Lugano beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2:1 in the UEFA Conference League playoff round at the AI Arena on Wednesday evening. The Swiss side took a first-half lead before the visitors equalised shortly after the break, then secured victory with a second-half penalty. by then the momentum had shifted decisively.
Kevin Behrens opened the scoring in the 31st minute, finishing from inside the area after a well-worked move. Lugano controlled the tempo without dominating possession, and their efficiency in the final third told. and here's the thing, they created more clear-cut chances than their shot tally suggested.
Maccabi responded immediately after the restart. Issouf Shahar levelled in the 47th minute, capitalising on a moment of uncertainty in the Lugano defence. The visitors had dominated possession and territory in those opening minutes, but their finishing remained blunt throughout.
The decisive moment came in the 54th minute when Anton Grgic converted a penalty. A challenge in the box gave Lugano the chance to retake the lead, and he made no mistake from 12 yards. to be fair, the decision was clear enough, even if the surrounding play had been chaotic.
Substitutions followed a pattern of trying to change the game. Maccabi brought on Asante and Sokler in the 57th minute, while Lugano doubled their changes at 71 minutes with Dos Santos and Behrens off. Steffen and Cimignani came on later as the match entered its final stages.
The statistics tell a familiar story. Lugano had 41 per cent possession but registered an expected goals figure of 2.12 compared to Maccabi's 0.99. The visitors launched 128 attacks but managed only one shot on target, while Lugano's two efforts landed on target from six attempts inside the penalty area.
Our prediction called for a Lugano victory at 47 per cent confidence — and it came true. They didn't need to dominate, just to be sharper when it mattered. The result keeps their European campaign alive and sends Maccabi Tel Aviv packing from this competition.