Shakhtar vs Maccabi TA: match preview
Thursday, February 25, 2021
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Orange-and-Blacks will host the champions of Israel in the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 return leg
February 25, Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, 19:55
Match build-up
Shakhtar secured a good start in the first leg, however, as the team’s head coach Luis Castro pointed out, nothing is decided in football until the final whistle. The Miners are getting prepared for a tough match and the advancement to the next round. It will be doubly pleasant to do that in the presence of spectators who, after a long break, can go to the stadium and support the team again. The tickets are available at shakhtar.com and on the FC Shakhtar mobile app (Google Play and App Store).
In their history, Shakhtar have successfully advanced from the UEFA Europa League (UEFA Cup) Round of 32 on six occasions. Earlier at this stage, they defeated the Hungarian Honved, the German Schalke 04 (twice), the French Nancy, the English Tottenham Hotspur and the Portuguese Benfica on aggregate.
Opponents
Between two encounters vs Shakhtar, Maccabi Tel Aviv won an Israeli Cup tie against Hapoel Beer Sheva - they did so claiming the season’s most frequent score of 1-0. Dor Peretz netted the goal in the 65th minute.
Patrick van Leeuwen's team played the match with the following squad: Daniel, Kandil, Yeini, Piven (Rikan 46’), Baltaxa, Saborit, Peretz, Golasa, Almog (Guerrero 62’), Blackman (Pesic 62’), Shechter (Hozez 62’).
Previous meeting
On February 18 in Tel Aviv, Shakhtar took the lead in the 31st minute: Marlos sent the ball to the other side, Matviienko volleyed it right onto Patrick's foot, and the Brazilian hit the corner of the net. In the second half, both teams had chances. Solomon's attempt from outside the penalty area was timely denied by Saborit, Manor's second attempt went wide, Daniel rescued Maccabi from Konoplyanka's effort, and Trubin showed skill while stopping Blackman’s shot. In the end, Anatolii's great reflexes rescued the Miners from Hernandez's set-piece, with Shakhtar securing an even more comfortable score in stoppage time: In the course of a counterattack, Fernando provided an assist to Tete to seal a 2-0 win.