Preview

Three days after the 3-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the final home match of the 2025/26 season against second place Beitar Jerusalem. Maccabi’s interim Head Coach Kenny Miller whose side are third in the table with 65 points, will try and guide Maccabi to a first victory against Beitar this season which would also cut the gap between the two sides to 3 points. Miller made a single change from the side that beat Haifa in midweek as Helio Varela replaced Kervin Andrade on the wing.

Ofek Melika made his 25th league appearance and 30th in all competitions this season as the 21-year-old keeper started in goal. Ali Camara and Tyrese Asante lined up as the two central defenders in front of Melika. Sagiv Jehezkel who scored a goal and added an assist against Haifa in midweek, kept his place on the right, while Roy Revivo who took his tally to 13 league assists in the league started on the left. Miller made no changes to his midfield trio as Issouf Sissokho in the anchorman role sat behind Ido Shahar and Dor Peretz who scored 13 and 16 league goals respectively. Varela replaced Andrade on the left while Emir Sahiti kept his place on the right with Saied Abu Farchi leading the attack aiming to add to his 11 goals in all competitions.

On the bench alongside Andrade, Miller goalkeeper Roi Mishpati, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Elad Madmon, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Itamar Noy and Itai Ben Hamo.

Prior to kick off, Ben Mansford who was the Club’s CEO for two spells and held the role of Director of Football, was given a chance to bid farewell from the fans as he will leave at the end of the season.

First half

A packed Bloomfield stadium welcomed both sets of players onto the pitch but after Gal Leibovic got the contest underway Maccabi were the dominant side. Helio Varela down the left, Emir Sahiti on the right and Saied Abu Farchi in the middle put Beitar’s defense under pressure with Dor Peretz and Ido Shahar supporting from midfield.

Maccabi reached several good chances in the first 15 minutes as Varela flashed a shot across the face of goal which Miguel Silva turned for a corner. Sagiv Jehezkel released a counterattack which led to another chance that was wasted before Ofek Melika pulled a stunning save at the opposite end to deny Yarden Shuah. Maccabi continued to press as Shahar was through on goal but was let down by his touch allowing Silva to charge off his line and collect. In the middle of a Maccabi counterattack in the 26th minute Ali Camara was booked for a foul on Omer Atzili. A minute after the half hour mark Sahiti fired a low drive from the edge of the area which rolled wide of the post. In the 38th minute Maccabi had the ball in the back of the net after Abu Farchi flicked with his head for Sahiti who raced clear on goal. The Kosovar winger dinked the ball over Silva and was then booked for his goal celebrations, but VAR intervened and spotted an offside before the goal was cancelled.

Maccabi continued to press forward in an attempt to score before the interval. Inside injury time Beitar’s defense struggled to clear a Shahar corner which Camara sent back into the danger zone. Peretz’s attempt of a header fell to Abu Farchi at the far post, but once again Silva managed to save before Yarin Levy’s clearance reached Sahiti whose effort cleared the crossbar.

Second half

Kenny Miller and his Beitar counterpart Barak Itzhaki made no changes after the break but less than a minute after the restart the visitors almost took the lead. Shuah was given the time and space to turn on the edge of Maccabi’s box forcing Melika to full stretch and deny Beitar’s captain. Maccabi came close as a counterattack left Shahar unmarked, but the 24-year-old dragged his shot over the crossbar. In the 51st minute the deadlock was finally broken as nothing could prevent Maccabi from taking the lead. Sahiti received the ball down the right flank and floated a cross to the far post where Perertz’s glancing header took his tally to 17 league goals and 20 in all competitions. Maccabi came close to double the score on 56 as Varela drove a counterattack for almost half the length of the pitch to release Sahiti who was tripped by Yarden Cohen. Jehezkel latched on the loose ball and charged forward but had his shot saved by Silva. While Maccabi kept trying to double their lead, a lethal counterattack at the opposite end on the hour mark resulted with Shuah feeding Atzili whose effort was almost saved by Melika.

A last gasp Roy Revivo tackle in the 65th minute denied Samuel Kalu who raced through on goal from putting Beitar in front. Miller reacted with a triple substitution as Noam Ben Harush replaced Jehezkel, Kervin Andrade came on for Sahiti and Elad Madmon replaced Abu Farchi. In the 80th minute Beitar completed their comeback as Maccabi’s defense were caught flat before the ball reached Timothy Muzie who swept his shot past Melika to put the visitors in front. Miller responded with a double change on 84 as Itamar Noy and Itai Ben Hamo replaced Camara and Shahar for the closing stages. But despite all of Maccabi’s attempts to level, Beitar managed to hang on and celebrate the victory which kept their championship aspirations alive.

This week marks 80 years since the first-ever encounter between the clubs which was played on May 11^th 1946. Yosef Gurfinkel’s last-minute winner earned Maccabi a dramatic 3-2 victory on the way to winning the State Cup that season.

Both teams faced each other 143 times in the league as the overall record currently stands on 59 Maccabi victories, 42 draws, and 42 victories for Beitar. The overall goal tally currently stands on 208-155.

Maccabi played Beitar in six Championship Playoff matches at Bloomfield and won all six with an aggregate goal tally of 23-3. Overall, the teams met 15 times in the Playoff with Maccabi winning 8, drawing 2, and losing 5.

A total of 91 different Maccabi players scored against Beitar Jerusalem in league matches. Maccabi’s leading goalscorers against Beitar are Eran Zahavi and Avi Nimni with 15 goals each. Benny Tabak is third in the goalscoring chart with 13 goals against Beitar.

A total of 390 Maccabi players featured against Beitar Jerusalem in league action. Avi Nimni holds the appearance record with 30 matches, while Sheran Yeini is second with 29 appearances against Beitar.

Maccabi are heading into their final home match of the 2025/26 season. In 73 seasons since the the State of Israel was established, Maccabi’s record in the final home league match currently stands on 45 victories, 12 draws, and 16 defeats with a goal tally of 149-74. This will be the eighth time Maccabi face Beitar in their final home match of the season, with the current record standing at 5 Maccabi victories including last season’s 5-0 win and 2 Beitar victories.

Maccabi’s highest-ever victory over Beitar in all competitions was recorded during the 2000/01 Playoff match. Maccabi beat Beitar 7-0 Bloomfield with goals from Rodrigo Goldberg (2), Avi Nimni (2), Dedi Ben Dayan, Guy Tzarfati, and Baruch Dego.

Dor Peretz scored one of the goals to lead Maccabi to a convincing first half display that culminated with a 3-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield. Four days after the disappointing performance in the Tel Aviv derby, the 31-year-old captain tried explaining the turnaround his side has been through in such a short period of time. “Sometimes there are matches that are less good, and that’s okay, but today we came with exactly the qualities we want to show. I was happy to see the Maccabi Tel Aviv that we all want to be part of, hungry, aggressive, attacking and creative.”

As Maccabi recorded their third victory over Haifa in the space of one month, twice in the league and once in the State Cup, Peretz admitted: “Let’s be honest, it’s been a weaker season for Maccabi Haifa, but we need to focus on our own situation. I see a process we’re going through, even within the setbacks and the less good games. This is a team going through a development process, and I’m happy to be part of it.”

The captain whose contract runs out in the summer was once again asked about his future as he said: “I’m part of this club, it runs through my veins,” Peretz continued. “Right now I’m here and I’m all in, and whatever happens in the future will happen in the future.”

Despite narrowing the gap from leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva and second place Beitar Jerusalem that dropped points on Tuesday, Peretz didn’t hide his disappointment from the fact Maccabi are no longer part of the title race: “Of course there’s a feeling of disappointment. We started getting ourselves into the race and then slipped up at certain moments, and unfortunately, we’re no longer part of the battle. We’ve gone through a season full of ups and downs, but from this situation there’s only room to learn. The young players here are taking something huge for their careers from this process.”

Peretz who scored a staggering 19 goals in all competitions and 16 in the league, paid tribute to his teammates and interim Head Coach Kenny Miller as he summed up: “Everyone here really rallies around me and supports me. Everyone wants what’s best for me personally, and I want what’s best for the team, so I’m happy it’s like that.”

Preview

Four days after the 1-1 draw in the Tel Aviv derby Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD33 WINNER League match against Maccabi Haifa. After beating Haifa twice last month 3-2 in the State Cup Semi Final at Teddy stadium and 3-1 on MD28 at Sammy Ofer, Maccabi will aim to record a first victory against Haifa this season at Bloomfield. Interim coach Kenny Miller whose side is third in the table with 62 points, will try guide Maccabi back to winning ways. With 12 points still left to play for, a victory could restore Maccabi’s lead from four place Hapoel Tel Aviv back to six points. But at the same time a victory could narrow the gap from second place Beitar to six points, before hosting them at Bloomfield on Saturday.

Miller didn’t make too many changes from the side that played in the derby as Sagiv Jehezkel was named at right back while Tyrese Asante moved across the back to partner Ali Camara as the two central defenders. Roy Revivo who is experiencing an extraordinary season after taking his assist tally to 12 in the league so far, recovered from the back injury which forced him to limp off at halftime against Hapoel. Revivo was back in the side at left back to complete the defensive line in front of goalkeeper Ofek Melika. Issouf Sissokho who completed his two-match touchline ban was also back in the side as the Mali midfielder slotted into the anchorman role behind Maccabi’s two top goalscorers Ido Shahar (12) and Dor Peretz (15). Kervin Andrade made his first start since the 3-2 victory over Ashdod in February, as the Venezuelan winger was named by Miller on the left wing. Emir Sahiti was named on the opposite right flank with Saied Abu Farchi leading the line.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Roi Mishapti, Miller named Yonas Malede, Kristijan Belic, Elad Madmon, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Helio Varela, Itamar Noy and Itai Ben Hamo.

First half

Maccabi began the match on the front foot with Emir Sahiti and Saied Abu Farchi exchanging passes down the right to create a chance as early as the third minute. Abu Farchi’s backheel flick released Sahiti whose attempt of a cross was collected by Haifa’s keeper Shareef Keouf. A minute later Sahiti fired a left foot shot which sailed wide before Kervin Andrade blasted a low drive from the edge of the area that narrowly missed the target.

In the 14th minute the deadlock was finally broken with a spectacular solo effort by Jehezkel. Andrade’s skill took him past Haifa’s Jelle Bataille before switching sides with a long ball from left to right. Sahiti skipped over the ball letting it run to Jehezkel. The 31-year-old full-back picked the ball near the byline, cut towards the middle and sent a delicate chip which bent away from Keouf and sailed into the top corner. Dor Peretz came close to double Maccabi’s lead as he was put through by Roy Revivo but from a tight angle fired a weak shot which Keouf managed to catch. Ten minutes later Jehezkel turned provider as nothing could deny Peretz from taking his tally to 16 league goals and 19 in all competitions. Asante released Jehezkel who was given the time and space to deliver an accurate cut back for Peretz to sweep home with one touch. Maccabi continued to dominate as two minutes before the half hour mark Revivo fired a shot which crept wide of the far post.

Miller’s men completely outplayed Haifa as the 20-minute blitz saw their lead increased to 3-0 in the 34th minute. Revivo and Andrade exchanged passes down the left before Ido Shahar received the ball and blasted it into the top corner to silence the 3000 visiting fans and send 18,000 Maccabi fans up in the air. Peretz could have doubled his tally in the 40th minute after Asante sent him through on goal, but the attempt of Maccabi’s captain to lift the ball over the advancing Keouf sailed over. Ofek Melika made his first impact on the game in the 42nd minute as he pulled a reflex save to palm away a Trivante Stewart close range header.

Second half

Miller made no changes after the interval, while Ali Mohamad was introduced by Barak Bachar for Peter Agba at the restart. Ali Camara and Revivo were booked by referee Gal Levy for two mistimed tackles. Miller made two changes a minute after the hour mark as Andrade and Saied Abu Farchi both bowed out and were replaced by Helio Varela and Elad Madmon.

Four minutes later Shahar and Jehezkel almost swapped roles as the midfielder tied up the full back for a shot which narrowly missed the top corner. Two minutes later Shahar had an effort from inside the box which kept Keouf rooted to the ground, but the ball rolled wide of the post. A counterattack in the 71st minute tore Haifa apart as Asante carried the ball out of defense and released Sahiti who picked Varela but the Cape Verde winger curled his shot over. Miller made another double change on 75 as Shahar and Sahiti received a standing ovation as they were replaced by Noam Ben Harosh and Kristijan Belic. 

In the 86th minute Revivo was fouled near the corner of the area with the referee awarding a penalty. But VAR intervened, corrected the initial decision and Maccabi received a free kick which Asante headed over. Miller made his fifth and final change as Ben Lederman replaced Issouf Sissokho for the closing stages. The full-time whistle confirmed Maccabi’s third successive victory over Haifa which erased the memory of the 4-1 victory at Sammy Ofer earlier this season.