Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Nikola Mitrovic knows his club are in a good position to progress to the knockout stage of the Europa League after their goalless draw with APOEL Nicosia, but warns: "It's too early to celebrate"
Last night, 180 minutes of football played over two legs between Maccabi Tel Aviv and APOEL in group F of the Europa League ended goalless after yet another 0-0 draw, this time at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia. The result, however, left Maccabi in second place in the group, three points ahead of APOEL going into the final matchday of the groupstage matches. At the end of this second goalless draw, Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa summed up his feelings by saying: "This was a match we dominated almost throughout, particularly in the first half when we created enough chances to score and in an even match like this you simply have to score. APOEL were looking for a result and pushed forward and dominated quite a bit in the second half. This result gives us hope of achieving our dream of advancing (to the knockout stage) and making club and Israeli football history".
Maccabi's Serbian midfielder Nikola Mitrovic added: "This was a very difficult match but for most of the match we played better and created more chances. This result gives us the chance of progressing to the next stage but it's too early to celebrate because nothing is settled as yet and we still have one more match to play against Bordeaux. A lot of credit goes to our fans who came here and gave us so much vocal support despite the cold, it was a great help to all of us. Their support really warmed our hearts and knowing that they'll be in the majority when we return home to Bloomfield Stadium propped up our spirits even more. To finish this group stage on a positive note, we have to win (against Bordeaux) and with our fans behind us, anything is possible".
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The result may have put Maccabi in post position to advance to the knockout round of 32 but team defender Eytan Tibi will remain on high alert ahead of the final groupstage match: ”We still have the match against Bordeaux and it won't be a walk in the park by any means. But so far we're concerned a victory is all that's on our minds, just as it would be for any match. We're part of a club that always feel the obligation to put on a top display and win matches and the players feel the same obligation towards the club".
Midfielder Mahran Radi also shared his thoughts regarding Maccabi's situation ahead of the last encounter in the group: "It's vital that we should go into this last match completely focused because in football anything can happen and we've seen plenty of matches where the advantage changes hands in the dying moments. We can't afford to think, well, we're through when we'll have to be in absolutely top form and work very hard to get past Bordeaux in the last difficult match we have to play in the group".
