Alexander Shevchenko faces a challenging task tonight as his "Dynamo" Kyiv team attempts to overturn a two-goal deficit against "Maccabi" Tel Aviv in the second leg of their Europa League playoff qualification.
"It's possible to come back from two goals down. There have been examples in history when teams recovered from even more difficult situations," Shevchenko stated ahead of the crucial match at Arena Lublin, Poland.
The Kyiv side lost 3-1 in the first leg last week in Backa Topola, Serbia, breaking their four-match unbeaten streak against the Israeli opponents. This defeat also marked "Dynamo's" first-ever loss in a Europa League qualification match – not exactly the record they wanted to set.
Zarko Lazetic, "Maccabi's" head coach, remains cautious despite his team's advantage. "We're preparing like for any game – we want to win, not just maintain the score," he emphasized. "Both teams had chances in the first match, and things could have gone differently."
History doesn't favor the Ukrainian side in such situations. "Dynamo" has failed to overturn first-leg home defeats in European competitions seven consecutive times. Their last successful comeback after losing the first match at home dates back to 2004 when they eliminated Trabzonspor (1-2, 2-0) on their way to the Champions League group stage.
Interestingly, "Maccabi" managed to score three goals against Ruslan Neshcheret even without their recently sold top scorer Dor Turgeman. Meanwhile, "Dynamo" might be missing their offensive leader Vladislav Vanat, who's reportedly considering a move to Spain.
According to bookmakers, the Ukrainian team has slightly better chances of winning tonight's match, with odds of 2.20 compared to 3.10 for "Maccabi" and 3.66 for a draw. But will a single victory be enough to secure passage to the Europa League group stage?
If "Dynamo" fails to advance, they'll compete in the Conference League for the first time in the club's history – quite a step down for a team with rich European traditions. The match kicks off at 21:00 local time, with Montenegrin referee Nikola Dabanovic in charge.
Can Shevchenko's men pull off what would be a historic comeback? Tonight's match should give us the answer.
