Ten-man Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered a brutal 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Olympique Lyonnais at the TSC Arena, extending their losing streak in the UEFA Europa League Group Phase to four matches.
Determined to halt a five-game winless run across all competitions, Lyon flew out of the blocks and broke the deadlock inside four minutes.
Corentin Tolisso repeatedly ghosted into dangerous areas throughout the opening period, and his early surge into the box produced the opener as his effort deflected kindly for Abner to slot home unmarked at the far post.
Maccabi Tel Aviv looked bereft of ideas going forward and were equally overwhelmed defensively, particularly by the rampant Tolisso.
After flashing an effort narrowly wide, the midfielder punished more slack marking moments later, nodding in Abner’s floated cross as the French side tightened their grip.
That dominance was underlined when Pavel Šulc was felled clumsily in the box, allowing Moussa Niakhaté to roll in a composed penalty for 3-0 before halftime.
Any hopes of a Maccabi revival evaporated almost immediately after the restart.
Tolisso completed his hat-trick within five minutes of the second half, drifting free at the far post to head home Šulc’s delivery, then helping himself to another close-range finish from the Czech playmaker’s cutback.
Lyon’s substitutes kept the pressure on, and Adam Karabec added a sixth with a sharp strike from a tight angle shortly after coming on.
Maccabi, who failed to register a single shot on target, saw their night go from bad to worse when Sagiv Yehezkel picked up a second yellow in added time.
The outcome leaves the group picture all but settled. Lyon, now on 12 points from five matches, are practically through to the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, bottom-placed Maccabi Tel Aviv, stuck on one point with the worst goal difference in the competition, now face the near-impossible task of needing to win all three remaining fixtures to keep their hopes alive.
