An Eran Zahavi penalty fifteen minutes from time against French rivals Bordeaux signalled Maccabi Tel Aviv's historic passage into the knockout round of 32 of the Europa League
Some 12,000 diehard Maccabi Tel Aviv fans braved pouring rain and freezing temperatures to come to Bloomfield Stadium to cheer on their beloved team against French opponents Bordeaux in their historic undertaking to reach the final 32 knockout stage of the Europa League. Maccabi's first opportunity of the match arrived close to the ten minute mark when midfielder Mahran Radi turned in a free kick that curled just beyond the post. For the next twenty minutes both sides struggled to find much rhythm in their play or to create any meaningful chances, until just after the half hour mark Maccabi keeper Juan Pablo was called off his line to stop a shot by Bordeaux's Uruguayan striker Diego Rolan. A further two chances in the first half fell to Maccabi striker Barak Itzhaki, whose booted and headed efforts both failed to find the net of Bordeaux keeper Kevin Olimpa, sending the sides off at halftime locked in a goalless draw.
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For the first half hour of the second half only the rain increased its intensity as the pace of the match flagged, with Barak Itzhaki again the only player at either end to come close to scoring. The thousands of soaked-through but spirited Maccabi fans were forced to wait till a quarter of an hour before time to see any significant activity on the pitch, but when it came it was just what they had been waiting for – a Maccabi goal. Matthieu Chalme, Bordeaux defender and team captain, saw red for his second bookable offence after a foul in the area on Maccabi's young striker Munas Dabbur, earning the home side a penalty kick. And it was Maccabi's star midfielder Eran Zahavi who stepped up to the spot and sent the 12,000 freezing fans around the stadium into wild celebration after wrong-footing the Bordeaux keeper to put his side in front 1-0. It was just then that the news reached the home fans that group F leaders Eintracht Frankfurt had taken the lead over APOEL Nicosia, Maccabi's nearest rival for second spot in the group, leaving in absolutely no doubt that for the first time in their history Maccabi Tel Aviv were headed for the final 32 knockout round of the Europa League.
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The match's remaining fifteen minutes following Zahavi's goal passed uneventfully and the referee's whistle became the start sign for the players on the pitch and the ecstatic fans around the stadium to celebrate the club's historic passage into European competition's knockout stages. The draw for the Europa League's final 32 will take place this coming Monday at 2pm at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
