of Greece vs. Villarreal of Spain 5 October at 10:00 P.M./3:00 P.M.: Villarreal vs. Rennes Maccabi Haifa vs. Panathinaikos 26 October at 10:00 P.M./3:00 P.M.: Villarreal vs. Maccabi Haifa Panathinaikos vs. Rennes 9 November at 7:45 P.M./12:45 P.M.: Rennes vs. Panathinaikos Maccabi Haifa vs. Villarreal 30 November at different times: 7:45 P.M./12:45 P.M.: Maccabi Haifa vs. Rennes 10:00 P.M./3:00 P.M.: Villarreal vs. Panathinaikos 14 December at 7:45 P.M./12:45 P.M.: Rennes vs. Villarreal Panathinaikos vs. Maccabi Haifa Here is the Europa Conference League Group B schedule with times in Israel Time followed by USA Eastern Time (Central European Time is one hour earlier than Israel Time), and all games are on Thursdays: 21 September at 10:00 P.M./3:00 P.M.: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Breidablik of Iceland Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine vs. Gent of Belgium 5 October at 7:45 P.M./12:45 P.M.: Breidablik vs. Zorya Luhansk Gent vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv 26 October at 7:45 P.M./12:45 P.M.: Gent vs. Breidablik Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Zorya Luhansk 9 November at 10:00 P.M./3:00 P.M. Breidablik vs. Gent Zorya Luhansk vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv 30 November at different times: 7:45 P.M./12:45 P.M.: Gent vs. Zorya Luhansk 10:00 P.M./3:00 P.M.: Breidablik vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv 14 December at 10:00 P.M./3:00 P.M.: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Gent Zorya Luhansk vs. Breidablik Clubs in the Europa League or Europa Conference League from the same country such as Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv were paired so they never play at the same time.
Maccabi Haifa starts soon in the Europa League at Rennes of France. Maccabi Tel Aviv is a giant favorite in their first Europa Conference League game hosting Breidablik of Iceland. Since they were champion of one of the bottom four leagues, Breidablik started in the Champions League Preliminary Round, and they have already played ten qualifiers, which include dropping from the Champions League to the Europa League and from the Europa League to the Europa Conference League. The odds make these probabilities: Maccabi Tel Aviv win: 84.8 percent Draw: 10.6 percent Breidablik win: 4.6 percent Edit: Rennes scored in the 2nd minute.
Rennes 3-0 Maccabi Haifa I am not posting statistics. Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-2 Breidablik of Iceland Yvann Macon scored in the 11th, Eran Zahavi scored in the 25th, and Dan Biton scored in the 31st to go up 3-0. Breidablik scored in the 44th to be down 2 a halftime, and the same guy scored in the 55th to go down 1. The clubs combined for almost three times as many goals (5) as expected goals (1.68). Maccabi Tel Aviv had 56.5 percent of expected goals (0.95 to 0.73), 65.4 percent of shots (17 to 9), 66.7 percent of shots on goal (8 to 4), a higher percent of their shots that were on goal (8/17 = 47.1 percent to 4/9 = 44.4 percent), 46.9 percent of the combined corner kicks and free kicks (15 to 17), 58.8 percent of total passes (436 to 306), 59.8 percent of completed passes (356 to 239), a higher pass completion percentage (356/436 = 81.7 percent to 239/306 = 78.1 percent), 30.8 percent of tackles (4 to 9), 60.5 percent of attacks (104 to 68), exactly 70 percent of dangerous attacks (49 to 21), and a higher percent of their attacks that were dangerous (49/104 = 47.1 percent to 21/68 = 30.9 percent). Breidablik got two yellow cards, and Maccabi Tel Aviv did not get any. There were no red cards or penalty kicks. Maccabi Tel Aviv had a 24.000 coefficient and Breidablik had a 6.000 coefficient, so winning by 1 at home is unimpressive. Maccabi Tel Aviv was in Pot 2, but they probably need to play better than that in order to finish in the top two. Zorha Luhansk of Ukraine (Pot 3 with 16.000) hosted Gent of Belgium (Pot 1 with 37.500), and it was 1-1, so Maccabi Tel Aviv is in first, but they played their easiest game first. Flash Score gave man of the match to Klӕmint Olsen, who scored both of Breidablik's goals. It was the first time an Icelandic club reached a group stage, so Olsen was the first player to score for an Icelandic club in a group stage. He plays for the Faroe Islands. Flash Score's report is titled "No Yellow Peril as Maccabi grab win over Breiðablik." I may post highlights later. For the last four complete seasons and this season so far, Israel has a 26.125 country coefficient. Israel was passed by Czech Republic to fall to 17th. Greece is 1.750 behind Israel, but Greece has four clubs left, with three in the Europa League and one in the Europa Conference League, so they could have three or four clubs in knockout rounds and pass Israel.For this season so far, Israel is 11th with 3.750. On the next matchday, Israel could pass Iceland, but Israel will get passed by Portugal, Spain, maybe France, and maybe England. England and Spain had only two qualifying games, France had four, and Portugal had eight. Since the top leagues have clubs start in Group Stages, they are not at the top of the season in progress until during the group stages.
Neither Israeli club scored today. In the Europa League, Maccabi Haifa played a 0-0 hosting Panathinaikos of Greece. Maccabi Haifa had 4 shots on goal, and Panathinaikos had 0. Panathinaikos has the worst coefficient in the group with a 5.045, but they are in first with 4 points. Villarreal of Spain has 3, Rennes of France has 3 that came from beating Maccabi Haifa, and Maccabi Haifa has 1. Maccabi Haifa's next two games are against Villarreal, with the away game first. Maccabi Tel Aviv lost 2-0 at Gent of Belgium in what should be their hardest Europa Conference League game. Their next two games are against Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine, with the home game first, and those will likely determine who finishes second behind Gent. With a win hosting Breidablik of Iceland and today's loss, Maccabi Tel Aviv has not stood out good or bad. Ukraine passed Israel for 17th in the country coefficient, so that makes the games against Zorya Luhansk more important.
Maccabi Haifa 1-2 Villarreal of Spain (in Larnaca, Cyprus) Abdoulaye Seck scored in the 32nd, but Villarreal dominated and scored in the 83rd and 87th. Villarreal failed on a penalty kick in the 38th. Villarreal had 66.0 percent of expected goals (2.87 to 1.45), 57 percent of possession, 64.1 percent of shots (25 to 14), 75 percent of shots on goal (9 to 3), a higher percent of their shots that were on goal (9/25 = 36 percent to 3/14 = 21.4 percent), 53.8 percent of the combined corner kicks and free kicks (21 to 18), 54.2 percent of the fouls (13 to 11, so Maccabi Haifa was better in this statistic), 63.7 percent of the total passes (587 to 335), 65.25 percent of the completed passes (522 to 278), a higher pass completion percentage (522/587 = 88.9 percent to 278/335 = 83.0 percent), 71.8 percent of the attacks (153 to 60), 76.3 percent of the dangerous attacks (100 to 31), a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (100/153 = 65.4 percent whch is very high to 31/60 = 51.7 percent), and 64.3 percent of the crosses completedf (9 to 5). Maccabi Haifa had 64.7 percent of the tackles (11 to 6). Each club got three yellow cards, and there were no red cards. Maccabi Haifa got one fewer free kick than Villarreal's fouls, and Villarreal got four more free kicks than Maccabi Haifa's fouls. Free kicks can come from handballs, but I do not know how a foul cannot cause a penalty kick (which Maccabi Haifa did not have any of) or free kick. I do not have any hope of Maccabi Haifa not losing at Villarreal or not losing a neutral site game against Rennes of France, who won 3-0 hosting Maccabi Haifa. If Maccabi Haifa loses those two, their only hope of finishing third to go to the Europa Conference League is winning at Panathinaikos of Greece, who got a scorless draw at Maccabi Haifa, and having Panathinaikos lose at Villarreal. Maccabi Haifa was in Pot 3, so finishing last and being done after the Group Stage would be disappointing. Starting soon in the Europa Conference League, Maccabi Tel Aviv plays Zorya Luhansk in Lublin, Poland, because Zorya Luhansk is not allowed to host games. Israeli clubs had their games two weeks ago postponed, so this was the third game for these clubs while other clubs are playing their fourth game today. In additional, the Israeli league is suspended, which will allow Maccabi Tel Aviv to have a makeup game against Zorya Luhansk on Saturday 25 November rather than on a weekday. That will be a game between two clubs from countries that are not allowed to host games.
Zorya Luhansk 1-3 Maccabi Tel Aviv Derrick Luckassen scored in the 7th, and Dor Peretz scored in the 26th and 43rd. Flash Score says it was Luckassen's first goal in almost two years. Flash Score gave Peretz man of the match, and the announcer said their goalkeeper did great also. Zorya Luhansk had a goal negated by offside in the 53rd, hit the post, scored in the 74th to go down 3-1, and had consecutive shots on goal in stoppage time. The announcer said that you could not tell that Maccabi Tel Aviv had not played in a month. Zorya Luhansk is struggling in the Ukrainian Premier League. They have 10 points from 11 games, albeit their -3 goal differential is not that bad. They are 13th of 16, which is in a relegation playoff place. Maccabi Tel Aviv had 54.7 percent of expected goals (1.79 to 1.48), 57 percent of possession, 34.3 percent of shots (12 to 23), 35 percent of shots on goal (7 to 13), a higher percent of shots that were on goal (7/12 = 58.3 percent to 13/23 = 56.5 percent), 43.75 percent of combined corner kicks and free kicks (14 to 18), 60 percent of fouls (9 to 6), 57.5 percent of total passes (523 to 387), 58.4 percent of completed passes (453 to 323), a higher pass completion percentage (453/523 = 86.6 percent to 323/387 = 83.5 percent), 52.4 percent of the tackles (11 to 10), 47.4 percent of the attacks (99 to 110), 49.2 percent of the dangerous attacks (63 to 65), a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (63/99 = 63.6 percent to 65/110 = 59.1 percent), and 42.9 percent of crosses completed (3 to 4). It must be rare for a club to have only 43 percent of possession but get 12 shots on goal from it, and that many saves shows why the announcer praised goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera, who impressed in his first game for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He played in Panama, Turkiye, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Maccabi Tel Aviv got more yellow cards 2 to 1, and there were no red cards or penalty kicks. In the other game, Breidablik of Iceland had the same player score in the 16th and 18th to shockingly take a 2-1 lead hosting Gent of Belgium, but Gent won 3-2, and leads with 10 points. If Maccabi Tel Aviv wins their next game, which is neutral site against Zorya Luhansk, and wins at Breidablik, who lost all four games, Maccabi Tel Aviv will advance. If Maccabi Tel Aviv wins all three games, including neutral site against Gent, Maccabi Tel Aviv will finish first. I do not know of any times in which an Israeli club was first in a group. For the last four complete seasons and this season so far, Israel is 18th in the country coefficients with 26.875, and Israel trails Ukraine by 0.125. For this season so far, Israel is 15th with 4.500.
Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-2 Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine Yesterday Maccabi Tel Aviv played in Serbia with no fans because they are not allowed to host. Eran Zahavi scored in th 45+2nd, Dor Peretz scored in the 46th, and Peretz scored in the 60th. Zorya Luhansk tried to come back with goals in the 71st and 88th. Maccabi Tel Aviv has 66.1 percent of expected goals (1.62 to 0.83), 59 percent of possession, 38.1 percent of shots (8 to 13), 40 percent of shots on goal (4 to 6), a higher percent of shots that were on goal (4/8 = 50 percent to 6/13 = 46.2 percent), 52.5 percent of combined corner kicks and free kicks (21 to 19), 57.5 percent of total passes (526 to 389), 58.4 percent of completed passes (448 to 319), a higher pass completion percentage (448/526 = 85.2 percent to 319/389 = 82.0 percent), 47.8 percent of tackles (11 to 12), 59.7 percent of attacks (117 to 79), 59.8 percent of dangerous attacks (52 to 35), a higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (52/117 = 44.4 percent to 35/79 = 44.3 percent), 50 percent of crosses completed (2 to 2), and 40 percent of yellow cards (2 to 3). Maccabi Tel Aviv scored with 3 of their 4 shots on goal. There were no penalty kicks or red cards. Flash Score gave Man of the Match to Maccabi Tel Aviv's Gavriel Kanichowsky, who had a goal in the 37th minute taken away for offside, and assisted on the first and third goals. Flash Score says that if you count it as a home game, it was Maccabi Tel Aviv's first win in four games hosting Ukrainian clubs. Maccabi Tel Aviv was favored. The odds made probabilities of 62.6 percent for a Maccabi Tel Aviv win, 21.7 percent for a draw, and 15.7 percent for a Zorya Luhansk win. Through four of six games, Maccabi Tel Aviv will advance unless they lose both games and Zorya Luhansk wins both games including at first place Gent of Belgium. Maccabi Tel Aviv leads Zorya Luhansk by 5 points, and Maccabi Tel Aviv has the head-to-head tiebreaker, so Zorya Luhansk needs more points in order to pass Maccabi Tel Aviv. Because of that, I'm rooting for Zorya Luhansk at Gent to give Maccabi Tel Aviv a chance at winning the group. Group winners go to the Round of 16, and second place teams go to a round before that where they play third place clubs from the Europa League. The standings are: 1. Gent of Belgium: 10 points, 11 goals scored, 3 goals allowed, +8, hosts Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine and ends plays Maccabi Tel Aviv in Serbia 2. Maccabi Tel Aviv: 9 points, 9 goals scored, 7 goals allowed, +2, goes to Breidablik of Iceland and ends playing Gent of Belgium in Serbia 3. Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine: 4 points, 5 goals scored, 7 goals allowed, -2, goes to Gent of Belgium and ends playing Breidablik of Iceland in Poland 4. Breidablik of Iceland: 0 points, 4 goals scored, 12 goals allowed, -8, hosts Maccabi Tel Aviv and ends against Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine in Poland On Thursday, Gent hosts Zorya Luhansk before Maccabi Tel Aviv plays at Breidablik. If Zorya Luhansk does not win, Maccabi Tel Aviv will advance before they play. If Gent draws or loses hosting Zorya Luhansk, and Maccabi Tel Aviv wins at Breidablik, Maccabi Tel Aviv will move up to first, and need a draw against Gent in Serbia to finish first. If Gent and Maccabi Tel Aviv both win, Maccabi Tel Aviv will need to beat Gent to finish first. On Matchday 6 on 14 December, both games are at the same time. Also on Thursday in the Europa League, last place Maccabi Haifa plays first place Rennes of France in Hungary. Maccabi Haifa did not make up their postponed game yet, and they play three consecutive midweeks. Maccabi Haifa will probably finish last and be eliminated unless they win their last game at Panathinaikos of Greece. Maccabi Haifa was in Pot 3, and third place teams go to the Europa Conference League, so finishing last and not having games next year would be disappointing. With the win, Israel is up to 5.000 for this season, and passed Ukraine for 17th for the last four complete seasons and this season so far. It is Israel's fourth consecutive season with at least 5.000.
Breidablik of Iceland 1-2 Maccabi Tel Aviv This was one of two Europa Conference League games today with an unusually early start time. Dan Biton scored in the 35th, and then got a yellow for unsportsmanlike conduct. Gisli Eyjolfsson tied it in the 61st. Eran Zahavi scored the winner in the 82nd. Eyjolfsson was ejected for a second yellow in the 90+5th. The clubs combined to make only five substitutions, with three by Maccabi Haifa. The attendance was 629 in a stadium that holds 3,009. Flash Score says the sun may have stopped Breidablik from saving Maccabi Tel Aviv's first goal. Flash Score gave Man of the Match to Maccabi Tel Aviv's Dor Peretz. Maccabi Tel Aviv had 19.7 percent of the expected goals (0.41 to 1.67), 57 percent of possession, 52.4 percent of shots (11 to 10), 66.7 percent of shots on goal (4 to 2), a higher percent of shots that were on goal (4/11 = 36.4 percent to 2/10 = 20 percent), 62.8 percent of combined corner kicks and free kicks (27 to 16), 28 percent of fouls (7 to 18), 58.3 percent of total passes (495 to 354), 58.9 percent of completed passes (426 to 297), a higher pass completion percentage (426/495 = 86.1 percent to 297/354 = 83.9 percent), 34.4 percent of tackles (11 to 21), 49.7 percent of attacks (89 to 90), 46.1 percent of dangerous attacks (41 to 48), a lower percent of attacks that were dangerous (41/89 = 46.1 percent to 48/90 = 53.3 percent), 55.6 percent of crosses completed (5 to 4), and 50 percent of yellow cards (3 to 3). There were no penalty kicks. Maccabi Tel Aviv advanced, and Breidablik is still without a point. If Gent defeat Zorya Luhansk today, Maccabi Tel Aviv needs to beat Gent to win the group. If Gent do not win today, Maccabi Tel Aviv wins the group with a win or draw. Maccabi Haifa just started their Europa League game in Hungary playing Rennes of France.
Maccabi Haifa 0-3 Rennes Maccabi Haifa has 1 point from 4 games. To advance, they need a win at Villarreal of Spain in a makeup game and a win or draw at Panathinaikos of Greece, or a win at Panathinaikos.
Villarreal of Spain 0-0 Maccabi Haifa In a makeup game, Villarreal dominated statistics (which I am not typing), but nobody scored. For Maccabi Haifa, the win is worth 1 coefficient point, but in terms of advancing the game was a rare case of a club having a meaningless game before a meaningful game. I previously typed that Maccabi Haifa could pass Panathinaikos of Greece with a win at Villarreal and draw at Panathinaikos, but I was wrong. In that case, Maccabi Haifa and Panathiniakos would have 5 points, two head-to-head draws, and Panathinaikos would have advanced to the Europa Conference League on goal differential. Maccabi Haifa goes to the Europa Conference League if they win at Panathinaikos next week, and is done with European competition if they do not win. For Villarreal, a win would have helped, and a draw was as bad as a loss. Villarreal ends at first place Rennes of France. Rennes wins the group with a win or draw, and Villarreal wins the group with a win. Both clubs advance, with the group winner skipping the next round in which second place clubs play third place clubs from Champions League groups. In other news, the Israeli Premier League (Ligat Ha'al) resumed after pausing because of the war.
Maccabi Haifa starts soon at Panathinaikos of Greece. Maccabi Haifa must win to finish third and drop down to the Europa Conference League. If Maccabi Haifa does not win, they are done with European games for the season. The Greek Super League had last weekend's games postponed due to crime. Panathinaikos played rival Olympiakos in volleyball, and rioters attacked police, who detained over 400 people. The odds make these probabilities: Panathinaikos win: 58.8 percent Draw: 25.4 percent Maccabi Haifa win: 15.9 percent It adds up to 100.1 percent because of rounding. Maccabi Tel Aviv ends the Europa Conference League Group Stage playing Gent of Belgium in Serbia. Maccabi Tel Aviv needs a win to win the group and go to the Round of 16. If Maccabi Tel Aviv does not win, they finish second, and play a third place club from the Europa League. The odds have Gent a little more likely to win.
Macacbi Haifa leads 1-0 at halftime, which is as many goals as their scored in the previous five games combined. Din David scored in the 10th. Panathinaikos had more attacks and dangerous attacks, but only one shot on goal. In this season and the previous two seasons that third place clubs in the Europa League dropped down to the Europa Conference League from, no club in the top three scored fewer than 3 goals or could do so this season other than if Maccabi Haifa wins 1-0. The last time a Champions League club finished third to drop down to the Europa League with fewer than 3 goals was in 2020-2021 when Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece won a tiebreaker over Marseille of France. Both of them won their home game against the other one, lost their other 5 games, and scored 2 goals. This is only one of eight Europa League games at the same time that had exactly 1 goal in the first half, but four of the eight Europa Conference League games had exactly 1 goal in the first half. The Europa Conference League draw, which will have Maccabi Tel Aviv and maybe Maccabi Haifa, will be on Monday 18 December. The Knockout round play-offs are on 15 and 22 February 2024. Europa Conference League second place clubs, which will include Maccabi Tel Aviv if they don't beat Gent to win their group, are seeded, while Europa League third place clubs, which will include Maccabi Haifa if they win, are unseeded. Clubs from the same country cannot play each other.
Panathinaikos of Greece 1-2 Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa led 2-0, and held on to get a surprising win and go to the Europa Conference League. The announcer said it was Maccabi Haifa's first away win in a UEFA group stage since the 1990s. Din (or Dean, Flash Score spells his name two ways) David scored in the 20th, Tjarron Chery scored in the 74th, and Fotis Ioannidis scored in the 89th to give Panathinaikos hope. Pierre Cornud assisted on both goals and got a yellow. Flash Score gave him Man of the Match. Panathinaikos had 4 points from their first 2 games, but lost their last 4 games to have their fourth consecutive UEFA group stage that they did not advance from. Maccabi Haifa had 54.1 percent of expected goals (2.04 to 1.73), 42 percent of possession, 30 percent of shots (9 to 21), 40 percent of shots on goal (4 to 6), a higher percent of shots that were on goal (4/9 = 44.4 percent to 6/21 = 28.6 percent), 27.7 percent of combined corner kicks and free kicks (13 to 34), 71.4 percent of saves (5 to 2), 64.3 percent of fouls (18 to 10), 71.4 percent of yellow cards (5 to 2), 38.6 percent of total passes (308 to 490), 37.4 percent of completed passes (234 to 391), a lower pass completion percentage (234/308 = 76.0 percent to 391/490 = 79.8 percent), 72.2 percent of tackles (13 to 5), 30.7 percent of attacks (63 to 142), 22.5 percent of dangerous attacks (23 to 79), a lower percent of attacks that were dangerous (23/63 = 36.5 percent to 79/142 = 55.6 percent), and 15.4 percent of crosses completed (2 to 11). Maccabi Haifa was better at expected goals and percent of shots that were on goal. Saves and tackles are debatable whether it is better to have more or fewer because more means a club is allowing shots on goal and allowing the opponent to have the ball so they can tackle. Panathinaikos was better at twelve statistics. Panathinaikos had 19 free kicks and 15 corner kicks, and I think it is rare to have that many of both. In the other game, Villarreal of Spain won the group by winning 3-2 at Rennes of France. The final standings are: Villarreal: 13 points, 9 goals scored, 7 goals allowed, +2 Rennes: 12 points, 13 goals scored, 6 goals allowed, +7 Maccabi Haifa: 5 points, 3 goals scored, 9 goals allowed, -6 Panathinaikos: 4 points, 7 goals scored, 10 goals allowed, -3 No club finished in the same position in points and goal differential. Only 2 of the 12 games were draws, so the points add up to 34. There were 32 points, which is 1 1/3 per club per game. The standings order matched the pots for the draw. Edit: Maccabi Haifa has an early 1-0 lead against Gent of Belgium. The odds changed from Gent being more likely to win to Maccabi Haifa being more likely to win. If Maccabi Haifa wins to win their group, today will be as good a day for Israeli clubs as possible other than Champions League accmplishments like last season when Maccabi Haifa got a draw at Red Star Belgrade (Crvena Zvezda) of Serbia to qualify for the Group Stage, won hosting Juventus of Italy, and were mathematically in contention to finish above Juventus going into their last game.
Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-1 Gent of Belgium Maccabi Tel Aviv won to win the group. Gabriel Kanichowsky scored in the 9th, Eran Zahavi scored in 24th, Gent's Julien De Sart scored in the 49th, and Zahavi scored in the 61st. Gent had no shots on goal and 0.11 expected goals in the first half, and it was the first time in any competition this season that they trailed by 2 goals. It was Maccabi Tel Aviv's first win against a Belgian club in their fourth game against a Belgian club. Maccabi Tel Aviv won six consecutive games in all competitions. Flash Score gave Man of the Match to Zahavi. Maccabi Tel Aviv goes to the Europa Conference League Round of 16, where their fifteen possible opponents (sixteen minus Maccabi Haifa) are Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia, Gent of Belgium, Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia, Bodo/Glimt of Norway, Legia Warsaw of Poland, Ferencvaros of Hungary, Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria, Olympiacos of Greece, Ajax of Netherlands, Real Betis of Spain, Sturm Graz of Austria, Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium, Servette of Sweden, or Molde of Norway. Maccabi Haifa's possible opponents in the first Knockout Round are the first eight clubs on that list, which ends with Ludogorets Razgrad. I will post more later.
Maccabi Tel Aviv had 81.2 percent of expected goals (1.86 to 0.43), 48 percent of possession, 65.5 percent of shots (19 to 10), 72.7 percent of shots on goal (8 to 3), a higher percent of shots that were on goal (8/19 = 42.1 percent to 3/10 = 30 percent), 48.6 percent of combined corner kicks and free kicks (18 to 19), 28.6 percent of saves (2 to 5), the only 5 offsides, 46.4 percent of fouls (13 to 15), 33.3 percent of yellow cards (1 to 2), 44.9 percent of total passes (411 to 505), 43.8 percent of completed passes (317 to 407), a lower pass completion percentage (317/411 = 77.1 percent to 407/505 = 80.6 percent), 47.8 percent of tackles (11 to 12), 54.8 percent of attacks (125 to 103), 50 percent of dangerous attacks (54 to 54), a lower percent of attacks that were dangerous (54/125 = 42.3 percent to 54/013 = 52.4 percent), and 50 percent of crosses completed (1 to 1). Both games with Israeli clubs did not have any red cards or penalty kicks.
The three competitions combined to have 64 clubs left after the group stages, and Israel is one of 14 countries with at least 2 clubs left. This season added bonus points for first and second place clubs in Europa League and Europa Conference League groups, and Maccabi Tel Aviv got 2 bonus points for winning their Europa Conference League group. I wonder if it is the first bonus points for an Israeli club other than for reaching the Champions League Group Stage. For the last four complete seasons and this season so far, Israel is 16th with a 19.625. The country behind Israel is Greece with 1.700 fewer points, and Maccabi Haifa's win means that Greece has two clubs left rather than three if Panathinaikos went to the Europa Conference League. For this season so far, Israel is 13th with a 7.250. That ties 2009-2010 for Israel's second highest value ever, trailing 8.333 from 2001-2002. 2001-2002 had fewer games, and therefore fewer points, so Israel could exceed 8.333 this season and still not be as impressive as in 2001-2002. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Viktoria Plzen of Czech Republic, Club Brugge of Belgium, PAOK Thessaloniki of Greece, Qarabag of Azerbaijan, and Ferencvaros of Hungary are the six clubs with at least 11 games they did not lose in qualifying rounds and group stages combined.
In the Europa Conference League Knockout Round Playoffs, Maccabi Haifa will host the first leg or play it at a neutral site against Gent of Belgium. Gent will play three consecutive UEFA games against Israeli clubs. The games will be on Thursday 15 February and Wednesday 21 February. All of the second legs will be on Thursday 22 February except for Gent vs. Maccabi Haifa.
In the Europa Conference League Preliminary knockout round, Maccabi Haifa's home leg against Gent of Belgium will be in Budapest, Hungary ton Thursday 15 February at 10:00 P.M. Israel/9:00 P.M. CET/3:00 P.M. USA Eastern. Maccabi Haifa is a slight favorite. In the last 48 games in which Frantzdy Pierrot scored, his teams have 40 wins, 8 draws, and 0 losses. I wish I could find out the longest undefeated streak by a player's team in games in which he scored. In the Jupiler Pro League, Gent have 1 point in their last 5 games, which dropped them to sixth, and 2 points above seventh place Genk. The top six is important because they play in the championship group after the regular season. Gent reached the Europa Conference League Round of 16 in the previous two seasons.
Maccabi Haifa 1-0 Gent of Belgium (in Hungary) Frantzdy Pierrot scored the only goal in the 65th. Maccabi Haifa could lose by multiple goals next Thursday and be eliminated, but I am still happy with the coefficient points from today's win. Gent had much better statistics. Maccabi Haifa had 25.7 percent of the expected goals (0.57 to 1.65), 48 percent of possession, 25.9 percent of shots (7 to 20), 50 percent of shots on goal (3 to 3), a higher percentage of their shots that were on goal (3/7 = 42.9 percent to 3/20 = 15 percent), 36.8 percent of the combined corner kicks and free kicks (14 to 24), 80 percent of the offsides (4 to 1), 60 percent of the saves (3 to 2), 50 percent of fouls (12 to 12), 66.7 percent of yellow cards (2 to 1), 46.1 percent of total passes (387 to 452), 44.8 percent of completed passes (333 to 410), a lower pass completion percentage (333/387 = 86.0 percent to 410/452 = 90.7 percent), 50 percent of tackles (25 to 25), 37.5 percent of attacks (87 to 145), 20.8 percent of dangerous attacks (25 to 95), a much lower percent of attacks that were dangerous (25/87 = 28.7 percent to 95/145 = 65.5 percent), and 18.2 percent of crosses completed (2 to 9). There were no red cards or penalty kicks. In the first half, Maccabi Haifa had 1 shot that was not on goal and 0.03 expected goals. Flash Score gave Man of the Match to Pierrot. Omri Gandelman played the who game for Gent. He is a 23-year-old Israeli in his first season for Gent after scoring 6 goals for Maccabi Netanya last season. He scored 4 goals in 15 games for Israel's U-21s, and 1 game in 2022 for Israel's senior national team.
Most Europa Conference League games are on Thursdays, but Maccabi Haifa's second leg at Gent of Belgium will be tomorrow (Wednesday 21 February) at 7:00 P.M. Israel/6:00 P.M CET/12:00 P.M. USA Eastern. The odds make probabilities of 51.8 percent for a Gent win, 27.1 percent for a draw, and 21.1 percent for a Maccabi Haifa win. Considering Gent had better statistics in their first leg 1-0 loss, and that they scored 23 goals in 6 UEFA home games this season (3.83 per game), I am surprised that Gent is not a bigger favorite. If you are in the USA and may for Paramount Plus, https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/uefa-europa-conference-league/ will have video.
Gent of Belgium 1-1 Maccabi Haifa (1-2 aggregate) Frantzdy Pierrot scored in the 4th, and it took until almost halftime for Gent to get a shot on goal. Tarik Tissoudali equalized in the 69th, followed by Maccabi Haifa's Daniel Sundgren being ejected for a second yellow in the 72nd. Maccabi Haifa subbed two forwards off for defenders, and did not allow another goal to get a draw today and win the aggregate without extra time. Both goals had deflections. Gent made two substitutions in the 55th, and no others, so they did not sub on anybody while up a man. I do not know why Gent was not allowed to have fans. Maybe UEFA decided that since Maccabi Haifa cannot play at home, to be fair to them their opponent cannot have fans, but I do not remember that happening before. Gent dominated the statistics in both legs, and today Gent had these percentages: 72.6 percent of expected goals (1.67 to 0.63) 62 percent of possession 79.3 percent of shots (29 to 6) 72.7 percent of shots on goal (8 to 3) A lower percent of shots that were on goal (8/29 = 27.6 percent to 3/6 = 50 percent) 74.4 percent of combined corner kicks and free kicks (29 to 10, Maccabi Haifa had only 1 corner kick) 50 percent of offside (1 to 1) 0 percent of cards (4 yellows including 1 second yellow by Maccabi Haifa) 100 percent of crosses completed (9 to 0) 30.4 percent of fouls (7 to 16) 69.4 percent of total passes (647 to 285) 72.4 percent of completed passes (558 to 213) A higher pass completion percentage (558/647 = 86.2 percent to 213/285 = 74.7 percent) 32 percent of tackles (8 to 17) 68.2 percent of attacks (148 to 69) 82.0 percent of dangerous attacks (100 to 22) A higher percent of attacks that were dangerous (100/148 = 67.6 percent to 22/69 = 31.9 percent) I hope to post highlights when they are available, and to post country coefficients after tomorrow's games. The Europa Conference League Round of 16 draw is on Friday 23 February. I wonder if this is the first time that two Israeli clubs reached a Round of 16 in the same season, albeit it is easier with three competitions than when there were two.
For the last four complete seasons and this season so far, Israel is 16th with a 30.375. For this season, Israel is 13th with an 8.000. Israel's record is 8.333 in 2001-2002 when it was more impressive because there were fewer games to get points from. Israel is one of 11 countries with at least two clubs left. The three competitions each have 16 clubs left for a total of 48.
The Europa Conference League Round of 16 draw was today. The games are on Thursday 7 March and Thursday 14 March. Group Stage winners were seeded, and get to host second legs, albeit I am assuming that Israeli clubs will not be able to play at home. Maccabi Tel Aviv will host the second leg against Olympiacos of Greece. Maccabi Haifa will host the first leg against Fiorentina of Italy. In club coefficient for the last five compete seasons, Olympiacos is 46th with 39.000, Maccabi Tel Aviv is tied for 70th with 24.000, Fiorentina is tied for 80th with 20.000, and Maccabi Haifa is tied for 113th with 13.000. The Jerusalem Post did not write anything about this week's games.