Hapoel Beer Sheva are one result away from a first-ever Champions League group-stage berth, but a voice from inside Azerbaijani football is warning that the tie is far from over. Arif Asadov, who coached the Azerbaijan national team and previously took charge of Sabah itself, told ONE's correspondent in Baku that the Israeli champions' habit of committing numbers forward could be their undoing in Tuesday's second leg.
"When they attacked with many players, they left empty spaces in midfield," Asadov said of Beer Sheva. "Gaps formed between defense and midfield, and Sabah knew how to exploit them well, launching several counterattacks." It is a pointed observation ahead of a match Beer Sheva enter as favourites, but one that carries real risk if Sabah can strike early at home.
The two sides split an eventful first leg in Beer Sheva on 19 August. Veljko Simić headed Sabah in front inside six minutes, stunning the home crowd, before Javon East leveled just before half-time. Igor Zlatanović then won it for the champions with a header from a corner in the 79th minute, sending Beer Sheva to Baku with a 2-1 cushion.
That lead is significant but not decisive against a Sabah side that has already shown it can overturn a first-leg deficit at home. In the previous qualifying round, the Azerbaijani club lost 2-1 away to Danish opposition, Aarhus, only to demolish them 4-0 on their own ground in the return leg — the kind of statement performance Asadov pointed to as evidence of Sabah's growing conviction under their current coaching setup.
Asadov, who has watched Sabah closely since his own spell in charge of the club, described a team playing with a clear identity that has visibly sharpened from match to match through this European campaign, backed by a vocal home crowd in Baku.
The stakes are considerable for both clubs. Beer Sheva, twice eliminated at the play-off stage in 2017 and 2018, are chasing a first-ever appearance in the Champions League's main phase. Sabah, founded in 2017 and never previously past a European qualifying round, would become only the second Azerbaijani club to reach the competition's group phase if they complete the turnaround.
Kick-off in Baku is set for 19:45 local time. Asadov's message, delivered days out from the game, is essentially a plea for caution: Beer Sheva have the lead and the pedigree, but if they open the game the way Sabah's coaching staff will be hoping, the spaces that undid them for six early minutes in Israel could reopen — this time with no second leg to come back from.
