2018–19 Israeli Premier League

The 2018–19 Israeli Premier League, also known as Ligat Japanika for sponsorship reasons, was the twentieth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 77th season of top-tier football in Israel. The season began on 25 August 2018 and concluded on 25 May 2019. Hapoel Be'er Sheva were the defending champions.

Israeli Premier League
Season2018–19
ChampionsMaccabi Tel Aviv
RelegatedMaccabi Petah Tikva
Bnei Sakhnin
Champions LeagueMaccabi Tel Aviv
Europa LeagueMaccabi Haifa
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Matches played240
Goals scored599 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorer Ben Sahar
(15 goals)
Biggest home winHapoel Tel Aviv 6–0 Maccabi Petah Tikva
(3 March 2019)
Biggest away winBeitar Jerusalem 1–5 Bnei Yehuda
(27 October 2018)
Bnei Sakhnin 0–4 Hapoel Haifa
(19 January 2019)
Hapoel Hadera 0–4 Bnei Yehuda
(10 February 2019)
Highest scoringHapoel Haifa 4–4 Hapoel Be'er Sheva
(4 December 2018)
Longest winning run7 matches
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Longest unbeaten run32 matches
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Longest winless run13 matches
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Longest losing run4 matches
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Hapoel Hadera
Highest attendance29,988
Maccabi Haifa 1–3 Hapoel Haifa
(1 December 2018)
Total attendance1,430,652 [1]
Average attendance5,925

Teams

A total of fourteen teams were competing in the league, including twelve sides from the 2017–18 season and two promoted teams from the 2017–18 Liga Leumit.

Hapoel Akko and Hapoel Ashkelon were relegated to the 2018–19 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2017–18 Israeli Premier League in the bottom two places.

Hapoel Tel Aviv were promoted as the winners of the 2017–18 Liga Leumit. This ends the team's one-year absence from the top division.

Hapoel Hadera were promoted as the Runner-ups of the 2017–18 Liga Leumit. This marked the return of Hadera to the top division after 39 years of absence.

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2018–19 Israeli Premier League teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Beitar Jerusalem Jerusalem Teddy Stadium[2] 31,733
Bnei Sakhnin Sakhnin Doha Stadium[3] 8,500
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv HaMoshava Stadium[4], Petah Tikva 11,500
F.C. Ashdod Ashdod Yud-Alef Stadium[5] 7,800
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Be'er Sheva Turner Stadium[6] 16,126
Hapoel Hadera Hadera Netanya Stadium,[7] Netanya 13,610
Hapoel Haifa Haifa Sammy Ofer Stadium[8] 30,780
Hapoel Ra'anana Ra'anana Ramat Gan Stadium,[9] Ramat Gan 13,370
Hapoel Tel Aviv Tel Aviv HaMoshava Stadium,[10] Petah Tikva 11,500
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona Stadium[11] 5,300
Maccabi Haifa Haifa Sammy Ofer Stadium[12] 30,780
Maccabi Netanya Netanya Netanya Stadium[13] 13,610
Maccabi Petah Tikva Petah Tikva HaMoshava Stadium[14] 11,500
Maccabi Tel Aviv Tel Aviv Netanya Stadium,[15] Netanya 13,610
HaMoshava Stadium Netanya Stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium
Bnei Yehuda
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Maccabi Petah Tikva		 Hapoel Hadera
Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Tel Aviv		 Hapoel Haifa
Maccabi Haifa
Doha Stadium Kiryat Shmona Stadium Ramat Gan Stadium
Bnei Sakhnin Ironi Kiryat Shmona Hapoel Ra'anana
Teddy Stadium Turner Stadium Yud-Alef Stadium
Beitar Jerusalem Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. Ashdod

Personnel and sponsorship
Team President Manager Captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Beitar Jerusalem Moshe Hogeg Nir Klinger Idan Vered Givova Appli Check
Bnei Sakhnin Mohammed Abu Yunes Amir Turgeman Khaled Khalaila Joma Scania
Bnei Yehuda Barak Abramov Yossi Abukasis Itzik Azuz Kappa HAP
F.C. Ashdod Jacky Ben-Zaken Avi Bohbot Tom Ben Zaken Nike ——
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Alona Barkat Barak Bakhar Maor Melikson Puma Tadiran
Hapoel Haifa Yoav Katz Haim Silvas Gil Vermouth Joma BOGART
Hapoel Hadera Oren Golan Niso Avitan Menashe Zalka Lotto ——
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Izzy Sheratzky Shimon Hadri Eden Shamir Kappa Ituran
Hapoel Ra'anana Asher Alon Meni Koretski Snir Shuker Givova ME Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv Itzik and Sharon Nisanov Kobi Refua Orel Dgani Macron Arkia
Maccabi Haifa Ya'akov Shahar Marco Balbul Neta Lavi Nike Volvo
Maccabi Netanya Eyal Segal Slobodan Drapić Dani Amos Lotto Kesrei Thofa
Maccabi Petah Tikva Amos Luzon Murad Magomedov Naor Peser Macron Panorama North
Maccabi Tel Aviv Mitchell Goldhar Vladimir Ivić Sheran Yeini —— PenguinPickUp

Foreign players

The number of foreign players were restricted to six per team, while only five could have been registered to a game.[16]

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6
Beitar Jerusalem Antoine Conte Ange-Freddy Plumain Anthony Annan Afonso Taira Mihai Voduț
Bnei Sakhnin Alban Pnishi George Akpabio Shuaibu Ibrahim Emmanuel Mbola
Bnei Yehuda Ismaila Soro Emilijus Zubas Mavis Tchibota Fejsal Mulić Jakub Sylvestr Carlos Cuéllar
F.C. Ashdod Issoumaila Lingane Romain Habran Johan Martial Leonard Owusu Seybou Koita Filip Knežević
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Kevin Tapoko Nigel Hasselbaink John Ogu Miguel Vítor Erik Sabo
Hapoel Haifa Ernestas Šetkus Radu Gînsari Risto Mitrevski Gabriel Tamaș Rasmus Sjöstedt
Hapoel Hadera Lúcio Nathan Oduwa Austin Ejide David Mateos George Fochive
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Valon Ahmedi Marcus Diniz Hadji Barry Džiugas Bartkus Jorge Morcillo Levi Garcia
Hapoel Ra'anana Ariel Ngueukam Mirko Oremuš Martin Zeman Teddy Mézague Eugene Ansah
Hapoel Tel Aviv Marvin Peersman Caio Alves Claudemir Emmanuel Boateng Nerijus Valskis
Maccabi Haifa Allyson Ernest Mabouka Georges Mandjeck Manuel Iturra Etiënne Reijnen Kerim Frei
Maccabi Netanya Jahmir Hyka Branko Vrgoč Tim Heubach Fatos Bećiraj Ali Mohamed
Maccabi Petah Tikva Tomáš Sivok Franck-Yves Bambock Kpehi Didier Brossou Armando Cooper Issa Cissokho Anton Bratkov
Maccabi Tel Aviv Chikeluba Ofoedu Jair Amador Uroš Nikolić Predrag Rajković Enric Saborit

In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Beitar Jerusalem Benny Ben Zaken 1 June 2018 Pre-season Guy Luzon
Bnei Sakhnin Tal Banin Benny Ben Zaken
F.C. Ashdod Yossi Mizrahi Blagoja Milevski
Maccabi Petah Tikva Sharon Mimer Elisha Levy
Maccabi Tel Aviv Jordi Cruyff Left Vladimir Ivić 1 June 2018
Beitar Jerusalem Guy Luzon Sacked 22 October 2018 13th Nir Klinger 30 October 2018
Hapoel Haifa Nir Klinger Left 25 October 2018 11th Sharon Mimer 31 October 2018
Maccabi Haifa Fred Rutten Left 1 November 2018 8th Eli Guttman 8 November 2018
Bnei Sakhnin Benny Ben Zaken Sacked 5 November 2018 14th Amir Turgeman 18 November 2018
F.C. Ashdod Blagoja Milevski Sacked 13 November 2018 13th Yuval Naim 23 November 2018
Hapoel Tel Aviv Kobi Refua Sacked 25 November 2018 12th Ofir Haim 26 November 2018
Maccabi Haifa Eli Guttman Retired 3 December 2018 11th Itay Mordechai (caretaker) 3 December 2018
Maccabi Haifa Itay Mordechai (caretaker) Caretaking spell over 19 December 2018 10th Marco Balbul 19 December 2018
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Haim Silvas Sacked 30 December 2018 10th Tomer Kashtan 30 December 2018
Hapoel Tel Aviv Ofir Haim Sacked 6 January 2019 12th Kobi Refua 6 January 2019
Maccabi Petah Tikva Elisha Levy Sacked 6 January 2019 9th Murad Magomedov (caretaker) 6 January 2019
Maccabi Petah Tikva Murad Magomedov (caretaker) Caretaking spell over 20 January 2019 9th Guy Luzon 20 January 2019
Bnei Sakhnin Benny Ben Zaken Sacked 20 January 2019 13th Giorgi Daraselia 23 January 2019
F.C. Ashdod Yuval Naim Sacked 26 January 2019 14th Avi Bohbot 19 February 2019
Bnei Sakhnin Giorgi Daraselia Sacked 5 March 2019 14th Juan Carlos (caretaker) 5 March 2019
Bnei Sakhnin Juan Carlos (caretaker) Caretaking spell over 26 March 2019 14th Eldad Shavit 26 March 2019
Hapoel Haifa Sharon Mimer Sacked 14 April 2019 10th Haim Silvas 17 April 2019
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Tomer Kashtan Sacked 6 May 2019 12th Shimon Hadri 6 May 2019

Regular season

Regular season table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Maccabi Tel Aviv 26 20 6 0 57 12 +45 66 Qualification for the Championship round
2 Maccabi Haifa 26 12 8 6 34 27 +7 44
3 Maccabi Netanya 26 12 7 7 34 29 +5 43
4 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 26 10 9 7 36 32 +4 39
5 Bnei Yehuda 26 10 7 9 39 25 +14 37
6 Hapoel Hadera 26 9 6 11 30 41 −11 33
7 Hapoel Haifa 26 7 11 8 42 37 +5 32 Qualification for the Relegation round
8 Hapoel Tel Aviv 26 6 13 7 26 23 +3 31
9 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 26 7 9 10 25 28 −3 30
10 Hapoel Ra'anana 26 6 12 8 20 30 −10 30
11 Beitar Jerusalem 26 7 8 11 32 37 −5 29
12 Maccabi Petah Tikva 26 6 10 10 26 40 −14 28
13 F.C. Ashdod 26 5 7 14 20 42 −22 22
14 Bnei Sakhnin 26 4 9 13 21 39 −18 21
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[17]

Regular season results
Home \ Away BEI BnS BnY ASH HAH HBS HHA HRA HTA MNE IKS MHA MPT MTA
Beitar Jerusalem — 3–2 1–5 4–1 0–1 2–3 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–2
Bnei Sakhnin 0–0 — 2–1 4–3 1–2 0–0 0–4 0–0 1–1 0–2 0–3 0–2 0–1 0–0
Bnei Yehuda 0–2 0–1 — 2–0 2–0 3–1 4–2 3–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–3
F.C. Ashdod 1–1 2–1 1–0 — 2–3 1–0 0–3 1–1 1–1 1–4 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–2
Hapoel Hadera 0–3 2–1 0–4 3–2 — 1–2 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 1–2 3–0 0–2
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 — 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 4–1 1–1
Hapoel Haifa 2–2 0–3 0–2 0–1 1–1 4–4 — 2–2 1–1 5–0 1–1 0–0 4–2 1–3
Hapoel Ra'anana 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–3 — 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–2
Hapoel Tel Aviv 0–3 2–0 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 — 1–2 0–0 1–2 6–0 1–1
Maccabi Netanya 3–1 1–1 1–3 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 — 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–2
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 2–0 2–2 0–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 — 2–3 0–2 1–2
Maccabi Haifa 1–2 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 0–0 1–3 0–0 3–2 0–2 2–2 — 1–2 1–3
Maccabi Petah Tikva 4–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–4 0–1 1–2 — 1–1
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0 3–0 2–1 4–0 4–0 3–0 1–1 4–1 0–0 4–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 —
Source: Israel Football Association
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Source:

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
Maccabi Tel Aviv33112211111111111111111111
Maccabi Haifa1266991012898117910765433233332
Maccabi Netanya141314141213107677856556575644223
Hapoel Be'er Sheva69121311745544443334767775544
Bnei Yehuda111111126333323222222222422455
Hapoel Hadera41221122232334443346356666
Hapoel Haifa15588121113811101065677654567777
Hapoel Tel Aviv107767881112121313141413121212111112121111118
Ironi Kiryat Shmona71285456445557910108888888989
Hapoel Ra'anana849710111310101099118999999101010101010
Beitar Jerusalem13141310131414141314141413121111111010109998911
Maccabi Petah Tikva224334567666878810111212111112121212
F.C. Ashdod58345679111312121213141414141414141313131313
Bnei Sakhnin91010111499121498111011121313131313131414141414
Source:

Championship round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games)

Rounds
27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th
1 – 6
2 – 5
3 – 4		 1 – 2
5 – 3
6 – 4		 2 – 6
3 – 1
4 – 5		 1 – 4
2 – 3
6 – 5		 3 – 6
4 – 2
5 – 1		 6 – 1
5 – 2
4 – 3		 2 – 1
3 – 5
4 – 6		 6 – 2
1 – 3
5 – 4		 3 – 2
4 – 1
5 – 6		 6 – 3
2 – 4
1 – 5

Due to 3 teams that play in the Netanya stadium qualifying to this round, and in order to insure that all the last games of this round, can be played in the same time(for purity reasons), the order of the games, has been changed. Affecting fixtures 33,35 and 36.

Rounds
33rd 34th 35th 36th
6 – 3
2 – 4
1 – 5		 6 – 2
1 – 3
5 – 4		 2 – 1
3 – 5
4 – 6		 3 – 2
4 – 1
5 – 6

Championship round table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Maccabi Tel Aviv (C) 36 27 8 1 77 17 +60 89 Qualification for the Champions League Second qualifying round
2 Maccabi Haifa 36 16 10 10 46 41 +5 58 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 36 15 10 11 48 46 +2 55
4 Maccabi Netanya 36 15 8 13 45 47 −2 53
5 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv 36 14 9 13 56 41 +15 51 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
6 Hapoel Hadera 36 12 6 18 43 59 −16 42
Source: Israel Football Association, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[17]
(C) Champion.

Championship round results
Home \ Away BnY HAH HBS MHA MNE MTA
Bnei Yehuda — 1–2 2–3 2–2 1–1 0–2
Hapoel Hadera 2–3 — 1–4 2–0 1–2 0–1
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2–1 1–0 — 0–1 0–2 0–4
Maccabi Haifa 0–2 1–3 3–1 — 2–1 1–1
Maccabi Netanya 0–2 3–2 0–1 1–2 — 1–4
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–3 2–0 0–0 1–0 3–0 —
Source: Israel Football Association
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round2627282930313233343536
Maccabi Tel Aviv11111111111
Maccabi Haifa32433322232
Hapoel Be'er Sheva24222344423
Maccabi Netanya43345433344
Bnei Yehuda55554555555
Hapoel Hadera66666666666
2018–19 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round
2018–19 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round
Source:

Relegation round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games)

Rounds
27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd
7 – 11
8 – 13
9 – 12
10 – 14		 11 - 14
12 - 10
13 - 9
7 - 8		 8 - 11
9 - 7
10 – 13
14 - 12		 11 - 12
13 - 14
7 - 10
8 - 9		 9 - 11
10 - 8
14 - 7
12 - 13		 11 - 13
7 - 12
8 - 14
9 -10		 10 - 11
14 - 9
12 - 8
13 - 7

Relegation round table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
7 Beitar Jerusalem 33 11 10 12 43 43 0 43
8 Hapoel Tel Aviv 33 9 15 9 40 30 +10 42
9 Hapoel Ra'anana 33 8 15 10 29 38 −9 39
10 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 33 9 11 13 34 35 −1 38
11 Hapoel Haifa 33 8 13 12 44 47 −3 37
12 F.C. Ashdod 33 10 7 16 34 54 −20 37
13 Maccabi Petah Tikva (R) 33 8 12 13 33 51 −18 36 Relegation to Liga Leumit
14 Bnei Sakhnin (R) 33 5 12 16 27 50 −23 27
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[17]
(R) Relegated.

Relegation round results
Home \ Away BEI BnS ASH HHA HRA HTA IKS MPT
Beitar Jerusalem — 0–0 2–3 — — — — 4–1
Bnei Sakhnin — — — 1–2 — — 0–2 1–1
F.C. Ashdod — 1–2 — 1–0 — — 3–2 —
Hapoel Haifa 0–0 — — — 0–2 0–0 — 0–3
Hapoel Ra'anana 1–2 2–2 1–2 — — 2–1 — —
Hapoel Tel Aviv 1–2 3–0 5–1 — — — 2–2 —
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 0–1 — — 3–0 0–0 — — 0–1
Maccabi Petah Tikva — — 0–3 — 1–1 0–2 — —
Source: Israel Football Association
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round2627282930313233
Beitar Jerusalem11121197777
Hapoel Tel Aviv877781088
Hapoel Ra'anana1099129899
Ironi Kiryat Shmona911121011111210
Hapoel Haifa78881091011
F.C. Ashdod1314131313131312
Maccabi Petah Tikva1210101112121113
Bnei Sakhnin1413141414141414
Relegation to 2019–20 Liga Leumit
Source:

Season statistics

Top scorers
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Ben Sahar Hapoel Be'er Sheva 15
2 Fatos Bećiraj Maccabi Netanya 13
Lúcio Hapoel Hadera
4 Yarden Shua Bnei Yehuda / Maccabi Haifa 12
Eliran Atar Maccabi Tel Aviv
6 Mavis Tchibota Bnei Yehuda 11
Omer Atzili Maccabi Tel Aviv
8 Guy Melamed Hapoel Be'er Sheva / Maccabi Netanya 10
9 Nikita Rukavytsya Maccabi Haifa 9
Ange-Freddy Plumain Hapoel Hadera / Beitar Jerusalem
Shlomi Azulay Bnei Sakhnin
12 6 different players 3 different teams 8

Source: (Hebrew)

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRoundReference
Matan Hozez Hapoel Haifa Bnei Sakhnin 4–0 19 January 2019 19

Top assists
Rank Player Club Assists
1 Dor Micha Maccabi Tel Aviv 11
2 Valon Ahmedi Ironi Kiryat Shmona 10
3 Gidi Kanyuk Maccabi Petah Tikva 8
Yonatan Cohen Maccabi Tel Aviv
5 Ismaeel Ryan Ironi Kiryat Shmona 7
Dolev Haziza Bnei Yehuda
7 8 different players 6 different teams 6

Source: (Hebrew)

See also

References
  1. "Premier League: Season attendance" (in Hebrew). football.co.il.
  2. Beitar Jerusalem venue
  3. Bnei Sakhnin venue
  4. Bnei Yehuda venue
  5. F.C. Ashdod venue
  6. Hapoel Be'er Sheva venue
  7. Hapoel Hadera venue
  8. Hapoel Haifa venue
  9. Hapoel Ra'anana venue
  10. Hapoel Tel Aviv venue
  11. Ironi Kiryat Shmona venue
  12. Maccabi Haifa venue
  13. Maccabi Netanya venue
  14. Maccabi Petah Tikva venue
  15. Maccabi Tel Aviv venue
  16. Tuchman, Yaniv. "Moving to six foreigners in the Premier League" (in Hebrew). Walla! Sports.
  17. "Ligat ha'AL 2018/2019". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
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