Beitar Jerusalem’s opening two games of the season are increasingly looking like an aberration. Almog Cohen’s yellow-and-black have now won four straight matches after cruising to a 4-0 victory over Hapoel Ramat Gan, building momentum ahead of a massive top-of-the-table showdown with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

There is no denying that Beitar faced difficult opposition in Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Tel Aviv to begin the campaign. Their subsequent run of fixtures has been more manageable, but wins over Hapoel Haifa, Bnei Sakhnin away from home, Maccabi Petah Tikva and Ramat Gan are still significant. In a league where anyone can take points off anyone, consistency is crucial. Sakhnin proved as much by holding Maccabi Tel Aviv to a goalless draw at Bloomfield Stadium, handing Kenny Miller’s side its first dropped points of the season.

Now, Beitar will welcome Maccabi Tel Aviv to Teddy Stadium on Monday night in a clash that could have major implications at the top of the table. The match will also mark Beitar’s return to its true home after a new hybrid pitch was installed over the summer. With more than 30,000 fans expected to pack the stadium, Cohen’s side will have an opportunity to make a statement against one of its biggest rivals.

The 4-0 win over Ramat Gan offered plenty of reasons for optimism, particularly the performances of Boris Enow and Alexis Serna. Enow scored twice while operating in a slightly more advanced role, with Serna making his first start and helping unlock the Cameroonian midfielder’s potential.

“Boris’s development as a player is amazing,” Cohen said. “There were a couple of games here where he played as a No. 6, as a defensive midfielder and it didn’t work out for whatever reason. But with me at Netanya, he was an absolute six, a fierce six and I think he also played excellent games in that role.

“He is currently a No. 8, a box-to-box midfielder, but he is not a classic No. 8. He won’t be in the box every second, but he will provide balance in midfield, aggression and the ability to hold the ball so we don’t give the opponent the opportunity to suddenly turn the game into a ping-pong match.”

Cohen explained that Enow’s responsibilities differ from those of Tomer Yosefi and Adi Yona, who are expected to make more frequent runs into the area.

“He isn’t expected to be a No. 8 like I expect Yosefi and Yona to be, constantly getting into the box. We wanted him to provide balance alongside Serna and give us the power and aggression this team needs. I think he did that amazingly. From my perspective, the goals are a bonus. I don’t judge Boris on goals.”

Enow’s two superb finishes provided an added bonus to an already impressive performance. His partnership with Serna could prove vital as Beitar prepare for a far sterner test against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Captain Yarden Shua also looked much closer to his best. The winger played a key role in the victory, setting up Omer Atzily’s early header and Eugene Ansah’s goal while receiving plenty of encouragement from the Beitar faithful, who had backed him from the pregame warmups.

After starting only in Beitar’s 3-0 loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv, Shua had struggled to find his rhythm. His time with the Israel national team, however, appears to have helped him return to full fitness and Cohen was delighted to see the captain deliver the kind of performance he expects.

“My direction with Yarden was very, very clear,” Cohen explained. “We spoke every week and before every game. I told him exactly what I expect from him, how I see him developing and how he needs to train. Against Ramat Gan, I think we saw his running and how he tracked back defensively.

“He made one defensive recovery run of about 50 meters at a full sprint. From the very first second I was appointed head coach, I said this team needs Yarden Shua. But we need Yarden Shua in good form, like he was today.”

Cohen emphasized that Shua’s work rate reflects a broader shift in Beitar’s approach, pointing to the team’s running statistics as a key factor behind its turnaround.

“If we want to win games, we must work at a very high intensity, because in the first two games we ran less than 100 kilometers. When you run less than 100 kilometers, you cannot win a game. It doesn’t matter if you have a No. 6 or even the great Sergio Busquets. At the end of the day, intensity and running are the basics of modern football.

“This is not the football of the past, where everyone goes forward to attack and the defense takes care of defending. Once we raised our intensity by 8-9% and started running 109, 110, 111 or 112 kilometers, thank God the team started winning. We need to maintain that and continue working very hard in training.”

Despite the four-game winning streak, Cohen is taking nothing for granted. With Maccabi Tel Aviv next on the schedule, the Beitar coach made it clear that past results mean little if his team cannot deliver when it matters most.

“To win, always. There is nothing else,” he said. “From my perspective, tomorrow is a new day. You are only as good as your last game. It doesn’t matter what we did last year, two years ago or even today. It’s already over. We have won four straight games, and that’s nice, but if we don’t beat Maccabi Tel Aviv, it’s worth nothing.

“In football, you are judged solely by your last game.”

Beitar have found their rhythm, Enow and Serna are beginning to click and Shua appears to be rediscovering his best form. Monday night’s showdown will provide a far more revealing test of just how much Cohen’s team has progressed since its difficult start to the season.