CSKA Sofia already hold a commanding grip on their Europa League tie with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and it showed in how lightly Hristo Yanev treated Sunday's domestic fixture. The Bulgarian champions rotated heavily against Septemvri Sofia in the Parva Liga and still won comfortably, 3-0, with an eye squarely on Thursday's return leg.
ONE reports that Yanev mixed regulars with fringe players throughout, deliberately managing minutes rather than chasing a statement performance three days before Maccabi arrive in Sofia. It worked: CSKA never looked troubled and closed the game out with room to spare.
The one blemish was an injury scare. Left-back Angelo Martino, who started the first leg against Maccabi in Batumi, was withdrawn in the 19th minute as a precaution, and his fitness for Thursday is now in question.
"We took Martino off as a precaution," Yanev said, according to ONE. "I hope we'll be able to use him in Thursday's important match against Maccabi Tel Aviv."
The coach also addressed the club's packed fixture list, with a European tie sandwiched between league rounds. "Right now we're not thinking about postponing matches," he said. "We're finding our rhythm, and I hope we continue that way."
CSKA go into the second leg with a significant cushion. The Bulgarians won the first leg 3-0 on August 6 in Batumi, Georgia — Maccabi's adopted home ground for European fixtures — in the Europa League's third qualifying round, putting the tie almost out of reach for the Israeli champions.
Thursday's return leg kicks off at 21:00 in Sofia, with CSKA needing only to avoid a heavy defeat to progress to the play-off round and keep their own European ambitions alive.
For Maccabi, already facing long odds after the first-leg mauling, the sight of their opponents rotating freely in domestic action — and still winning at a canter — is hardly the news they wanted three days out.
