Round of 16, match 1 ended 07/03/2024
Olympiakos
Kaabi (13)
4:1
(4) Golden
(9) Dawn
(30) Golden
(74) Burst
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Summary: Olympiakos - Maccabi Tel Aviv 4:1/Sport1
Happy and satisfied, Maccabi Tel Aviv will return to Israel today, and instead of training that was planned to take place at noon in Kiryat Shalom, the players will go directly to their homes and rest until tomorrow afternoon's training, which will be the only one before the league game the day after tomorrow against Beitar Jerusalem. There was great happiness last night after the 4:1 defeat that the team inflicted on Olympiakos, the narrative already last night and this morning is that only one half has passed and in order to advance to the historic quarter-finals, you have to go to Serbia on Wednesday and return from the Bacca Topola Arena with a result that should be enough to be among the last eight of the Conference League plant.
It was last night in Piraeus one of Maccabi Tel Aviv's biggest games in Europe. Some will say, and perhaps rightly so, that this is Maccabi Tel Aviv's biggest performance in Europe. The reason is not only Greece's rich and decorated opponent, nor the status of the round of 16 of the Conference League The big story of this huge victory is in a meeting against a team that had excellent momentum. Seven wins in a row created tough timing for Maccabi Tel Aviv for the meeting in Piraeus. 30 thousand Greeks wanted to see Olympiakos defeat and arrive with even better momentum for the derby against Panathinaikos on Sunday.
Maccabi Tel Aviv gave a fourth to a Greek team with a higher budget, players with a better record and in a league that should at least be better.
A game from the movies.
Maccabi Tel Aviv celebrates/Reuters
Maccabi Tel Aviv had plenty of heroes last night.
Eran Zahavi never ends with a double, Enrik Saborit with his best game since the championships with Ivic.
And of course there was Ido Shahar, who is already hard to see how Maccabi Tel Aviv plays without him, Joris Van Overeem who stole the hearts of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans with complete sentences in Hebrew that were published in the hours before the game and on the field he was the engine of the team.
Idan Nahmias, who cleared most of the balls in the box, was also excellent, Usher Davida worked amazingly on the line and he is sure to be invited to the national team and it is impossible without Felicio Milson who created moves, and not only in cooking for Eran Zahavi, which will surely lead to an offer from Olympiakos to acquire him.
More in Walla!
Olympiakos' nightmare: Eran Zahavi with a third pair against the Greeks
To the full article
Who remembers that his team was in crisis?
Robbie Keane/Reuters
But alongside his players, it was a night that Robbie Keane deserves a lot of good words about.
The Irishman chose the optimal lineup, made good substitutions, left players like Dor Peretz who did not record a great individual game, but his goal was probably the seal that Maccabi Tel Aviv would be in the quarter-finals of the factory.
"It's a game that can make the whole season magical," said a player in the team last night.
"We needed this game after the crisis the team went through. Everyone believes in themselves more after a game like this."
Not every season does an Israeli team reach the round of 16 of a European competition.
Not every season does she feel so close to the factory quarterfinals.
Qualifying there will determine this season as one of Maccabi Tel Aviv's greatest.
More on the same topic:
Maccabi Tel Aviv in football
Olympiakos