Ofek Melika returned to Maccabi’s goal after sitting out the midweek State Cup Semi Final against Maccabi Haifa, and helped his side collect three points at the end of a tense Tel Aviv derby. Melika, who pulled a spectacular save from Fernand Mayembo in the second half before Hapoel managed to score yet a foul of the Hapoel captain on him saw the goal disallowed, admitted: “I had flashbacks from the previous derby where Hapoel scored a two late goals, but this was rightly disallowed and we kept a clean sheet and won the match in a team effort.”

Meika also complimented fellow goalkeeper Roi Mishpati and said he thrives under the competition: “He had an amazing match against Haifa in the Cup. Watching from the bench is never easy as every player wants to play in a Semi Final and a Final but this is the staff’s decision which I respect as it pushes me to perform.”

Preview

A week after the 3-1 defeat to Hapoel Be’ersheva in the final league match of the regular season and four days after securing a place in the State Cup Final with a 3-2 victory over Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium. The Tel Aviv derby against arch city rivals Hapoel on MD27 of the WINNER League, will kick-off the Playoff with one of the biggest fixtures in the footballing calendar. Memories of the dramatic late 2-1 defeat when both teams last met at the end of January on MD20 that ended a 12-year-long unbeaten run, are still fresh. But as Hapoel also have 49 points and trail Maccabi only on goal difference, means that there is lot more than local pride at stake. Maccabi’s coach Ronny Deila who previously coached Celtic in Glasgow’s Old Firm, will experience his first derby in Tel Aviv. The 50-year-old Norwegian didn’t make too many changes from the side that beat Haifa in midweek. Goalkeeper Ofek Melika, who was rested in the Cup, returned to goal with Roi Mishpati making way. Heitor dos Santos and Ali Camara lined up as the two central defenders in front of Melika. Tyrese Asante and Roy Revivo who were both on target against Haifa at Teddy, completed Maccabi’s back-four on the right and left, respectively.

After recovering from an injury to make a second half substitute appearance in midweek, Issouf Sissokho, returned to the anchorman role. The 24-year-old Malian midfielder was named behind Maccabi’s top two goal scorers Ido Shahar (10) and Dor Peretz (11) forming the midfield trio. Emir Sahiti who scored four goals in seven appearances in all competitions before the war with Iran, returned to the starting line-up after two appearances as a substitute. Helio Varela, who also has four goals to his name was named on the opposite flank. Upfront, Deila stuck with Elad Madmon whose man-of-the-match performance in midweek earned him another start while Saied Abu Farchi returned from suspension and started on the bench.

Alongside Mishpati and Abu Farchi, Deila, named Sagiv Jehezkel, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Itamar Noy and Osher Davida among the substitutes.

First Half

A wall of sound and sea of color welcomed the two sets of players onto the pitch at Bloomfield which was almost packed to its capacity for the first time since the war with Iran broke in February. Pyrotechnics display from both ends of the pitch immediately after the kickoff saw the match halted. When the smoke had cleared and play resumed Maccabi were clearly the dominant side as Ronny Deila’s team enjoyed most of the possession. It didn’t take long for the deadlock to be broken as Maccabi’s captain and top scorer Dor Peretz set Bloomfield alight. Issouf Sissokho sent Helio Varela down the left before the Cape Verde winger burst forward and cut the ball back from the byline. Peretz didn’t even need an additional touch as he blasted a powerful shot from the edge of the area which rocketed into the bottom corner giving Assaf Tzur no chance.

In the 26th minute Hapoel came close as Loizos Loizou lost Sissokho with a drop of a shoulder and began a counterattack before slipping the ball to Emmanuel Boateng whose shot hit the upright. Four minutes after the half hour mark Varela kept tormenting Hapoel’s defense with his pace as he received a long ball and charged forward before he was brought down by Marcus Coco. Referee Yigal Frid didn’t hesitate as he showed Hapoel’s defender a yellow card. Tyrese Asante rose high to meet Ido Shahar’s resulting free kick, but unlike the midweek Cup match against Haifa, the Dutch defender’s header was easily collected by Tzur. Three minutes later at the opposite end Ofek Melika charged out of his goal to block Boateng with his feet. Asante was booked for a foul in the middle of the park shortly before the fourth official raised his sign for 7 minutes of additional time.

Ali Camara dropped to the ground clutching his hamstring as the Guinean central defender remained on the pitch while Raz Shlomo was getting ready to come on. Five minutes into the addition Emir Sahiti skipped past a defender near the corner of Hapoel’s area. The 27-year-old Kosovan winger squared to Peretz who fired a shot from the exact place he scored but this time his effort cleared the crossbar. On the brink of halftime Maccabi came close to double their lead as Varela slipped Roy Revivo in but the left back’s cut-back was cleared by a Hapoel defender from the goalmouth. The halftime whistle sent the two sides to regroup in the dressing rooms and prepare for the second period.  

Second Half

Deila made his first change after the break as Shlomo came on for the injured Camara at the restart. Three minutes after the restart Hapoel were awarded a free kick which Stav Turiel curled to the back post. Fernand Mayembo sent a powerful header which Melika initially saved before the rebound was fired in by Chico Alves. Hapoel celebrated an equalizer but there celebrations were short lived as VAR intervened and called Frid to the screen spotting a foul on the keeper as the goal was disallowed.

Two minutes after the hour mark Varela turned inside leaving Mayembo behind him but his shot sailed high over the crossbar. Deila reacted with a second substitution as Saied Abu Farchi came on for Elad Madmon who worked tirelessly upfront. A minute later Heitor dos Santos went down in the box after a head collision with Hapoel’s Xanda Silva. The Brazilian defender needed medical treatment before walking off together with Sahiti as Deila made a double substitution introducing Sagiv Jehezkel and Osher Davida. Asante pushed into the middle with Jehezkel taking his role at right back while Jehezkel slotted into the right-back position.

In the 75th minute Sissokho limped off holding his groin as Deila was forced to make his fifth and final change introducing Itamar Noy for the closing stages.

In the 90th minute a foul by Doron Leidner on Davida led to a scuffle between the two sides at the end of which Frid was called to the screen and showed Davida the red card. Inside injury time and despite the numerical disadvantage Maccabi defended bravely and celebrated the victory at the final whistle.

This season will be the 23rd in league history during which Playoff matches are staged at the end of a regular season. Maccabi will play in the Top Playoff for the 21st time in succession, the highest number of appearances among league clubs. Maccabi featured in the bottom Playoffs only in the first two seasons (1987/88 and 1988/89) after they were introduced in Israel. Hapoel Be’ersheva has the second-longest current streak after Maccabi as this will be their 13th consecutive season in the Top Playoff.

Maccabi won the League Championship 8 times at the end of the Playoff.

Maccabi’s highest victory in Playoff history was a 7-0 thrashing of Beitar Jerusalem in the 2000/01 season. Avi Nimni (2), Rodrigo Goldberg (2), Dedi Ben-Dayan, Guy Tzarfati, and Baruch Dego were on target.

The largest attendance ever for a Playoff match: 33,000 fans was recorded at the Ramat Gan national stadium at the end of the 2012/13 season. Maccabi secured the league title four matches before the end of the season with a 2-0 victory over Ramat HaSharon that hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Ramat Gan Stadium.

This is the 14th season under the current format (regular season followed a Playoff). Since the 12/13 season Maccabi played 130 Playoff matches winning 72, drawing 37 while 21 others ended in defeat with a total goal tally of 231-109.

Since the 12/13 season, Maccabi faced 16 different clubs in the Playoffs. Of the five opponents that reached the Playoff this season, Maccabi faced Be’ersheva and Maccabi Haifa in 12 Playoff seasons, Beitar in 6 seasons, Hapoel Tel Aviv in 4 seasons, and Hapoel Petah Tikva for the first time in the Top Playoff under the current format.

The most successful Playoff seasons for Maccabi were recorded in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2023/24, and 2024/25, with 23 points in each campaign (W-7, D-2, L-1). One unbeaten Playoff season was recorded in the 2015/16 campaign with 20 points (W-5, D-5).

No less than 119 players featured for Maccabi in 130 playoff matches since the 12/13 season. Dor Peretz holds the appearances record with 77 Playoff matches to his name.

A total of 51 players scored goals for Maccabi in the Playoffs. Eran Zahavi leads the goalscoring charts with 50 Playoff goals.

Over the past 13 seasons, Maccabi hosted the opening matches of the Playoff having finished the regular season in positions 1-3. The record in these matches currently stands on W-10, D-2, L-1 with a goal tally of 21-4.

Under the current league format, Maccabi faced Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Playoffs in the 2013, 2014, 2020, and 2022 seasons. The record of derbies played in 8 Playoffs matches currently stands on: Six victories, 1 draw and 1 defeat with a goal tally of 19-5.

The upcoming Tel Aviv derby will be the 170th encounter between the two sides in the league. The overall record currently stands on 63 victories, 59 draws, while Hapoel won 47 derbies.

Ido Shahar is experiencing the best season of his career as he scored 10 of his 14 goals this season in league matches. From his position in midfield, Shahar, is Maccabi’s joint top scorer together with Dor Peretz who scored one more goal in the league. While Peretz was on target in Wednesday’s State Cup Semi Final victory over Maccabi Haifa, Shahar missed a penalty which would have taken his tally this season to 15 in all competitions.

Ahead of Sunday’s Tel Aviv derby against Hapoel at Bloomfield, where local pride will take center stage, Shahar said: “A derby is a derby. Everyone knows the meaning of this game, for the players, the Club, and the fans. We are preparing as we do for every match. We’re coming to win, and we do have a good feeling after the recent victory in the Cup against Maccabi Haifa. We hope to continue the momentum we have created, come to win tomorrow and look as good as possible.”

Bloomfield stadium is expected to be full again to its’ capacity after the Home Front Command lifted all the restrictions following the ceasefire with Iran and Lebanon. Sahar, didn’t hide his excitement as he admitted: “We are happy the fans are back and that Bloomfield will be full, I am sure it will help us a lot and give us a real boost.”

Shahar who has an excellent success rate from penalties, spoke on the spot kick he missed against Haifa on Wednesday: “It was a bit frustrating to miss a penalty, but I know it’s part of the profession. I always say, if you don’t take them, you don’t miss. After the penalty I told myself that the most important thing is the next action. I managed to win the ball back, and most importantly, we won. Dor (Peretz) came over and said a few words which gave me a lift.”

Local pride will not be the only thing at stake as Hapoel are neck and neck with Maccabi in the table as only goal difference separates the two sides in the table: “I understand what the fans are feeling” Shahar said. “I don’t think the derby is more important than the Haifa match, Haifa was also a very important game. We’re level on points and everything is tight. Even after the run was broken, we as players take it in a positive way. It’s a privilege to be under this kind of pressure and in these situations. We want to take that pressure and turn it into positive energy, and make our fans as happy as possible.”

On Wednesday’s Cup victory which was the first victory Maccabi recorded over one of the ‘Big Guns’ over 90 minutes this season, Shahar said: “It’s a fact that we haven’t beaten the big teams. Maccabi is the biggest club in the country, we come to win every match. It has been a bit of a strange season, with a lot of changes in the squad and many new players. I can’t remember Maccabi having such a young squad in a long time, but we take that positively.” Despite his young age, Shahar, who emerged from Maccabi’s Youth Department, is one of the most experienced players in the squad. “To keep the club’s DNA as it was, and it’s still there. There’s also the war situation, which affects all teams. For us, the season isn’t over and there’s still a lot to play for. We’re not giving up on any title or any match. This upcoming game is very important for us.”

On the competition for places in midfield, Shahar, who will be making his 40th appearance in all competitions this season and a total of 113 in Yellow and Blue, added: “In the end, we’re used to it. There’s competition across the squad, every position has competition. We like that, and ultimately it pushes the team forward.”

On Maccabi’s targets this season, Shahar said: “Our goal is to win the league, the cup, basically to fight for every title. We did everything to enter the playoffs from first place, unfortunately it didn’t happen. But we haven’t given up, and the season isn’t over yet.”

Mishpati, whose last appearance was in the 5-0 Quarter Final victory over Maccabi Jaffa back in February, spoke of his relationship with Ronny Deila: “The coach spoke with me and gave me confidence. He felt he could rely on me, and he showed it by letting me start in such an important match. I’m glad I was able to repay him on the pitch.”

On his thoughts ahead of the Final against Hapoel Be’ersheva at the end of May, Mishpati said: “I always believe, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here. I really love these moments against the big teams, and it’s a shame the stadium wasn’t full.”

Mishpati, who watched his fellow keeper Ofek Melika from the bench, said of Maccabi’s recent defeat to Be’ersheva: “It was a key game for us. We didn’t manage to get a good result, but before the semifinal we talked about what’s left until the end of the season and about doing something special. That’s what we’ve been discussing in recent days, me, Dor, Ali, everyone with experience, and we managed to pass on to the younger players that this is the important game.”

In view of Sunday’s Tel Aviv derby, Mishpati said: “Of course, we’ve already started talking in the dressing room about the derby. For us, it’s the most important match and the main goal right now.”