Maccabi Haifa put up a good fight against Paris St. Germain in UEFA Champions League group stage play but eventually succumbed to the French champions 3-1 at Sammy Ofer Stadium. Tjaron Chery stunned the visitors by snatching a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, but three unanswered goals by Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar gave Christophe Galtier’s squad the 3-points to sit atop Group H.

The Greens and their rabid fans put on quite the show ahead of the game as over 30,000 fans packed into the stadium in hopes of not only seeing the likes of Messi and Co. but also find out if their beloved Haifa could upset the Ligue 1 squad. A potential surprise was in the air from the get go as Barak Bachar’s team was the better side over the course of the opening half hour and took the lead via Tjaron Chery who scored off a Dolev Haziza cross.

However, just ahead of the halftime break Leo Messi scored off of an Mbappe ball to draw even at 1-1. The duo then found the back of the goal in the 69th minute when they reversed roles and Mbappe scored while Neymar broke free late in the game to add an insurance marker to wrap up the 3-1 victory.

“I believe that even when they were winning 2-1 in the second half we were comfortable and that we were controlling the tempo,” Baccarat commented after the game. “We knew that we would be punished for any mistake that we made. With a bit more luck we could have scored another goal. We gave our maximum and I am proud of the players. We will learn from this and move forward.”

Man of the match Kylian Mbappe said, “The conditions were a little difficult, it was very hot, but it’s the Champions League. We came here to win and reinforce our hold on top spot, and we did that. We started quite well, we played with intensity, but then we dropped our tempo a bit and conceded a goal. We reacted well, imposed our style of play, and made the difference, scoring the second and capping it off with the third.”

For the first time in the club’s history, the Greens were able to finally host a Champions League game in Haifa and the opponent for the occasion couldn’t have been any better. The star-studded Paris St. Germain lineup featured arguably the greatest ever to play the game in Lionel Messi along with one of the most flamboyant in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe along with ace defender Sergio Ramos.

PSG took the matchup with the utmost seriousness as they arrived only 24 hours prior to the start of the game and held their final training session and pre-match press conference in France.

While Haifa had featured in the exclusive club competition twice before, they had never had the opportunity to host a game in their own city. Back in 2002, the Greens played their home matches in Cyprus due to the Second Intifada which included a win over English side Manchester United. The second time Haifa played in the Champions League, their home games were played in the cavernous 40K+ seat Ramat Gan Stadium as their old facility Kiryat Eliezer was too small and did not meet UEFA standards.

However, since Sammy Ofer opened in 2014 it set the standard for stadiums across the Holy Land and yearned to host a Champions League game which finally came to fruition this week. In Haifa’s first European contest this season, they came up short in Lisbon falling to Portuguese giants Benfica 2-0 while PSG slipped by Juventus 2-1.

In order to get to this point, Haifa needed to win three qualifying rounds which they did against Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, Cypriot side Apollon Limassol and finally Red Star Belgrade in the playoff.

With stars of the past such as Yaniv Katan and Arik Benado in attendance, Haifa head coach Barak Bachar’s starting lineup featured Josh Cohen in goal, Daniel Sundgren, Pierre Cornud, Sean Goldberg and newcomer Dylan Batubinsika in front of the shot stopper.

Captain Neta Lavi anchored the midfield along with Muhammed Abu Fani and Tjaron Chery while Omer Atzily, Dolev Haziza and Frantzdy Pierrot played up front and provided the Greens attack.

PSG came out looking to strike first as Mbappe raced down the left side of the pitch past Cornud but is chance went flying over the bar, while Haifa at the other end pressured keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma however the Italian shot stopper was able to clear the danger.

Neymar’s smart attempt in the box deflected off of Sundgren for a corner kick but Cohen parried the ball away to safety as Abu Fani unleashed a scorcher for the Greens but an alert Donnarumma made the timely save as the end to end action continued at a frantic pace.

Pierrot tried to get Haifa on the board first but once again Donnarumma came up big but he couldn’t stop Tjaron Chery as he stabbed the ball home thanks to a brilliant cross by Haziza to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

However, PSG looked for the equalizer which they found via Messi from in close after he took an Mbappe pass to score in the box, 1-1 in the 37th minute. The goal was Messi’s first in Champions League play this season as he has now scored against 39 different teams and pass Cristiano Ronaldo in that department.

Atzily tried to help Haifa retake the lead just ahead of the break as he came in on the right side but his sharp shot skipped wide of the goal and Chery’s vicious screamer was saved by a diving Donnarumma as the two sides headed to the dressing rooms all knotted up at 1-1.

Haifa controlled the pace of play to begin the second half as Aztzily’s attempt was stopped by the PSG keeper early on, while Cornud’s shot glanced off of his teammate Pierrot and went out to keep the score as is in the 52nd minute. Messi and Neymar got busy but their chances were nullified by the Haifa defenders, including one that was just cleared by Cornud at the last second to keep the game at 1-1.

PSG continued to press the Greens and their efforts paid off when Mbappe slotted home the go ahead goal off of a Messi ball to take a 2-1 lead in the 69th minute. For the Frenchman that was his 6th straight Champions League game with a goal and his third of the season.

Haifa valiantly tried to even the game up but after Chery’s free kick missed the target, Neymar broke through the Haifa backline to make sure there would be no comeback as he scored to give PSG a 3-1 victory.