Sabah

Igor Zlatanovic took advantage of a defensive error and scored (10th minute), but the Azeris equalized (38th minute) after confusion in the Be'er Sheva defense, with Christian Nwachukwu scoring into an empty net. Currently, Be'er Sheva leads 3-2 on aggregate. About 30,000 fans are supporting the hosts, who are dreaming of a comeback.

The champion will depart tonight for Baku ahead of the return leg against Sabah on Tuesday: "Everyone is alert and focused." Joao Victor is fit and may be included in the squad for the match.

The Azerbaijanis lost 2:1 after having led in Romania, but in the previous round they already knew how to turn a loss in the first game into a 4:0 victory in Baku: "We will need to make them make mistakes."

The 2:1 victory over Sabah in the first leg strengthened the belief at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, which aims to complete the mission in Baku and record a historic qualification for the Champions League: "If we feel a sense of missed opportunity after trailing, it says it all." Compliments to Eliel Peretz and Pedro Amador.

Without Turner, without shining stars and without an unlimited squad, Ran Kozuch and his group continue to collect obstacles and turn them into another reason to believe. Against Sabah, they proved once again that this team does not know how to accept "the end" as an answer - and next Tuesday it will not be the end, it will only be the beginning.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva took a significant step toward history on Wednesday, coming back from a deficit to beat Sabah 2:1 in the first leg of the Champions League qualification playoffs. Igor Zlatanovic completed the turnaround in the 79th minute, sending the Israeli champions to the return leg in Azerbaijan with a valuable advantage.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva is just 90 minutes away from history. The Israeli champion won 2-1 this Wednesday against Sabah in their "home" match in Bucharest, gaining an advantage ahead of the return leg in Azerbaijan and moving closer to their first-ever qualification for the Champions League league phase.

The Sabah coach addressed the meeting in the Champions League playoffs and complimented the opponent: "Both teams like to press, want to control the game and play offensively."

The club doubts it can add new foreign players before the Champions League playoffs begin. The squad that defeated Red Star Belgrade is expected to remain unchanged for the match against Sabah. Matan Baltaxa returns from suspension, but Pedro Amador is likely to keep his starting spot.