Hapoel Be'er Sheva's Zlatanovic Injured and Substituted Early in Match

Hapoel Be'er Sheva faced an early setback during their match against Sabah when Igor Zlatanovic, who scored the opening goal, was injured in the 35th minute and had to be substituted. Mohamed Abu Romi replaced Zlatanovic, prompting a tactical shift where Javon East moved to midfield, and Abu Romi along with Zahy Ahmed took up the wing positions. Abu Romi had previously played as a right winger throughout most of the previous season's upper playoff. At the time of the substitution, Be'er Sheva had four substitutions remaining and two timeouts left, excluding halftime. The incident raised concern for the team as they adjusted their lineup to cope with the injury during the Champions League match.