Maccabi continued their winning ways yesterday (Monday) having left Turner stadium with three precious points following the 1-0 victory over Hapoel Be’ersheva.
The next day we discovered several interesting figures on this current period.
Van Leeuwen’s start
Maccabi’s Head Coach Patrick van Leeuwen continues his outstanding record which is currently the second best in Maccabi’s history of coaches / managers.
Since Van Leeuwen’s appointment, Maccabi has so far recorded 6 victories and a draw under the Dutchman which equals the 2013/14 start of the season under Paulo Sousa.
Only Gaul Machlis, who coached Maccabi in the 1953/54 season, enjoyed a better start with 7 straight victories.
50 goals for Ben Chaim
Tal Ben Chaim marked another good performance by reaching an impressive landmark as the 31-year-old forward scored his 50th goal for Maccabi in all competitions.
Ben Chaim, who rejoined in the summer for a second stint at Maccabi, is currently ranked 22nd in the all-time goal-scoring club records.
Since making his first start for Maccabi in the 2013/14 season to score a 25th minute goal in a Champions League qualifier against Hungarian outfit Gyori, Ben Chaim scored 38 league goals, 3 Toto Cup, 2 State Cup and 7 in European competitions.
Zero in four
The match at Turner stadium was the fourth encounter with Hapoel Be’ersheva this season. Maccabi managed to keep a clean sheet in those matches against Be’ersheva, an achievement which was replicated twice in the past by Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 1993/94 season (3 league victories: 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 and a 2-0 Toto Cup victory). The same feat was achieved by Zafririm Holon two seasons earlier (1991/92).
Maccabi’s favorite MD
MD18 which is the halfway mark (for teams in the Top Playoff) continued to be Maccabi’s favorite Match Day. In the past 12 season since 2009/10 Maccabi remain unbeaten in MD18 with 10 victories and draws.
A success rate of 89% is by far the highest of all the top flight clubs with Hapoel Tel Aviv’s 67% in second place of that category.
