In the heated battle of UEFA Group H, the Old Lady, who had lost in both previous rounds, finally got a win in the early hours of Thursday morning (6) when they beat Maccabi Haifa 3-1 at home. This narrowed the gap between them and Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica (both with seven points) at the top of the table to four points, leaving the road to promotion difficult but still with a spark of hope.
Di Maria was the key man for Zuyuntas in this match. In the 35th minute, he sent a precise direct-feed to help Rabiot to open the first record. Then in the 50th minute, he sent another penetrating pass to Dusinhoovic, who grabbed the chance to score a one-touch goal. Although the visitors pulled a goal back in the 75th minute, Di Maria took a penalty corner in the 83rd minute, and Rabiot scored with a header to seal the 3-1 victory, and Di Maria also completed his "assist hat-trick".
It's worth noting that in the last four years, there have only been three "assist hat-tricks" in the UEFA Europa League, and Di Maria has scored two of them alone, one against Bruges for Paris Saint-Germain in 2019, and the other in 2021 at Zuogens Road (Manchester City). Di Maria's performances were so good that even Dusinhojevic couldn't help but "shine his shoes" in his honor!
