The press in the Holy Land is jubilant after witnessing the latest match played by the Romanian champion in Liga 1, a lackluster 2-2 draw against the newly-promoted Unirea Slobozia in the second round of the new season.
Next up is a decisive match between FCSB and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, a double leg tie for the second preliminary round of the Champions League, with the winner securing a spot in at least the Conference League group stage.
Israeli journalists were of the opinion that they saw a helpless team, led from the sidelines by Charalambous and Pintilii: "The Romanian champion, FCSB, played on Friday, the last match before the decisive double-leg tie with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League preliminaries, drawing 2-2 with Unirea Slobozia. However, the Israelis did not forget about the victory of the red and blue team against Virtus in the first preliminary round of the Champions League. The Romanian champion defeated the team from San Marino with an overall score of 11-1.
FCSB led twice after goals from Mihai Lixandru and Darius Olaru, but couldn't maintain their advantage. The hosts secured a point after scoring in the 89th minute. Coach Elias Charalambous started the match with a strong lineup, but his players were unable to dominate the game as they did in the previous round of the Champions League preliminaries when they demolished Virtus 11-1 overall. FCSB remains winless in the league this season and has two points after two matches. In the first round, they drew at home against U Cluj, with a score of 1-1. They also failed to hold on to the lead in that match," noted the publication sport5.co.il.
FCSB - Maccabi takes place on Tuesday at 8:30 PM, LIVE on SpotMedia.ro.
Yours sincerely.