Maccabi Tel Aviv have wrapped up their second-round Europa League qualifying tie against Sheriff Tiraspol in emphatic fashion, completing a 6-0 aggregate victory that ONE reports leaves the Israeli champions just one round from the competition's play-off stage.
The tie was effectively settled a week earlier, when Maccabi thrashed Sheriff 5-0 away from home. Thursday's return leg, played by Maccabi as the nominal home side, added to that lead to seal the rout on aggregate.
As has become the pattern for Israeli clubs in continental competition, Maccabi's "home" fixture was not played in Tel Aviv. The club staged the game in Batumi, Georgia, at the same venue it has used for other UEFA ties this season.
According to ONE, Maccabi now knows where — though not yet against whom — they will play the first leg of the third qualifying round. The club will fly back to Batumi for that opening fixture on Thursday, August 6.
Their opponent will be either CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria or Qarabag of Azerbaijan. The two sides drew 0-0 in the first leg of their own tie in Baku, with the return match in Sofia taking place the same evening ONE published its report, meaning the identity of Maccabi's next rival was still unresolved at the time of writing.
Whichever side progresses, ONE reports Maccabi will travel to Azerbaijan or Bulgaria for the second leg on Thursday, August 13, with the winner of that tie advancing to the Europa League play-off round in late August.
A third qualifying round exit would not end Maccabi's European campaign outright — sides eliminated at this stage in the Europa League typically drop into Conference League qualifying — but reaching the play-off round would keep alive the prospect of Europa League group-stage football deep into the year.
For now, the headline is a job well done against Sheriff: a comfortable passage that keeps Maccabi's European summer on track, even as the continued need to play home European fixtures on neutral ground in Georgia remains part of the club's reality this season.
