When was the last time Maccabi went through half a season scoring a goal in every match? The stories and numbers behind round 1 of the 2014/15 Israeli Premier League season
Goalfest
The last time Maccabi Tel Aviv scored more than their current 33 goals in the first half of an Israeli Premier League season was back in the 1998/99 season, when the team scored 35. But they also had two more matches to score them in!
Unstoppable
For the first time since the 2001/02 season, Maccabi Tel Aviv scored in every one of their round 1 matches.
Let the show begin . . . at the end
The most prolific moments of Maccabi Tel Aviv's first-round matches occurred from the 76th minute onward. Nine of the team's goals, and seven of their goals conceded, came with less than fifteen minutes on the clock.
Every man on board
When midfielder Dan Einbinder made his first appearance after a lengthy injury in the last ten minutes of Saturday's match at Hapoel Petach Tikva, he became the 23rd Maccabi Tel Aviv player to be included in the team's first-round matches.
Rotation, rotation
In the course of the thirteen matches Maccabi Tel Aviv played in round 1, head coach Pako Ayestaran chose no less than eleven different starting lineups.
Doing his time
Skipper Sheran Yeini played more minutes in round 1 than any other Maccabi Tel Aviv player, 1,023 in all, including ten minutes as goalkeeper.
Hitting the spot
Maccabi Tel Aviv share the honours with Hapoel Beer Sheva for the most goals scored from penalty kicks during this season's first round, five each. For Maccabi that was five out of five. Hapoel Beer Sheva had another three saved.
Are you being served?
Maccabi Tel Aviv racked up sixteen assists during the first half of the season. Top providers were the midfield trio of Dor Micha, Eran Zahavi and Nikola Mitrovic with three assists each.
Yellow in appearance only
Maccabi Tel Aviv players were cautioned only eighteen times during the course of their thirteen round-one encounters, the lowest number of yellow card bookings of any team in the Israeli Premier League.
And now for round 2 . . .
Opening-night jitters
In the last nine seasons, Maccabi Tel Aviv have only won two of their first round-two encounters
Déjà vu all over again
Maccabi Tel Aviv's first-round record of nine wins, one draw and three matches without points (two losses and the "pointless" Tel Aviv derby) are an exact mirror of the team's performance in round 1 of the 2012/13 season. Remember who won the title that year? Another reason to be cheerful.
