2017–18 Israeli Premier League

Entering the 2017–18 campaign, Hapoel Be'er Sheva were the two-time defending champions under coach Barak Bachar, having won the title in 2016 and 2017.[1] The season developed into one of the most competitive title races in recent Israeli football history. By mid-February 2018, only four points separated the top four clubs: Beersheba led with 50 points, Beitar Jerusalem sat one back on 49, Maccabi Tel Aviv had 48, and Hapoel Haifa held 46.[2] The contest was characterized as the tightest title race in recent decades. A pivotal weekend paired Beersheba at home against Beitar with Maccabi Tel Aviv hosting Haifa at the same time.[2]

Beersheba's form had wobbled over February — the club won only two of six matches across all competitions, was knocked out of the State Cup, and collected just one point from league fixtures against title rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem.[4] Bachar nonetheless set his sights firmly on an unprecedented treble, saying at the start of March: "We have gone through a lot of shocks this season, but we want to make history by winning a third straight championship."[4]

Beersheba regained momentum on March 4 with a 1–0 away victory over Ironi Kiryat Shmona, reclaiming top spot.[4] Tomas Pekhart scored the decisive goal in the 43rd minute after a deflection off John Ogu's shot.[4] Beitar Jerusalem remained one point behind after beating Hapoel Acre 3–0 the same day, setting up a crucial final regular-season match for Beersheba against Bnei Sakhnin, where a win would secure first place entering the championship playoffs.[4]

The decisive blow in the playoff phase came on April 4, when Hapoel Beersheba defeated second-placed Beitar Jerusalem 3–1 at Turner Stadium.[5] Ben Sahar opened the scoring in the third minute — set up by Niv Zrihen — and Zrihen added goals in the 39th and 50th minutes to put the match beyond doubt.[5] Erik Sabo pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute, but the result opened a four-point gap between the sides with eight matches still to play.[5] Beersheba also moved eight points clear of both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Haifa after those clubs lost on the same day.[5]

The title was clinched in dramatic fashion: Beersheba were losing 1–0 at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv when news arrived that Beitar Jerusalem — then in second place — had squandered a 2–0 lead to draw 3–3 with Bnei Yehuda.[1] That result left Beitar seven points adrift with only two matches remaining, mathematically confirming Beersheba as champions regardless of their own result that afternoon.[1]

The final matchday provided a fitting send-off for the champions. Beersheba beat Maccabi Netanya 6–1, with Gai Melamed scoring a hat-trick, Maor Melikson adding two and Tomas Pekhart contributing one.[6] The match doubled as a farewell for club captain Eliniv Barda: after a pre-match ceremony, Barda entered the field in the 89th minute and was lifted by his teammates at the final whistle.[6] Maccabi Tel Aviv sealed second place with a 2–0 win over Bnei Yehuda, while Beitar Jerusalem finished third after drawing 1–1 with Hapoel Haifa.[6]

Each of the six clubs in the upper playoff completed 36 matches. Hapoel Be'er Sheva finished on 80 points, well clear of Maccabi Tel Aviv on 71 and Beitar Jerusalem on 68.[3] Hapoel Haifa, Maccabi Netanya and Bnei Yehuda followed on 62, 58 and 49 points respectively.[3]

As champions, Hapoel Be'er Sheva qualified for the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.[3] Cup winners Hapoel Haifa were entered into the Europa League qualifying rounds, with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem also earning European berths.[3] At the other end of the table, Hapoel Acre and Hapoel Ashkelon were relegated from the top division, replaced by promoted sides Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Hadera.[3]

Contemporary season summaries emphasized two contrasting features of the campaign: the drama of Beersheba clinching the championship while losing at home, and the breadth of records set across the league. The title-clinching coverage focused on Beitar's collapse from a 2–0 lead to a 3–3 draw, while the season review highlighted the scoring average, the absence of 0–0 playoff matches, Beersheba's home streak and Beitar's scoring run.[1][3]

The 2017–18 season was statistically one of the richest in recent Israeli league history. Across 240 matches, 619 goals were scored — an average of 2.58 per game, the highest since the 2010–11 season's average of 2.63.[3] For the first time since the return of the playoff system in 2009–10, no match in either the upper or lower playoff phase ended 0–0, across 30 upper-playoff and 28 lower-playoff fixtures.[3]

Hapoel Be'er Sheva set a league record of 51 consecutive home matches without defeat.[3] The streak had begun with the opening of Turner Stadium on September 21, 2015, and ended only when Maccabi Tel Aviv won 1–0 at the ground on the very day Beersheba clinched the championship.[3] The club also became only the fourth team in Israeli football history to win three consecutive league titles.[3] For the first time, Beersheba also defeated all 13 of its league opponents during a single season.[3]

Beitar Jerusalem delivered a record-breaking offensive season of their own. The Jerusalem club scored 75 goals, equalling its club record set in 1993–94, and became the first team since Maccabi Haifa in 1995–96 to score in every round of a season.[3] Beitar also established a new Israeli league record by scoring in 42 consecutive league matches, surpassing Maccabi Haifa's previous mark of 39 set between 1995 and 1997.[3] Despite receiving 14 penalties, however, Beitar missed six of them.[3]

Maccabi Netanya's Dia Saba topped the goalscoring charts with 24 goals.[3] Since 2001, only Shlomi Arbitman — who struck 28 times in 2009–10 — and Eran Zahavi across three consecutive seasons had scored more in a single Israeli Premier League campaign.[3] Saba also became the first Maccabi Netanya player to score a Premier League hat-trick since Vioral Tensa in 2001.[3] Netanya's Eran Levy led the league in assists with 11.[3]

Hapoel Haifa had a season of contrasting fortunes in league and cup. In the league, the club finished fourth in the upper playoff and recorded a landmark derby achievement: sweeping both fixtures against city rivals Maccabi Haifa — winning 1–0 and 3–0 — for the first time since the 1951–52 season.[3] It was also the first time Hapoel Haifa had finished above Maccabi Haifa in the league since Hapoel's own championship-winning campaign in 1998–99.[3] Away from the league, Hapoel Haifa won the State Cup, their first cup title since 1974 and the fourth in the club's history.[3]

The two relegated clubs endured particularly difficult campaigns. Hapoel Ashkelon won only four league matches — the fewest victories the club had recorded in the top division — scored a league-low 23 goals, and failed to find the net in 15 of its 33 fixtures.[3] Ashkelon also suffered the longest losing streak of any club in the division at eight consecutive matches, and went 11 matches without a win at the longest stretch.[3] Hapoel Acre conceded a league-high 67 goals and accumulated the lowest home points total of any side, just 11, while scoring only 10 goals at home across the season.[3]