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Europa League: One Stop Before The Final Station

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Matchday 5 of the Europa League group stage was decisive for both Israeli teams that wanted to keep their campaigns.

Qarabağ vs Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-1

The Asian group became the Turkish group tonight when Qarabağ hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv in Istanbul, and Villareal played away against Sivasspor. The Azeri side was eliminated already, and Maccabi Tel Aviv hoped to use it to get closer to the next stage.

Maccabi Tel Aviv was awarded a penalty kick in the 22nd minute, and Yonatan Cohen scored. Qarabağ didn't give up on the match, and Jaime Romero equalized in the 37th minute. The Israelis were much better, but they were not lethal enough on the front side. Maccabi Tel Aviv made four shots on goal during the second half but failed to convert it. Giorgos Donis decided not to use Aleksandar Pešić, his best striker in the squad, but later it was found that he was injured before the match.

After Sivasspor lost 1-0 against Villareal, Maccabi Tel Aviv missed an opportunity to clinch their knockout stage spot. Next week, they will host the Turkish team when a draw is enough to complete the mission.

Slavia Praha vs Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3-0

A long time has passed since the opening match between the teams. Since the 3-1 win of Hapoel Be'er Sheva, the Israeli team has lost the next three games, while Slavia won their next three matches. For Hapoel Be'er Sheva, only one results combination could keep them on the race to the next stage. To do so, they had to defeat Slavia Praha away.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva presented a weak defensive line in the last matches. It wasn't so different in this game. Abdallah Sima scored Slavia's first in the 31st minute after Ohad Levita tried to punch the ball and missed it. Five minutes later, Dudi Twito attempted to clear the ball away but passed it to Nicolae Stanciu, that scored easily. It wasn't Twito's last mistake. In the 85th minute, the defenders didn't stop Sima, Twito again cleared it poorly, and this time he scored an own goal.

It's the end of the journey for Israeli Cup title holders, and their last match against Nice will be their campaign's farewell. The team is counting nine winless matches in all competitions. As the Europa League is over, it will be interesting to see whether Yossi Abukasis could finally find a solution for the situation.