MACCABI HAIFA shocked Paris Saint-Germain after scoring their first Champions League goal in 20 years to take a 1-0 lead.
Tjaronn Chery, 34, was the man to write his name Maccabi Haifa folklore after he smartly volleyed in from Dolev Haziza’s cross in the 24th minute.
In doing so, Chery became the first player to score for Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League since Yaniv Katan netted in a 3-3 draw with Olympiacos in November 2002.
The Israeli side finished third in Group F behind Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester United that year, but did beat the Red Devils 3-0 with goals from Katan, Raimondas Zutautas and ex-Everton striker Yakubu.
But their hopes of a giant-killing against PSG took a blow after Lionel Messi equalised for the French champions eight minutes before half-time.
Messi then turned provider with a clever pass to set up Kylian Mbappe, who slotted cooly past goalkeeper Josh Cohen before Neymar added a third late on.
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Nevertheless, Maccabi Haifa have ended their long wait for a goal after losing 2-0 to Benfica in their first group stage game.
The club last competed in Europe’s premier competition in 2009-10, but failed to score and lost every one of their group stage matches against Bordeaux, Bayern Munich and Juventus.
It will be a tall order for Barak Bakhar’s side to qualify from Group H which also contains Juventus.
But they are certainly a club on the up after winning the Israeli Premier League two years running and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 13 years.
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Meanwhile, Messi broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record by scoring against his 39th different team in the Champions League.
The Argentine, 35, tapped home from close range after Kylian Mbappe’s pullback.
It was his 126th goal in the Champions League – a record which leaves him just 14 behind Ronaldo on 140, but one ahead on number of clubs scored against.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
