2018 A Lyga

The 2018 A Lyga was the 29th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier association football league of Lithuania. The season began on 25 February 2018 and ended on 11 November 2018.^[1]

A Lyga

Season	2018
Champions	Sūduva
Relegated	Jonava
Champions League	Sūduva
Europa League	Žalgiris Trakai Stumbras
Matches played	127
Goals scored	331 (2.61 per match)
Top goalscorer	Liviu Antal (23 goals)
Biggest home win	Stumbras 6–0 Atlantas (28 October 2018) Sūduva 6–0 Atlantas (7 November 2018)
Biggest away win	Jonava 0–6 Žalgiris (26 September 2018)
Highest scoring	Atlantas 2–5 Žalgiris (11 April 2018) Atlantas 2–5 Sūduva (4 October 2018) Žalgiris 5–2 Kauno Žalgiris (7 November 2018)
Longest winning run	7 games Žalgiris
Longest unbeaten run	16 games Sūduva
Longest winless run	18 games Atlantas
Longest losing run	5 games Atlantas
Highest attendance	2,400 Sūduva v Žalgiris (27 June 2018)
Lowest attendance	50 Stumbras v Palanga (3 July 2018) Trakai v Kauno Žalgiris (23 August 2018) Jonava v Žalgiris (26 September 2018) Palanga v Stumbras (24 October 2018)
Total attendance	50,557
Average attendance	399
← 2017 2019 → All statistics correct as of 11 November 2018.

Sūduva Marijampolė began the season as defending champions having won their first league title last year. They secured a second consecutive title in ARVI Football Arena on 7 November, after they beaten Atlantas 6–0.^[2][3]

Teams

Clubs and locations

Atlantas

Jonava

Kaunas

Palanga

Sūduva

Vilnius

Kaunas teams
Stumbras
Kauno Žalgiris

Vilnius teams
Žalgiris
Trakai

Locations of the 2018 A Lyga teams

The following teams are competing in the 2018 championship:

Club	Location	Stadium	Turf	Capacity	2017 position
Atlantas	Klaipėda	Central Stadium of Klaipėda	Natural	4,428	5th
		Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch	Artificial	1,000
Jonava	Jonava	Central Stadium of Jonava	Natural	1,008	4th
		Jonava Artificial Football Pitch	Artificial	558
Kauno Žalgiris	Kaunas	Darius and Girėnas Stadium	Natural	9,180	8th
		NFA Stadium	Artificial	500
Palanga	Palanga	Palanga Stadium	Natural	1,212	I Lyga, 1st
	KlaipėdaSL	Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch	Artificial	1,000
Stumbras	Kaunas	Darius and Girėnas Stadium	Natural	9,180	7th
		NFA Stadium	Artificial	500
Sūduva	Marijampolė	ARVI Football Arena	Natural	6,250	1st
		ARVI Football Indoor Arena	Artificial	2,660
Trakai	Vilnius	LFF Stadium	Artificial	5,067	3rd
		Sportima Arena	Artificial	3,157
Žalgiris	Vilnius	LFF Stadium	Artificial	5,067	2nd
		Sportima Arena	Artificial	3,157

^ Stadium location

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Atlantas	Vacys Lekevičius (caretaker)	Andrius Bartkus	Adidas[4]	Marijampolės pieno konservai[5]
Jonava	Artūras Ramoška	Tadas Eliošius[6][note 1] Laurynas Stonkus	Erreà[7]	—
Kauno Žalgiris	Mindaugas Čepas	Aurimas Raginis	Hummel	BC Žalgiris
Palanga	Valdas Trakys	Gvidas Juška	Nike[8]	—
Stumbras	Mariano Barreto	Rimvydas Sadauskas[9]	Joma[10]	—
Sūduva	Vladimir Cheburin	Algis Jankauskas	Joma	Sumeda
Trakai	Albert Rybak (caretaker)	Valdemaras Borovskis[11]	Nike	Ecoil
Žalgiris	Valdas Urbonas	Georgas Freidgeimas[12]	Nike	Top Sport

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Žalgiris	Aleksandr Brazevich	End of contract	24 November 2017[13]	Pre-season	Aurelijus Skarbalius	27 November 2017[14]
Jonava	Mindaugas Čepas		21 December 2017[15]		Darius Gvildys (caretaker)	21 December 2017[16]
Atlantas	Igoris Pankratjevas	Mutual consent	5 January 2018[17]		Algimantas Briaunys (caretaker)	5 January 2018[17]
Kauno Žalgiris	Johnny McKinstry		5 January 2018[18]		Mindaugas Čepas	5 January 2018[19]
Jonava	Darius Gvildys	End of caretaker spell	12 January 2018[20]		Filipe Ribeiro	12 January 2018[20]
	Filipe Ribeiro	Sacked	15 May 2018[21]	8th	Darius Gvildys	15 May 2018[21]
Trakai	Oleg Vasilenko		18 May 2018[22]	3rd	Virmantas Lemežis (caretaker)	18 May 2018[22]
Atlantas	Algimantas Briaunys	End of caretaker spell	1 June 2018[23]	4th	Anatoli Shelest	1 June 2018[23]
Trakai	Virmantas Lemežis		18 June 2018[24]	3rd	Kibu Vicuña	18 June 2018[24]
Atlantas	Anatoli Shelest	Sacked	21 June 2018[25][26]	5th	Algimantas Briaunys (caretaker)	3 August 2018[27]
Žalgiris	Aurelijus Skarbalius		21 June 2018[28]	2nd	Valdas Urbonas	23 June 2018[29]
Jonava	Darius Gvildys	Mutual consent	12 July 2018[30]	8th	Artūras Ramoška	12 January 2018[30]
Atlantas	Algimantas Briaunys	Resigned	30 August 2018[31]	6th	Tadas Labukas (caretaker)	6 September 2018[32]
	Tadas Labukas	End of caretaker spell	13 September 2018[33]		Anatoli Shelest	13 September 2018[33]
Trakai	Kibu Vicuña	Signed by Wisła Płock	11 October 2018[34]	4th	Albert Rybak (caretaker)	11 October 2018[34][35]
Atlantas	Anatoli Shelest	Mutual consent	24 October 2018[36]	6th	Vacys Lekevičius (caretaker)	24 October 2018[36][37][38]

Regular season

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Sūduva	28	21	4	3	59	16	+43	67	Qualification to Championship round
2	Žalgiris	28	19	5	4	60	20	+40	62
3	Stumbras	28	13	6	9	36	25	+11	45
4	Trakai	28	11	9	8	37	26	+11	42
5	Kauno Žalgiris	28	10	5	13	22	31	−9	35
6	Atlantas	28	6	5	17	26	55	−29	23
7	Palanga (O)	28	5	5	18	17	58	−41	20	Qualification to Relegation play-offs
8	Jonava (R)	28	4	7	17	24	50	−26	19	Relegation to I Lyga

Source: A Lyga (in Lithuanian), UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won.^[39]
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated

Results

First half of season Home \ Away ATL JON KŽA PAL STU SŪD TRA ŽAL Atlantas — 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–3 0–2 2–5 Jonava 1–1 — 0–1 4–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 1–2 Kauno Žalgiris 2–3 1–0 — 0–0 0–1 0–3 1–4 0–0 Palanga 0–2 1–1 1–0 — 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–2 Stumbras 0–2 4–0 0–2 0–1 — 0–1 0–2 0–0 Sūduva 2–1 4–2 4–1 2–0 2–0 — 0–0 0–0 Trakai 0–1 1–1 2–0 3–1RV 1–1 1–4 — 0–1 Žalgiris 3–1 1–2 2–0 4–0 1–1 2–3 3–2 — Source: A Lyga (in Lithuanian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season Home \ Away ATL JON KŽA PAL STU SŪD TRA ŽAL Atlantas — 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–3 2–5 0–2 1–5 Jonava 2–1 — 0–2 3–1 1–3 1–2 1–3 0–6 Kauno Žalgiris 4–0 1–1 — 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 Palanga 2–0 3–1 0–1 — 1–5 1–4 1–0RV 0–5 Stumbras 2–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 — 1–2 1–0 0–2 Sūduva 3–0 2–0 1–0 5–0 3–0 — 0–0 0–1 Trakai 1–2 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–2 1–2 — 1–0 Žalgiris 3–1 2–1 4–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 2–2 — Source: A Lyga (in Lithuanian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship round

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Sūduva (C)	33	24	5	4	72	20	+52	77	Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2	Žalgiris	33	23	6	4	70	23	+47	75	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3	Trakai	33	14	9	10	46	29	+17	51[a]
4	Stumbras	33	15	6	12	45	35	+10	51[a]
5	Kauno Žalgiris	33	11	6	16	29	41	−12	39	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
6	Atlantas	33	6	6	21	28	75	−47	24

Source: A Lyga (in Lithuanian), UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won.^[40]
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Trakai ahead of Stumbras on head-to-head points record; Trakai 8, Stumbras 5.

Results

Home \ Away	ATL	KŽA	STU	SŪD	TRA	ŽAL
Atlantas	—	1–3	—	—	1–5	—
Kauno Žalgiris	—	—	1–2	1–1	—	—
Stumbras	6–0	—	—	1–4	0–3	—
Sūduva	6–0	—	—	—	1–0	1–2
Trakai	—	1–0	—	—	—	0–1
Žalgiris	0–0	5–2	2–0	—	—	—

Source: A Lyga (in Lithuanian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

The 7th placed team faced the runners-up of the 2018 LFF I Lyga for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2019 A Lyga.

First leg

DFK Dainava	0–3	Palanga
	Summary Video	Aniefiok 15', 28' Dombrauskis 47'

28 October 2018 (2018-10-28)

16:00 EET (UTC+2)

Alytus Stadium, Alytus, Lithuania

Attendance: 1,520

Referee: Gediminas Mažeika

Second leg

Palanga	2–0	DFK Dainava
Juška 49' Urbys 70'	Summary Video

3 November 2018 (2018-11-03)

13:00 EET (UTC+2)

Gargždai Stadium, Gargždai, Lithuania

Attendance: 400

Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas

Palanga won 5–0 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.

	Leader – Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
	Qualification to relegation play-offs
	Relegation to 2019 I Lyga

Team \ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Sūduva	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Žalgiris	1	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Trakai	6	4	4	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	3	3
Stumbras	7	7	7	8	7	5	6	7	7	7	6	7	7	5	5	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	4	4
Kauno Žalgiris	7	8	5	5	5	7	7	8	8	8	7	5	5	6	7	7	7	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Atlantas	3	3	3	4	2	3	5	6	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Palanga	4	6	8	7	8	6	4	5	6	6	5	6	6	7	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	7	7	7
Jonava	4	5	6	6	6	8	8	4	5	5	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	8	8	8

Updated to games played on 11 November 2018

Season statistics

Top scorers Rank Pos. Player Club Goals[41] MP APG 1 MF Liviu Antal Žalgiris 23 2065 90 2 MF Marcos Júnior Stumbras 17 2097 124 3 MF Donatas Kazlauskas Atlantas/Trakai 12 1796 150 4 FW Ogana Louis Žalgiris 11 1643 150 5 MF Gerson Acevedo Sūduva 10 1719 172 6 MF Ovidijus Verbickas 9 1858 207 7 FW Sandro Gotal 8 644 81 FW Tomáš Malec Žalgiris 1546 194 FW Rigino Cicilia Sūduva 1588 199 FW Laurynas Stonkus Jonava 2075 260 Updated to games played on 11 November 2018

Top assists Rank Pos. Player Club Assists[41] 1 MF Tomáš Šimkovič Žalgiris 15 2 DF Andro Švrljuga Sūduva 8 3 FW Ogana Louis Žalgiris 7 4 MF Lucas Villela Stumbras 6 5 MF Kgaogelo Sekgota 5 MF Serge Nyuiadzi Žalgiris DF Vaidas Slavickas Sūduva MF Ovidijus Verbickas Updated to games played on 11 November 2018

Clean sheets Rank Player Club Clean sheets[41] GP 1 Ivan Kardum Sūduva 17 33 2 Džiugas Bartkus Žalgiris 12 21 Tomas Švedkauskas Trakai 23 Rodrigo Josviaki Stumbras 30 5 Martynas Matuzas Kauno Žalgiris 7 20 Updated to games played on 11 November 2018

Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref Tomáš Malec Žalgiris Trakai 3–2 (H) 7 April 2018 [42] Linas Pilibaitis Kauno Žalgiris Atlantas 4–0 (H) 28 August 2018 [43] Liviu Antal Žalgiris Palanga 0–5 (A) 29 August 2018 [44] Marcos Júnior Stumbras Jonava 3–0 (H) 4 October 2018 [45] Liviu Antal Žalgiris Kauno Žalgiris 5–2 (H) 7 November 2018 [46] Sandro Gotal Sūduva Atlantas 6–0 (H) 7 November 2018 [47]

Discipline Player Most yellow cards: 9[41] Slavko Blagojević (Žalgiris) Most red cards: 2[41] Linas Klimavičius (Žalgiris) Club Most yellow cards: 68[41] Kauno Žalgiris Most red cards: 5[41] Žalgiris

Attendance

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Sūduva	16,740	2,400	450	985	−9.6%†
2	Žalgiris	10,530	2,000	100	620	−13.6%†
3	Jonava	5,160	850	50	369	+10.1%†
4	Trakai	4,947	1,000	50	310	+13.6%†
5	Atlantas	4,120	700	70	258	−41.9%†
6	Palanga	2,980	500	50	213	+0.9%1
7	Stumbras	3,220	500	50	190	−7.8%†
8	Kauno Žalgiris	2,860	450	80	179	+1.1%†
	League total	50,577	2,400	50	399	−16.5%†

Updated to games played on 11 November 2018
Source: A Lyga, Lietuvos Futbolas
Notes:
1: Team played last season in the I Lyga

Awards

Yearly awards

Individual

Awards were presented at the Lithuanian Football Awards ceremony, which was held on 21 February 2019. Finalists for voted awards were announced after the season and winners were presented at the award ceremony.^[48]

2018 A Lyga awards

Award	Recipient(s)
Player of the Year	Ovidijus Verbickas (Sūduva)
Young Player of the Year	Justinas Marazas (Trakai)
Manager of the Year	Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva)
Golden Boot	Liviu Antal (Žalgiris)

Team of the Year

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Rf
Kardum (Sūduva)	Slijngard (Žalgiris) Tomić (Žalgiris) Jankauskas (Sūduva) Švrljuga (Sūduva)	Kazlauskas (Atlantas/Trakai) Offenbacher (Sūduva) Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras)	Antal (Žalgiris) Ogana (Žalgiris)	[49]

Monthly awards

Individual

Player of the Month Month Player Stats Rf March Karolis Laukžemis (Sūduva) 4GP, 3G, 1A [50] April Ovidijus Verbickas (Sūduva) 5GP, 5G [51] May Liviu Antal (Žalgiris) 5GP, 4G, 1A [52] June & July Marcos Júnior (Stumbras) 3GP, 2G [53] August Liviu Antal (Žalgiris) 3GP, 7G, 1A [54] September & October Tomáš Šimkovič (Žalgiris) 9GP, 4G, 4A [55]

Young Player of the Month Month Player Stats Rf March Wasn't announced April Justinas Marazas (Trakai) 5GP, 3G [56] May Kgaogelo Sekgota (Stumbras) 5GP, 1G, 2A [57] June & July Edvinas Kloniūnas (Kauno Žalgiris) 4GP, 1G [58] August Levan Matcharashvili (Stumbras) 5GP, 1A [59] September & October Ernestas Mockus (Kauno Žalgiris) 4GP, 1A [60]

Coach of the Month Month Player Win % Rf March Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) 4GP, 75% [61] April Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) 5GP, 80% [62] May Aurelijus Skarbalius (Žalgiris) 5GP, 80% [63] June & July Mariano Barreto (Stumbras) 3GP, 100% [64] August Valdas Urbonas (Žalgiris) 3GP, 100% [65] September & October Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) 10GP, 70% [66]

Team of the Month

Team of the Month Month Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards March [67] Bartkus (Žalgiris) Slavickas (Sūduva) Klimavičius (Žalgiris) Artimavičius (Atlantas) Baravykas (Žalgiris) Veliulis (Jonava) Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Vorobjovas (Trakai) Švrljuga (Sūduva) Laukžemis (Sūduva) Acevedo (Sūduva) April [68] Kardum (Sūduva) Nazaré (Stumbras) Jankauskas (Sūduva) Januševskij (Trakai) Švrljuga (Sūduva) Koç (Atlantas) Zasavițchi (Jonava) Verbickas (Sūduva) Antal (Žalgiris) Mukanya (Trakai) Juška (Palanga) May [69] Mikelionis (Kauno Žalgiris) Mikoliūnas (Žalgiris) Snapkauskas (Kauno Žalgiris) Kerla (Sūduva) Švrljuga (Sūduva) Sekgota (Stumbras) N'Diaye (Sūduva) Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Urbys (Palanga) Tadić (Sūduva) Antal (Žalgiris) June & July [70] Bartkus (Žalgiris) Nazaré (Stumbras) Almeida (Stumbras) Sadauskas (Stumbras) Švrljuga (Sūduva) Antal (Žalgiris) Pilibaitis (Kauno Žalgiris) Cá (Stumbras) Kloniūnas (Kauno Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras) Cicilia (Sūduva) August [71] Bartkus (Žalgiris) Slijngard (Žalgiris) Osipov (Trakai) Mbodj (Žalgiris) Baravykas (Žalgiris) Kazlauskas (Trakai) Pilibaitis (Kauno Žalgiris Antal (Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras) Thuique (Jonava) Ogana (Žalgiris) September & October [72] Švedkauskas (Trakai) Floro (Stumbras) Jankauskas (Sūduva) Mbodj (Žalgiris) Švrljuga (Sūduva) Sirgėdas (Kauno Žalgiris) Offenbacher (Sūduva Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras) Gotal (Sūduva) Ogana (Žalgiris)

Multiple appearances Player Club App Andro Švrljuga Sūduva 4 Liviu Antal Žalgiris Džiugas Bartkus 3 Tomáš Šimkovič Marcos Júnior Stumbras Jardel Nazaré 2 Rolandas Baravykas Žalgiris Linas Pilibaitis Kauno Žalgiris Algis Jankauskas Sūduva Mamadou Mbodj Žalgiris Ogana Louis

Notes

1. Player left the club in the middle of the season.