Shawn Goldberg, Ali Muhammad and Lior Rafalov, who were questionable for the return, started together in Dego’s lineup, which placed Souf Podgorano next to Franzi Piero in the attack. Halaili and Gadi Kinda got some rest, and without them the front didn’t bother Fiorentina at all. The game was played comfortably, with the main interest being in the stands, with the waving of Israeli flags by hundreds of Maccabi Haifa fans in front of several Palestinian flags on the Italian side. The Purples dominated, a sting from Lorenzo Shimich in a stationary situation was rightly disallowed due to a difference by Podgorano, and the first half still left hope for Haifa, but after the break, Fiorentina switched gears and the physical advantage made the difference like last week.
The Italian goal was in the air at the start of the second half, and came precisely after Piero provided Maccabi Haifa’s first scoring attempt in the game. Davida Frauni picked up from the right and Antonin Barak, who won Hungary in the 95th minute, switched numbers and struck in the 59th minute. This goal calmed the game even more, the two coaches made exchanges of power distribution, and somehow in the 88th minute Goldberg picked up a ball in the Fiorentina square and cooked for Halaili who equalized. But Maccabi Haifa did not achieve more than that. She ends an impressive European season and returns home with her head held high, while it is Fiorentina who will be in their 10th quarter-final at the UEFA factories and may return to the final as they did last season.
Halaili’s equalizer also brings Israel closer to the coveted 15th place, with a Maccabi Tel Aviv victory determining that the Premier League will have two representatives in the Champions League starting in 2025/26.
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