Maccabi Tel Aviv Blames Itself After Europa League Exit to CSKA Sofia

Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered a disappointing elimination from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round on Thursday, losing to Bulgaria's CSKA Sofia. After two years competing at the Champions League level, Maccabi now faces a challenging playoff against Swiss club FC Lugano to qualify for the UEFA Conference League, Europe's third-tier competition. FC Lugano, despite a recent draw against a Faroe Islands team, leads the Swiss league with a perfect record, making the upcoming tie a tough test for Maccabi.

Maccabi player Roy Revivo acknowledged the team's frustration, saying, "We feared leaving with just compliments. It’s painful and frustrating to be eliminated by a single goal. We paid a heavy price for our poor game in Georgia. The weaker team advanced, but we can only blame ourselves." Coach Kenny Miller focused on three key points before the match: instilling belief despite the first-leg loss, improving goal-scoring, and avoiding defensive mistakes. While the team showed strong belief and scored three goals, defensive errors persisted, including a costly mistake by Revivo and Isouf Sisoko that led to CSKA Sofia’s decisive goal.

Maccabi’s inability to maintain performance levels after substitutions was also highlighted as a concern. The club faces pressure to be more assertive in managing foreign players who are not contributing, such as Ion Nicolaescu and Kevin Andrade, who remain on the roster despite limited impact. On a positive note, Oshar Davida provided two assists, and striker Aster Sokler scored his first goal for the club, showing promise. Midfielder Leo Varela was among the standout performers. The team must also monitor the fitness of Ali Mohamed Kamara, whose potential absence could complicate the upcoming playoff against FC Lugano. Sokler’s minor injury is not expected to affect his availability for the next match on Thursday.