2018 Campeonato Nacional Primera División

The 2018 Campeonato Nacional, known as Campeonato Nacional Scotiabank 2018 for sponsorship purposes, was the 88th season of top-flight football in Chile. The season started on 2 February and ended on 2 December. Colo-Colo were the defending champions, having won the 2017 Transición tournament. Universidad Católica won their thirteenth title on the last day of the season following a 2–1 win at Deportes Temuco, who were relegated to the second tier with this defeat.^[2]

Campeonato Nacional

Season	2018
Dates	2 February – 2 December 2018
Champions	Universidad Católica (13th title)
Relegated	Deportes Temuco San Luis
Copa Libertadores	Universidad Católica Universidad de Concepción Universidad de Chile Palestino (cup winners)
Copa Sudamericana	Deportes Antofagasta Colo-Colo Unión La Calera Unión Española
Matches	240
Goals	619 (2.58 per match)
Best Player	Luciano Aued[1]
Top goalscorer	Esteban Paredes (19 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Matías Dituro[1]
Biggest home win	Unión La Calera 6–1 U. de Chile (22 April)
Biggest away win	Dep. Temuco 0–4 Dep. Iquique (6 April) Dep. Temuco 0–4 Huachipato (21 September) Unión La Calera 0–4 Everton (22 September)
Highest scoring	Curicó Unido 4–4 Unión Española (26 February)
Highest attendance	45,503 U. de Chile 0–0 Dep. Iquique (25 November)
Total attendance	1,716,462
Average attendance	7,152
← 2017 2019 →

Format changes

For the 2018 season, the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP) approved a change of format from the Apertura-Clausura system that had been used in previous seasons, to a single tournament during the calendar year.^[3] The 16 teams played each other twice (once at home and once away) for a total of 30 matches. Qualification for the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana was awarded to the top seven teams at the end of the season, as well as the Copa Chile champions, while the bottom two teams were automatically relegated.^[4]

Teams

Stadia and locations

Curicó Unido

Deportes Antofagasta

Deportes Iquique

Deportes Temuco

Everton

Huachipato

O'Higgins

San Luis

Santiago

U. La Calera

U. de Concepción

Santiago teams:
A. Italiano
Colo-Colo
Palestino
U. Española
U. Católica
U. de Chile

Locations of the 2018 Chilean Primera División teams.

Team	City	Stadium
Audax Italiano	Santiago (La Florida)	Bicentenario de La Floridaa
Colo-Colo	Santiago (Macul)	Monumental David Arellano
Curicó Unido	Curicó	La Granja
Deportes Antofagasta	Antofagasta	Calvo y Bascuñán
Deportes Iquique	Iquique	Cavanchab
Deportes Temuco	Temuco	Germán Becker
Everton	Viña del Mar	Sausalito
Huachipato	Talcahuano	Huachipato-CAP Acero
O'Higgins	Rancagua	El Teniente
Palestino	Santiago (La Cisterna)	Municipal de La Cisterna
San Luis	Quillota	Lucio Fariña Fernándezc
Unión Española	Santiago (Independencia)	Santa Laura-Universidad SEK
Unión La Calera	La Calera	Lucio Fariña Fernándezd
Universidad Católica	Santiago (Las Condes)	San Carlos de Apoquindo
Universidad de Chile	Santiago (Ñuñoa)	Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos
Universidad de Concepción	Concepción	Alcaldesa Ester Roa Rebolledo

a: Audax Italiano played their home matches against Deportes Temuco and Everton at Estadio Municipal de La Pintana and Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua due to pitch renovation works at Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida.
b: Deportes Iquique played their home matches against Universidad de Chile, Universidad Católica, and Colo-Colo at Estadio Zorros del Desierto in Calama.
c: San Luis played their home matches against Deportes Temuco, O'Higgins, and Unión Española at Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander in Valparaíso due to pitch renovation works at Estadio Municipal Lucio Fariña Fernández.
d: Unión La Calera temporarily play their home matches at Estadio Municipal Lucio Fariña Fernández in Quillota due to remodeling works at Estadio Municipal Nicolás Chahuán Nazar. They played their home matches against Colo-Colo, Palestino, and Universidad Católica at Estadio Sausalito in Viña del Mar due to pitch renovation works at Estadio Municipal Lucio Fariña Fernández.

Personnel and kits

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Sponsors
Audax Italiano	Juan José Ribera	Nicolás Peric	Macron	Traverso
Colo-Colo	Héctor Tapia	Esteban Paredes	Under Armour	MG Motor
Curicó Unido	Jaime Vera	Martín Cortés	Onefit	Multihogar
Deportes Antofagasta	Gerardo Ameli	Gonzalo Villagra	Cafu	Minera Escondida
Deportes Iquique	Luis Musrri	Rodrigo Naranjo	Rete	UNAP
Deportes Temuco	Miguel Ponce	Cristián Canío	Joma	Rosen
Everton	Javier Torrente	Marcos Velásquez	Pirma	Fox Sports
Huachipato	Nicolás Larcamón	Claudio Sepúlveda	Mitre	PF
O'Higgins	Marco Antonio Figueroa	Albert Acevedo	Adidas	VTR
Palestino	Ivo Basay	Diego Rosende	Training	Bank of Palestine
San Luis	Mauricio Riffo	Daniel Vicencio	Capelli Sport	PF
Unión Española	Fernando Díaz (caretaker)	Diego Sánchez	Kappa	Universidad SEK
Unión La Calera	Francisco Meneghini	Lucas Giovini	KS7	PF
Universidad Católica	Beñat San José	Cristian Álvarez	Umbro	DirecTV
Universidad de Chile	Frank Kudelka	Johnny Herrera	Adidas	Chevrolet
Universidad de Concepción	Francisco Bozán	Alejandro Camargo	KS7	Universidad de Concepción

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Universidad Católica	Mario Salas	Mutual consent	10 December 2017[5]	Pre-season	Beñat San José	20 December 2017[6]
Huachipato	César Vigevani		13 December 2017[7]		Nicolás Larcamón	4 January 2018[8]
Deportes Antofagasta	Nicolás Larcamón	Resigned	25 December 2017[9]		Gerardo Ameli	4 January 2018[10]
Deportes Iquique	Erick Guerrero	Sacked	26 February 2018[11]	12th	Miguel Riffo	26 February 2018[11]
Audax Italiano	Hugo Vilches	Mutual consent	13 April 2018[12]	16th	Juan José Ribera	14 April 2018[13]
Colo-Colo	Pablo Guede	Resigned	19 April 2018[14]	4th	Agustín Salvatierra (caretaker)	19 April 2018[15]
Colo-Colo	Agustín Salvatierra	End of caretaker spell	24 April 2018	4th	Héctor Tapia	24 April 2018[16]
Universidad de Chile	Ángel Guillermo Hoyos	Sacked	27 April 2018[17]	2nd	Esteban Valencia (caretaker)	27 April 2018[17]
Palestino	Germán Cavalieri	Resigned	18 May 2018[18]	10th	Sebastián Méndez	19 May 2018[18]
Universidad de Chile	Esteban Valencia	End of caretaker spell	26 May 2018[19]	4th	Frank Kudelka	27 May 2018[20]
San Luis	Miguel Ramírez	Resigned	26 May 2018[21]	14th	Diego Osella	5 June 2018[22]
Everton	Pablo Sánchez	Sacked	27 May 2018[23]	16th	Javier Torrente	2 June 2018[24]
Curicó Unido	Luis Marcoleta	Resigned	11 June 2018[25]	12th	Jaime Vera	14 June 2018[26]
Deportes Temuco	Dalcio Giovagnoli	Sacked	16 June 2018[27]	13th	Miguel Ponce	22 June 2018[28]
O'Higgins	Gabriel Milito	Mutual consent	20 June 2018[29]	8th	Mauricio Larriera	30 June 2018[30]
O'Higgins	Mauricio Larriera	Sacked	24 September 2018[31]	9th	Marco Antonio Figueroa	26 September 2018[32]
San Luis	Diego Osella	Resigned	1 October 2018[33]	16th	Mauricio Riffo	3 October 2018[34]
Palestino	Sebastián Méndez		8 October 2018[35]	14th	Ivo Basay	9 October 2018[36]
Deportes Iquique	Miguel Riffo	Mutual consent	10 October 2018[37]	11th	Luis Musrri	12 October 2018[38]
Unión Española	Martín Palermo	Sacked	4 November 2018[39]	8th	Fernando Díaz (caretaker)	4 November 2018[39]
Unión La Calera	Víctor Rivero		6 November 2018[40]	5th	Francisco Meneghini	8 November 2018[41]

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Universidad Católica (C)	30	17	10	3	39	25	+14	61	Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage
2	Universidad de Concepción	30	18	4	8	44	31	+13	58
3	Universidad de Chile	30	18	3	9	46	37	+9	57	Qualification to Copa Libertadores second stage
4	Deportes Antofagasta	30	14	11	5	48	33	+15	53	Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage
5	Colo-Colo	30	12	7	11	40	38	+2	43
6	Unión La Calera	30	13	4	13	38	38	0	43
7	Unión Española	30	9	14	7	44	42	+2	41
8	O'Higgins	30	12	5	13	41	41	0	41
9	Huachipato	30	10	9	11	39	32	+7	39
10	Audax Italiano	30	8	10	12	40	40	0	34
11	Everton	30	9	7	14	39	44	−5	34
12	Curicó Unido	30	8	10	12	35	40	−5	34
13	Palestino	30	7	11	12	41	45	−4	32	Qualification to Copa Libertadores second stage[a]
14	Deportes Iquique	30	7	11	12	34	42	−8	32
15	Deportes Temuco (R)	30	6	10	14	29	45	−16	28	Relegation to Primera B
16	San Luis (R)	30	5	8	17	24	48	−24	23

Source: ANFP, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Matches won, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Red cards, 7) Yellow cards, 8) Drawing of lots.
In case there are two teams tied in points for first place: 2) Playoff game.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Palestino qualified for the Copa Libertadores second stage by winning the 2018 Copa Chile.

Results

Home \ Away	AUD	CC	CUR	ANT	DIQ	TEM	EVE	HUA	OHI	PAL	SL	UE	ULC	UC	UCH	UDC
Audax Italiano	—	1–1	4–1	0–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	2–4	1–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–0	2–3	4–1
Colo-Colo	3–2	—	2–0	3–4	0–0	2–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	0–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	0–2
Curicó Unido	3–0	0–0	—	3–4	0–0	1–1	3–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	4–4	2–0	1–3	1–2	1–0
Deportes Antofagasta	1–1	1–2	2–0	—	2–1	3–2	3–2	0–0	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	1–0
Deportes Iquique	1–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	—	2–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–1	0–1	0–1	1–2	1–3
Deportes Temuco	2–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	0–4	—	1–1	0–4	0–1	3–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–2	0–1	1–1
Everton	1–0	4–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–2	—	0–0	0–1	3–0	2–1	1–1	1–3	0–1	0–1	1–0
Huachipato	1–0	1–2	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–0	2–0	—	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–0	0–1	3–0
O'Higgins	4–0	1–1	2–2	0–3	2–1	2–0	1–2	2–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–3	0–1	0–1	4–2
Palestino	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–1	3–0	2–3	—	0–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	1–3	1–2
San Luis	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–2	1–2	2–4	2–0	0–1	—	0–2	1–2	1–1	1–2	0–3
Unión Española	2–4	3–2	2–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	—	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3
Unión La Calera	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–3	1–0	0–1	0–4	0–2	4–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	—	2–2	6–1	1–3
Universidad Católica	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	2–2	2–1	2–1	3–1	1–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	1–0	—	1–1	1–0
Universidad de Chile	1–2	1–3	2–1	2–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	2–2	1–0	1–2	3–0	1–2	1–0	2–0	—	1–2
Universidad de Concepción	1–0	2–1	0–0	3–2	3–0	0–0	2–0	1–0	0–2	3–2	2–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	3–1	—

Source: ANFP, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Club	Goals
1	Esteban Paredes	Colo-Colo	19
2	Gabriel Torres	Huachipato	15
3	Matías Campos López	Palestino	14
	Tobías Figueroa	Unión Española
5	Eduard Bello	Deportes Antofagasta	13
6	Patricio Rubio	Everton	12
7	Mauro Caballero	San Luis	11
	Brian Fernández	Unión La Calera
	Javier Parraguez	Huachipato
10	Ricardo Blanco	Curicó Unido	9
	Sergio Santos	Audax Italiano

Source: Soccerway

Attendances

Source:^[42]

No.	Club	Average
1	Universidad de Chile	30,031
2	Colo-Colo	21,342
3	Universidad Católica	10,745
4	Deportes Temuco	7,030
5	Everton	6,649
6	O'Higgins	6,213
7	Universidad de Concepción	5,196
8	Deportes Antofagasta	4,128
9	Unión Española	3,688
10	Curicó Unido	3,670
11	Unión La Calera	3,139
12	San Luis	2,719
13	Audax Italiano	2,688
14	Huachipato	2,419
15	Deportes Iquique	2,591
16	Palestino	2,386