# 2018 Ecuadorian Serie A

The 2018 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A (officially known as the Campeonato Ecuatoriano - Copa Lubricantes Havoline 2018 for sponsorship reasons) was the 60th season of the Serie A, Ecuador's top tier football league. Emelec were the defending champions. First stage winners LDU Quito defeated second stage winners and defending champions Emelec 2–1 on aggregate in the final (third stage) to win their eleventh domestic title.

## Teams

Twelve teams competed in the 2018 Serie A season, ten of whom took part in the previous season. Clan Juvenil and Fuerza Amarilla were relegated from the Serie A after accumulating the fewest points during the 2017 season. They were replaced by Técnico Universitario and Aucas, the 2017 Serie B winner and runner-up, respectively. Técnico Universitario were in their 25th top-flight appearance and their first one since 2012, while Aucas returned to the Serie A for their 37th appearance after just one season in the second tier.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Aucas | Quito | Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda | 21,689 |
| Barcelona | Guayaquil | Monumental Banco Pichincha | 57,267 |
| Delfín | Manta | Jocay | 17,834 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Cuenca | Banco del Austro Alejandro Serrano Aguilar | 18,549 |
| El Nacional | Quito | Olímpico Atahualpa | 35,258 |
| Emelec | Guayaquil | Banco del Pacífico Capwell | 38,963 |
| Guayaquil City | Guayaquil | Christian Benítez Betancourt$^a$ | 10,152 |
| Independiente del Valle | Sangolquí | Rumiñahui | 7,233 |
| LDU Quito | Quito | Rodrigo Paz Delgado | 41,575 |
| Macará | Ambato | Bellavista | 16,467 |
| Técnico Universitario | Ambato | Bellavista | 16,467 |
| Universidad Católica | Quito | Olímpico Atahualpa | 35,258 |
a: Guayaquil City played its home matches between February and early-June at Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha and Estadio George Capwell in Guayaquil due to remodeling works at Estadio Christian Benítez Betancourt.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Aucas | Darío Tempesta | Umbro | CNT Banco del Pacífico |
| Barcelona | Guillermo Almada | Marathon | Pilsener |
| Delfín | Fabián Bustos | Spyro | La Esquina de Ales |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Richard Páez | Joma | Chubb Seguros |
| El Nacional | Eduardo Favaro | Lotto | Aceros ANDEC Banco General Rumiñahui |
| Emelec | Mariano Soso | Adidas | Electrocables |
| Guayaquil City | Pool Gavilánez | Astro | DirecTV |
| Independiente del Valle | Ismael Rescalvo | Marathon | Chevrolet DirecTV |
| LDU Quito | Pablo Repetto | Puma | Chevrolet |
| Macará | Paúl Vélez | Boman | Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. |
| Técnico Universitario | Fabián Frías | Boman | Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. |
| Universidad Católica | Santiago Escobar | Umbro | Discover Card |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| First stage |||||||
| Deportivo Cuenca | Gabriel Schürrer | Resigned | 9 December 2017 | Pre-season | Aníbal Biggeri | 9 December 2017 |
| Independiente del Valle | Alexis Mendoza | Sacked | 9 December 2017 | Pre-season | Gabriel Schürrer | 12 December 2017 |
| Delfín | Guillermo Sanguinetti | Sacked | 15 April 2018 | 9th | Fabián Bustos | 15 April 2018 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Aníbal Biggeri | Sacked | 17 April 2018 | 11th | Juan Ramón Silva (caretaker) | 17 April 2018 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Juan Ramón Silva | End of caretaker tenure | 27 April 2018 | 11th | Guillermo Sanguinetti | 30 April 2018 |
| Emelec | Alfredo Arias | Resigned | 19 May 2018 | 4th | Javier Klimowicz (caretaker) | 22 May 2018 |
| Emelec | Javier Klimowicz | End of caretaker tenure | 27 May 2018 | 4th | Mariano Soso | 28 May 2018 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Guillermo Sanguinetti | Signed by Santa Fe | 11 June 2018 | 11th | Juan Ramón Silva (caretaker) | 11 June 2018 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Juan Ramón Silva | End of caretaker tenure | 20 June 2018 | 11th | Richard Páez | 21 June 2018 |
| Independiente del Valle | Gabriel Schürrer | Mutual consent | 28 June 2018 | 6th | Álvaro Carcelén (caretaker) | 28 June 2018 |
| Independiente del Valle | Álvaro Carcelén | End of caretaker tenure | 30 June 2018 | 6th | Ismael Rescalvo | 1 July 2018 |
| Second stage |||||||
| Técnico Universitario | Patricio Hurtado | Sacked | 23 July 2018 | 12th | Fabián Frías | 24 July 2018 |
| Aucas | Luis Soler | Sacked | 30 August 2018 | 11th | Darío Tempesta | 1 September 2018 |

## First stage

The First stage began on February 16 and is scheduled to end on July 16.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | LDU Quito | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 46 | Qualification to Third stage and Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Barcelona | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 45 | |
| 3 | Universidad Católica | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 38 | |
| 4 | Emelec | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 37 | |
| 5 | Delfín | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 33 | |
| 6 | Independiente del Valle | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 27 | +3 | 31 | |
| 7 | Aucas | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 25 | 18 | +7 | 29 | |
| 8 | Macará | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 29 | −4 | 27 | |
| 9 | El Nacional | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 35 | −11 | 23 | |
| 10 | Deportivo Cuenca | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 33 | −12 | 22 | |
| 11 | Guayaquil City | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 28 | −13 | 16 | |
| 12 | Técnico Universitario | 22 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 39 | −24 | 15 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AUC | BAR | DEL | CUE | NAC | EME | GUA | IDV | LDQ | MAC | TEC | CAT |
| Aucas | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Barcelona | 1–1 | — | 5–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Delfín | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 4–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| El Nacional | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| Emelec | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 |
| Guayaquil City | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Independiente del Valle | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| LDU Quito | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 |
| Macará | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Técnico Universitario | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–2 |
| Universidad Católica | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | — |

## Second stage

The Second stage began on July 20 and ended on December 8.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Emelec | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 17 | +18 | 41 | Qualification to Third stage and Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Macará | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 38 | |
| 3 | LDU Quito | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 37 | |
| 4 | Delfín | 22 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 36 | |
| 5 | Barcelona | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 28 | 21 | +7 | 35 | |
| 6 | Independiente del Valle | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 33 | |
| 7 | Aucas | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 33 | |
| 8 | Universidad Católica | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 27 | |
| 9 | Técnico Universitario | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 33 | 38 | −5 | 27 | |
| 10 | Deportivo Cuenca | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 31 | −8 | 23 | |
| 11 | El Nacional | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 29 | 47 | −18 | 16 | |
| 12 | Guayaquil City | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 49 | −30 | 14 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AUC | BAR | DEL | CUE | NAC | EME | GUA | IDV | LDQ | MAC | TEC | CAT |
| Aucas | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Barcelona | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Delfín | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| El Nacional | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Emelec | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 |
| Guayaquil City | 0–2 | 3–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | — | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 |
| Independiente del Valle | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| LDU Quito | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Macará | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 0–3 | 1–2 |
| Técnico Universitario | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 4–5 |
| Universidad Católica | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — |

## Third stage

LDU Quito and Emelec qualified to the Finals (Third stage) by being the First stage and Second stage winners, respectively. The winners were the Serie A champions and earned the Ecuador 1 berth in the 2019 Copa Libertadores, and the losers were the Serie A runners-up and earned the Ecuador 2 berth in the 2019 Copa Libertadores. By having the greater number of points in the aggregate table, LDU Quito played the second leg at home.
LDU Quito won 2–1 on aggregate.
* Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol 2018 Serie A champions
* LDU Quito 11th title

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | LDU Quito (C) | 44 | 23 | 14 | 7 | 64 | 37 | +27 | 83 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Barcelona | 44 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 69 | 42 | +27 | 80 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores second stage |
| 3 | Emelec | 44 | 23 | 9 | 12 | 69 | 44 | +25 | 78 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 4 | Delfín | 44 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 69 | 56 | +13 | 69 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | Universidad Católica | 44 | 19 | 8 | 17 | 69 | 60 | +9 | 65 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 6 | Macará | 44 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 56 | 53 | +3 | 65 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 7 | Independiente del Valle | 44 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 64 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 8 | Aucas | 44 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 62 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana playoff |
| 9 | Deportivo Cuenca | 44 | 11 | 12 | 21 | 44 | 64 | −20 | 45 | |
| 10 | Técnico Universitario | 44 | 11 | 9 | 24 | 48 | 77 | −29 | 42 | |
| 11 | El Nacional | 44 | 9 | 12 | 23 | 53 | 82 | −29 | 39 | |
| 12 | Guayaquil City | 44 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 34 | 77 | −43 | 30 | |

## Copa Sudamericana playoff

The Copa Sudamericana playoff was played between:
* Aucas (Aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2019 Copa Libertadores)
* Mushuc Runa (2018 Serie B champions)
The winners qualified for the 2019 Copa Sudamericana first stage.
Mushuc Runa won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jhon Cifuente | Universidad Católica | 37 |
| 2 | Brayan Angulo | Emelec | 29 |
| 3 | Edson Montaño | Aucas | 25 |
| 4 | Carlos Garcés | Delfín | 19 |
| 5 | Juan Manuel Tévez | Macará | 18 |
| 6 | Juan Anangonó | LDU Quito | 16 |
| 6 | Luis Chicaiza | Delfín | 16 |
| 6 | Juan Dinenno | Barcelona | 16 |
| 9 | Diego Armas | Técnico Universitario | 13 |
| 10 | Anderson Julio | LDU Quito | 12 |
Source: FEF