Maccabi Tel Aviv Suffers Heavy 3-0 Defeat to CSKA Sofia in Europa League Qualifier

Maccabi Tel Aviv experienced a significant setback on Thursday, losing 3-0 to CSKA Sofia in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round held in Batumi. The club acknowledged the poor performance, with insiders calling it one of the worst European games in the club's history. Despite the absence of Roy Revivo being noted, club sources dismissed it as the sole reason for the defeat, emphasizing that the entire team underperformed.

Coach Kenny Miller and midfielder Itamar Noy, one of the few bright spots, remain hopeful for a turnaround in the second leg in Bulgaria next week, though they admit the chances of advancing to the Europa League playoffs are slim. The team is more likely to compete in the Conference League playoffs instead.

The match saw several individual failures, including Dor Peretz missing a clear chance early on and failing to capitalize on a promising attack, marking one of his weakest performances for the club. Ali Mohamed Kamara also struggled, failing to organize the defense as expected. Shahar Rozen, who replaced Revivo, was substituted at halftime, as was right-back Itay Ben Hamo, who was partly responsible for conceding the first goal. Miller's tactical decisions, such as positioning Helio Varela on the right wing and starting Ido Shahar on the left, were criticized, as were his substitutions.

Maccabi Tel Aviv appeared unprepared for this stage of competition, with Revivo staying in Israel, Sigiv Yehezkel injured, and Tyrese Asante seeking a move to Italy. The team lacks a central midfielder capable of creating scoring opportunities and a specialist for set pieces. A player from the squad described the situation as "all black now," but stressed the team will not give up and aims to pull off a major upset in Bulgaria.