# 2018–19 Maltese Premier League

The 2018–19 Maltese Premier League was the 104th season of top-flight league football in Malta. The season began on 17 August 2018 and ended in April 2019. Defending champions Valletta won their 25th title, following a penalty shootout win against Hibernians in a championship decider match.

## Teams

Lija Athletic and Naxxar Lions were relegated after they finished thirteenth and fourteenth the previous season. They are replaced by Qormi and Pietà Hotspurs, the 2017–18 Maltese First Division champions and runners-up respectively. Tarxien Rainbows retained Premiership status by defeating Żejtun Corinthians in a play-off decider.
| Team | In league since | City | Training Stadium | Capacity |
| Balzan | 2011–12 | Balzan | St. Aloysius Sports and Recreational Complex | 100 |
| Birkirkara | 1990–91 | Birkirkara | Mġarr Ground | 0 |
| Floriana | 1986–87 | Floriana | Independence Arena | 0 |
| Gżira United | 2016–17 | Gżira | Gżira Football Ground | 0 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 2016–17 | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
| Hibernians | 1945–46 | Paola | Hibernians Ground | 2,968 |
| Mosta | 2011–12 | Mosta | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | 600 |
| Pietà Hotspurs | 2018–19 | Pietà | Trinity Stadium | |
| Qormi | 2018–19 | Qormi | Thomaso Ground | 500 |
| Senglea Athletic | 2017–18 | Senglea | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,797 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 2008–09 | Tarxien | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1984–85 | Sliema | Tigne Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| St. Andrews | 2015–16 | St. Andrew's | Luxol Stadium | 800 |
| Valletta | 1944–45 | Valletta | Sirens Stadium | 600 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Balzan | Jacques Scerri | Joma | Investors Mutual Limited |
| Birkirkara | John Buttigieg | Adidas | McDonald's |
| Floriana | Guido Ugolotti | Joma | Scotts Supermarket, Guess? |
| Gżira United | Jesmond Zerafa | Joma | Jeep |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Giovanni Tedesco | Sportika SA | |
| Hibernians | Stefano Sanderra | Joma | Bezzina |
| Mosta | Mark Miller | Macron | Dimbros, Nilmar |
| Pietà Hotspurs | Ramon Zammit | Nike | Famalco.net |
| Qormi | Matthew Psaila | Macron | |
| Senglea Athletic | Enzo Potenza | Macron | Palumbo |
| Sliema Wanderers | Stefano Maccoppi | Adidas | DIZZ, DSM Sports |
| St. Andrews | Michael Woods | Macron | |
| Tarxien Rainbows | Jose Borg | Erreà | Cassar Ship Repairs |
| Valletta | Gilbert Agius (caretaker) | Joma | Iniala |
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas, sponsored by TeamSports and FXDD, and Nike has a new match ball.

## Venues

| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Ta' Qali | Ta' Qali | Paola | Hamrun |
| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Ta' Qali National Stadium | Centenary Stadium | Tony Bezzina Stadium | Victor Tedesco Stadium |
| Ta' QaliTony Bezzina StadiumVictor Tedesco Stadium | Capacity: 16,997 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,968 | Capacity: 1,962 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Ħamrun Spartans | Jacques Scerri | Mutual consent | 31 May 2018 | Pre-season | Giovanni Tedesco | 31 May 2018 |
| Hibernians | Mario Muscat Neil Zarb Cousin | End of caretaker | 4 July 2018 | Pre-season | Stefano Sanderra | 4 July 2018 |
| Senglea Athletic | Steve D'Amato | End of contract | 30 June 2018 | Pre-season | Bruno Russo | 17 July 2018 |
| Floriana | Nicolás Chiesa | Sacked | 27 August 2018 | 12th | Luís Oliveira | 29 August 2018 |
| Senglea Athletic | Bruno Russo | Sacked | 15 September 2018 | 13th | Enzo Potenza | 20 September 2018 |
| Qormi | Brian Spiteri | Resigned | 6 November 2018 | 13th | Matthew Psaila | |
| Floriana | Luís Oliveira | Sacked | 14 November 2018 | 9th | Guido Ugolotti | 14 November 2018 |
| Mosta | Enrico Piccioni | Sacked | 16 November 2018 | 12th | Mark Miller | 22 November 2018 |
| Sliema Wanderers | John Buttigieg | Sacked | 26 January 2019 | 6th | Stefano Maccoppi | 11 February 2019 |
| Balzan | Marko Mićović | Resigned | 3 February 2019 | 6th | Jacques Scerri | 5 February 2019 |
| Gżira United | Darren Abdilla | Resigned | 12 February 2019 | 3rd | Jesmond Zerafa | 12 February 2019 |
| Birkirkara | Paul Zammit | Resigned | 26 March 2019 | 7th | John Buttigieg | 18 April 2019 |
| Valletta | Danilo Dončić | Resigned | 8 April 2019 | 1st | Gilbert Agius (caretaker) | 8 April 2019 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Valletta (C) | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 61 | 18 | +43 | 58 | Qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League |
| 2 | Hibernians | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 54 | 27 | +27 | 58 | Qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League |
| 3 | Gżira United | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 50 | Qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League |
| 4 | Ħamrun Spartans | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 46 | |
| 5 | Sliema Wanderers | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 37 | 26 | +11 | 45 | |
| 6 | Balzan | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 43 | Qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League |
| 7 | Birkirkara | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 39 | |
| 8 | Floriana | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 32 | |
| 9 | Mosta | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 45 | −15 | 29 | |
| 10 | Tarxien Rainbows | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 26 | |
| 11 | Senglea Athletic | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 26 | |
| 12 | St. Andrews (R) | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 24 | Qualification for the Relegation Play-Offs |
| 13 | Qormi (R) | 26 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 25 | 51 | −26 | 20 | Relegation to the 2019–20 Maltese First Division |
| 14 | Pietà Hotspurs (R) | 26 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 25 | 59 | −34 | 13 | Relegation to the 2019–20 Maltese First Division |
* 1 2 Valletta and Hibernians finished equal on points, and a championship play-off to determine the winner was won by Valletta
* ↑ Balzan qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League as the 2018–19 Maltese FA Trophy winners

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAL | BIR | FLO | GŻI | ĦAM | HIB | MOS | PIE | QOR | SEN | SLI | STA | TAR | VAL |
| Balzan | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Birkirkara | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 |
| Floriana | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Gżira United | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Hibernians | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–2 |
| Mosta | 0–0 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | — | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Pietà Hotspurs | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 |
| Qormi | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Senglea Athletic | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | — | 0–2 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 1–5 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| St. Andrews | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 1–5 | 0–4 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–7 |
| Valletta | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — |
* ↑ St. Andrew's were awarded a 3–0 win after the Malta Football Association's Protests Board upheld their protest as Floriana didn't have 11 homegrown players in their squad. Originally, the match ended in a 0–0 draw.

### Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
* Leader and 2019–20 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round
* 2019–20 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
* 2019–20 UEFA Europa League preliminary round
* Relegation play-offs
* Relegation to First Division
| 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 |
| Valletta | 14 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hibernians | 6 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Gżira United | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Balzan | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Birkirkara | 5 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Floriana | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Mosta | 12 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 13 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Senglea Athletic | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| St. Andrews | 4 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Qormi | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Pietà Hotspurs | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

## Championship play-off

At the end of the season, Valletta and Hibernians finished off equal on 58 points; in the last matchday, Valletta were few minutes away from winning the title as they were leading 1–0 against Ħamrun Spartans, but a goal in stoppage time levelled the match. Hibernians had a convincing 5–1 win over Balzan to force a championship decider to be played between the two on 4 May.
* Valletta qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round.
* Hibernians qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round.

## Relegation play-offs

A play-off match took place between the twelfth-placed team from the Premier League, St. Andrews, and the third-placed team from the First Division, St. Lucia, for a place in the 2019–20 Maltese Premier League. St. Lucia became the first First Division club to win a Premier League play-off, thereby booking a place in next season's Premier League for the first time in their history.

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 5 May 2019
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Taylon Nicolas Correa | Hibernians | 18 |
| 2 | Mario Fontanella | Valletta | 17 |
| 3 | Haruna Garba | Gżira United | 12 |
| 4 | Bojan Kaljević | Valletta | 11 |
| 4 | Tiago Adan | Hibernians | 11 |
| 4 | Jake Grech | Hibernians | 11 |
| 7 | Andrija Majdevac | Balzan | 10 |
| 7 | Miguel Alba | Valletta | 10 |
| 9 | Alfred Effiong | Balzan | 9 |
| 10 | Younes Bnou Marzouk | Sliema Wanderers | 8 |
| 10 | Kevin Tulimieri | Ħamrun Spartans | 8 |
| 10 | Augusto Cáseres | Senglea Athletic | 8 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Kevaun Atkinson | St. Andrews | Mosta | 3–1 | 18 August 2018 |
| Bojan Kaljević | Valletta | Senglea Athletic | 5–1 | 28 September 2018 |
| Haruna Garba | Gżira United | Balzan | 3–0 | 27 October 2018 |
| Mario Fontanella | Valletta | Tarxien Rainbows | 7–0 | 8 December 2018 |
| Diego Venancio | Senglea Athletic | St. Andrews | 5–0 | 14 March 2019 |
| Justin Mengolo | Gżira United | Pietà Hotspurs | 5–2 | 30 March 2019 |
| Taylon Nicolas Correa | Hibernians | Balzan | 5–1 | 27 April 2019 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club |
| August | Michele Paolucci | Tarxien Rainbows |
| September | Bojan Kaljević | Valletta |
| October | Mario Fontanella | Valletta |
| November | Martin Davis | St. Andrews |
| December | Taylon Correa | Hibernians |
| January | Augusto Cáseres | Senglea Athletic |
| February | Wilfried Domoraud | Ħamrun Spartans |
| March | Younes Bnou Marzouk | Sliema Wanderers |
| April/May | Jake Grech | Hibernians |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| MFA Footballer of the Year | Andrei Agius | Hibernians |
| Coach of the Year | Stefano Sanderra | Hibernians |
| Young Player of the Year | Matthew Guillaumier | Birkirkara |
| Foreign Player of the Year | Miguel Alba | Valletta |
| Best Goal Award | Jurgen Degabriele (vs Floriana) | Hibernians |
| Best Fans Award | | Valletta |