2018–19 Primeira Liga
85th season of top-tier Portuguese football
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The 2018–19 Primeira Liga (also known as Liga NOS for sponsorship reasons) was the 85th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. Porto were the defending champions but finished behind Benfica, who became champions for a record 37th time while equalling their own scoring record of 103 goals in the 1963–64 season.
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10 August 2018 – 19 May 2019 |
| Champions | Benfica 37th title |
| Relegated | Chaves Nacional Feirense |
| Champions League | Benfica Porto |
| Europa League | Sporting CP Braga Vitória de Guimarães |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 826 (2.7 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Haris Seferovic (23 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Benfica 10–0 Nacional (10 February 2019) |
| Biggest away win | Belenenses SAD 1–8 Sporting CP (5 May 2019) |
| Highest scoring | Benfica 10–0 Nacional (10 February 2019) |
| Longest winning run | 9 matches Benfica Porto Sporting CP |
| Longest unbeaten run | 19 matches Benfica |
| Longest winless run | 31 matches (league record)[1] Feirense |
| Longest losing run | 8 matches Chaves |
| Highest attendance | 64,064[2] Benfica 4–1 Santa Clara (18 May 2019) |
| Lowest attendance | 298 Belenenses SAD 0–1 Moreirense (4 February 2019)[3] |
| Total attendance | 3,577,720[4] |
| Average attendance | 11,692 |
← 2017–18 2019–20 → | |
Incidents
The weeks leading up to the beginning of the competition were filled with several incidents:
- Contrary to previous seasons, three teams will be relegated. This is due to the fact that Gil Vicente was granted a place in the 2019–20 Primeira Liga season by court decision. Gil Vicente argued against this solution since the club claimed for an immediate integration in the first tier (possibly with an enlargement to 20 participating teams).[5]
- Académico de Viseu, which had finished third in 2017–18 LigaPro, claimed that runners-up Santa Clara should be punished for irregularities occurred in several games of the season. This would prevent Santa Clara to be promoted to the 2018–2019 Primeira Liga, hence Académico de Viseu would take its place.[6]
- Following the incidents in Sporting CP's training centre, during which players and staff were attacked by the club's ultras, nine players unilaterally revoked their contracts.[7] Ultimately, after the president's impeachment (as he was accused of being responsible for those occurrences), the club was able to convince some of those players to return.[8] Nevertheless, the new administration always admitted that the club would start the season in an early preparation phase.[9]
- On 30 June, following disputes over the administration of the football section, Belenenses broke the relationship with the publicly traded company who owned the football section (in Portuguese, SAD - as for sociedade anónima desportiva). Nevertheless, Codecity Sports Management, the owners of Belenenses's football Inc., decided to keep business and placed an entering in Primeira Liga under the name "Belenenses SAD", using Estádio Nacional as home stadium.[10] In October, the intellectual property court issued an obligation for the team owned by Codecity Sports Management to rebrand, dismissing every trademark connection with Clube de Futebol "Os Belenenses" but the society did not follow and appealed the decision.[11] The original club made a fresh start, entering a team in the bottom division of Lisbon FA (6th tier), keeping the support of a vast majority of the fans.[12]
Teams
Stadia and locations
Location of teams in 2018–19 Primeira Liga (Azores)
Personnel and sponsors
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitória de Setúbal | End of contract | 13 May 2018[13] | Pre-season | 22 May 2018[14] | ||
| Santa Clara | 14 May 2018[15] | 31 May 2018[16] | ||||
| Vitória de Guimarães | Mutual consent | 15 May 2018[17] | 21 May 2018[18] | |||
| Moreirense | 20 May 2018[19] | 29 May 2018[20] | ||||
| Chaves | 21 May 2018[21] | 8 June 2018[22] | ||||
| Portimonense | 5 June 2018[23] | 2 July 2018[24] | ||||
| Sporting CP | 6 June 2018[25] | 18 June 2018[26] | ||||
| Marítimo | 7 June 2018[27] | 12 June 2018[28] | ||||
| Rio Ave | Resigned | 13 June 2018[29] | 13 June 2018[30] | |||
| Sporting CP | Sacked | 28 June 2018[31] | 1 July 2018[32] | |||
| 1 November 2018[33] | 5th | 9 November 2018 | ||||
| Marítimo | Resigned | 26 November 2018[34] | 13th | 27 November 2018[34] | ||
| Rio Ave | Signed by Reading | 22 December 2018[35] | 9th | 2 January 2019 | ||
| Benfica | Mutual consent | 3 January 2019[36] | 4th | 3 January 2019 | ||
Season summary
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benfica (C) | 34 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 103 | 31 | +72 | 87 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Porto | 34 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 74 | 20 | +54 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Sporting CP | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 72 | 33 | +39 | 74 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a] |
| 4 | Braga | 34 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 67 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[a] |
| 5 | Vitória de Guimarães | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 52[b] | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[a] |
| 6 | Moreirense | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 52[b] | |
| 7 | Rio Ave | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 45 | |
| 8 | Boavista | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 44 | |
| 9 | Belenenses SAD | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 42 | 51 | −9 | 43 | |
| 10 | Santa Clara | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 42 | |
| 11 | Marítimo | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 26 | 44 | −18 | 39[c] | |
| 12 | Portimonense | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 44 | 59 | −15 | 39[c] | |
| 13 | Vitória de Setúbal | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 36[d] | |
| 14 | Desportivo das Aves | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 36[d] | |
| 15 | Tondela | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 40 | 54 | −14 | 35 | |
| 16 | Chaves (R) | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 34 | 57 | −23 | 32 | Relegation to LigaPro |
| 17 | Nacional (R) | 34 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 33 | 73 | −40 | 28 | |
| 18 | Feirense (R) | 34 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 27 | 64 | −37 | 20 |
Source: Liga Portugal
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Matches won; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Matches won; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Since the winners of the 2018–19 Taça de Portugal, Sporting CP, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the third-placed team (Europa League third qualifying round) was passed to the fourth-placed team, and the spot awarded to the fourth-placed team (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the fifth-placed team.
- Vitória de Guimarães finished ahead of Moreirense on head-to-head points: Vitória de Guimarães 1–0 Moreirense, Moreirense 1–3 Vitória de Guimarães.
- Marítimo finished ahead of Portimonense on head-to-head away goals: Marítimo 2–1 Portimonense, Portimonense 3–2 Marítimo.
- Vitória de Setúbal finished ahead of Desportivo das Aves on head-to-head goal difference: Vitória de Setúbal 2–0 Desportivo das Aves, Desportivo das Aves 2–1 Vitória de Setúbal.
Positions by round
Source: Liga Portugal (in Portuguese)
Results
Statistics
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benfica | 23 | |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 20 | |
| 3 | Benfica | 17 | |
| 4 | Sporting CP | 15 | |
| Benfica | |||
| Porto | |||
| Braga | |||
| 8 | Benfica | 13 | |
| 9 | Braga | 12 | |
| Tondela |
- ^ A former Portuguese international player at youth levels, Eduardo switched allegiances to play for Angola during the season.
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benfica | 19 | |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 13 | |
| 3 | Benfica | 12 | |
| Benfica | |||
| 5 | Porto | 9 | |
| Sporting CP | |||
| 7 | Porto | 8 | |
| 8 | Porto | 7 | |
| Benfica | |||
| Tondela | |||
| Braga | |||
| Moreirense |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benfica | Vitória de Guimarães | 3–2 (H) | 10 August 2018 | |
| Aves | Portimonense | 3–0 (H) | 1 October 2018 | |
| Vitória de Setúbal | Moreirense | 3–0 (H) | 6 October 2018 | |
| Braga | Feirense | 4–0 (H) | 14 December 2018 | |
| Porto | Chaves | 1–4 (A) | 18 January 2019 | |
| Nacional | Feirense | 4–0 (H) | 16 February 2019 | |
| Chaves | Nacional | 4–1 (H) | 28 April 2019 | |
| Sporting CP | Belenenses SAD | 1–8 (A) | 5 May 2019 | |
| Santa Clara | Feirense | 4–4 (H) | 11 May 2019 |
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Goal of the Month | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Against/Date | |
| August[37] | Feirense | Benfica | Vitória de Setúbal | Nacional 26 August | |||
| September[38] | Braga | Portimonense | Santa Clara | Nacional 30 September | |||
| October/November[39][40][41] | Porto | Sporting CP | Chaves | Sporting CP 11 November | |||
| December[42] | Sporting CP | Sporting CP | Rio Ave 3 December | ||||
| January[43] | Moreirense | Benfica | Benfica | Boavista 29 January | |||
| February[44] | Benfica | Sporting CP | Feirense | Sporting CP 10 February | |||
| March[citation needed] | Marítimo | Nacional 31 March | |||||
| April[45][46][47] | Benfica | ||||||
| Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | Defender of the Month | Midfielder of the Month | Forward of the Month | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | |
| August[48] | Feirense | Porto | Benfica | Feirense | ||||
| September[49] | Porto | Chaves | Braga | |||||
| October/November[50][51][52] | Porto | Sporting CP | Sporting CP | |||||
| December[53] | Belenenses SAD | |||||||
| January[54] | Moreirense | Braga | ||||||
| February[55] | Benfica | Benfica | Benfica | |||||
| March[citation needed] | Marítimo | Benfica | Porto | |||||
| April[56][57][46][58] | Desportivo das Aves | Sporting CP | ||||||
Annual awards
Annual awards were announced on 5 July 2019.[59]
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Sporting CP | |
| Manager of the Season | Benfica | |
| Goal of the Season | Sporting CP | |
| Young Player of the Season | Benfica | |
| Top scorer | Benfica | |
| Player Fair-Play Prize | Porto | |
| Club Fair-Play Prize | Belenenses SAD | |
| Turf of the Season | Portimonense | |
| Team of the Year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | ||||||
| Defenders | ||||||
| Midfielders | ||||||
| Attackers | ||||||
Attendances
Source:[60]
| No. | Club | Average attendance | Change | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benfica | 53,824 | 1,2% | 64,064 |
| 2 | Porto | 41,626 | -2,5% | 49,220 |
| 3 | Sporting | 33,691 | -22,8% | 45,503 |
| 4 | Vitória | 18,249 | 14,0% | 27,435 |
| 5 | Braga | 12,035 | 2,8% | 24,046 |
| 6 | Boavista | 8,155 | 45,0% | 19,592 |
| 7 | Marítimo | 6,622 | -6,4% | 9,830 |
| 8 | Vitória Setúbal | 4,784 | 16,4% | 10,628 |
| 9 | Chaves | 4,550 | 25,4% | 7,783 |
| 10 | Santa Clara | 4,010 | 97,4% | 10,000 |
| 11 | Rio Ave | 3,630 | -6,7% | 8,836 |
| 12 | Portimonense | 3,313 | 4,9% | 5,989 |
| 13 | Feirense | 3,049 | -22,0% | 5,449 |
| 14 | Belenenses | 2,889 | -13,6% | 10,901 |
| 15 | Tondela | 2,702 | 13,8% | 4,985 |
| 16 | Nacional | 2,595 | 34,9% | 4,793 |
| 17 | Aves | 2,454 | -6,9% | 5,338 |
| 18 | Moreirense | 2,275 | 0,5% | 5,510 |