Hapoel Be'er Sheva defeated Red Star Belgrade in both legs of their Champions League qualifier, securing a place in the playoff round, i24NEWS reports.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva completed a two-leg sweep of Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday evening, advancing to the UEFA Champions League playoff round. The Israeli champions secured a 2-0 victory in the second leg in Serbia, sealing a 3-0 aggregate win and a berth in the next stage. According to i24NEWS, the team now awaits a playoff matchup against Azerbaijan's Sabah for a spot in the group stage.
The win capped a dramatic evening that unfolded in stages. At 21:28 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that Hapoel had secured at least a place in the Europa League group stage after the victory (version 2), then later that the team was two matches away from the Champions League (version 3), and finally that the club had advanced to the playoff against Sabah (version 4). The timing of these reports reflects the evolving certainty of the outcome as the match progressed.
The Zioneer had previously covered Hapoel's run to this point: on August 4, the team defeated Red Star 1-0 in the first leg in Israel, despite playing a man down from the 60th minute. That victory set the stage for Tuesday's decisive leg. Earlier, on August 3, The Zioneer reported that Hapoel would face the winner between Denmark's Aarhus and Azerbaijan's Sabah if they advanced; Sabah ultimately won that tie.
The exact date and time of the playoff fixture have yet to be announced. Hapoel Be'er Sheva will need to win the two-legged playoff to reach the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
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