# 2017–18 Slovak First Football League

The 2017–18 Slovak First Football League (known as the Slovak Fortuna Liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 25th season of first-tier football league in Slovakia, since its establishment in 1993. MŠK Žilina were the defending champions, after winning their 7th Slovak championship.

## Format changes

Starting from this season, the competition format was changed. The previous 33-match round robin structure was replaced by the current regular stage round of 22 games and a playoff round, where 12 teams are divided into two groups: championship group (top-6 teams after regular stage) and relegation group (bottom 6 teams). The playoff round uses a 10-game round robin structure.
The top team in the championship group wins the league title and qualifies to next season's Champions League qualification; the runner-up and 3rd team obtain spots of next season's Europa League Qualification. The bottom team of the relegation group will be relegated to next season's 2. Liga and replaced by the 2. Liga winner. The second-bottom ranked team will play a two-leg relegation playoff with the runner-up of 2. Liga.
Should one of the top 3 teams wins of the 2017-18 Slovak Cup, Europa League qualification playoffs will be held among the 4th, 5th, 6th team in the championship group and the top team of the relegation round. The 4th team plays the top team of the relegation group and the 5th plays the 6th in the semifinals. Winners of the semifinals will play the final to determine the Europa League qualification spot. Europa League qualification playoff games will be one-leg and played at the home pitch of the higher-ranked team.

## Teams

A total of 12 teams competed in the league, including 11 sides from the 2016–17 season and one promoted from the 2. liga.
Withdrawal of Spartak Myjava was confirmed on 21 December 2016. The withdrawn team was meant to be replaced initially by FC VSS Košice, but that team was rejected a promotion and went into bankruptcy. FC Nitra was promoted instead of Košice.
2017–18 Teams
* MŠK Žilina
* ŠK Slovan Bratislava
* MFK Ružomberok
* AS Trenčín
* FK Železiarne Podbrezová
* FC Spartak Trnava
* FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda
* FK Senica
* FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce
* MFK Zemplín Michalovce
* 1. FC Tatran Prešov
* FC Nitra

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity | 2016–17 season |
| AS Trenčín | Trenčín | Štadión na Sihoti | 3,500 | 4th in Fortuna Liga |
| FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda | Dunajská Streda | MOL Aréna | 9,901 | 7th in Fortuna Liga |
| FK Železiarne Podbrezová | Podbrezová | ZELPO Aréna | 4,061 | 5th in Fortuna Liga |
| FK Senica | Senica | OMS Arena | 5,070 | 9th in Fortuna Liga |
| MFK Zemplín Michalovce | Michalovce | Mestský futbalový štadión | 4,440 | 8th in Fortuna Liga |
| MFK Ružomberok | Ružomberok | Štadión pod Čebraťom | 4,817 | 3rd in Fortuna Liga |
| FC Nitra | Nitra | Stadium pod Zoborom | 5,500 | 2nd in 2. Liga |
| 1. FC Tatran Prešov | Prešov | NTC Poprad$^1$ | 5,700 | 11th in Fortuna Liga |
| MŠK Žilina | Žilina | Štadión pod Dubňom | 11,258 | Champions |
| ŠK Slovan Bratislava | Bratislava | Pasienky | 12,000 | 2nd in Fortuna Liga |
| FC Spartak Trnava | Trnava | Stadium Antona Malatinského | 19,200 | 6th in Fortuna Liga |
| FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce | Zlaté Moravce | FC ViOn Stadium | 4,000 | 10th in Fortuna Liga |
$^1$Tatran played their home matches in this season at NTC Poprad in Poprad while Tatran Stadium went under renovation.
| AS Trenčín | Dunajská Streda | Podbrezová | Michalovce |
| Štadión na Sihoti | MOL Aréna UEFA Stadium | ZELPO Aréna | Mestský futbalový štadión |
| Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 9,901 | Capacity: 4,061 | Capacity: 4,440 |
| FK Senica | MFK Ružomberok | MŠK Žilina | Slovan Bratislava |
| OMS Arena UEFA Stadium | Štadión pod Čebraťom | Štadión pod Dubňom UEFA Stadium | Pasienky |
| Capacity: 5,070 | Capacity: 4,817 | Capacity: 11,258 | Capacity: 12,000 |
| Spartak Trnava | Tatran Prešov | Zlaté Moravce | FC Nitra |
| ŠAM - City Arena UEFA Stadium | NTC Poprad UEFA Stadium | Štadión FC ViOn | Štadión pod Zoborom |
| Capacity: 19,200 | Capacity: 5,700 | Capacity: 4,000 | Capacity: 5,500 |

## Personnel and kits

| Team | President | Manager | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| AS Trenčín | Tscheu La Ling | Vladimír Cifranič | Peter Kleščík | Adidas | MAGIC club |
| DAC Dunajská Streda | Oszkár Világi | Marco Rossi | Marin Ljubičić | macron | Kukkonia |
| FO ŽP Šport Podbrezová | Július Kriváň | Marek Fabuľa | Miroslav Viazanko | Adidas | Železiarne Podbrezová |
| FK Senica | Vladimír Levársky | Ton Caanen | Blažej Vaščák | hummel | - |
| MFK Ružomberok | Milan Fiľo | Norbert Hrnčár | Dominik Kružliak | Adidas | MAESTRO |
| MŠK Žilina | Jozef Antošík | Adrián Guľa | Michal Škvarka | Nike | Preto |
| Slovan Bratislava | Ivan Kmotrík | Martin Ševela | Boris Sekulić | Adidas | - |
| FC Nitra | Jozef Petráni | Ivan Galád | Miloš Šimončič | Jako | - |
| Spartak Trnava | Dušan Keketi | Nestor El Maestro | Lukáš Greššák | Adidas | ŽOS Trnava |
| ViOn Zlaté Moravce | Karol Škula | Juraj Jarábek | Martin Chren | Erreà | ViOn |
| MFK Michalovce | Ján Sabol | Anton Šoltis | Igor Žofčák | Adidas | ISDB |
| 1. FC Tatran Prešov | Miroslav Remeta | Anton Mišovec | Martin Luberda | ATAK Sportswear | Dúha |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Spartak Trnava | Miroslav Karhan | End of contract | 28 May 2017 | Pre-season | Nestor El Maestro | 1 June 2017 |
| DAC Dunajská Streda | Csaba László | End of contract | 9 June 2017 | Pre-season | Marco Rossi | 11 June 2017 |
| FK Senica | Miroslav Mentel | End of contract | 16 June 2017 | Pre-season | Ivan Vrabec | 16 June 2017 |
| FK Senica | Ivan Vrabec | Released | 11 September 2017 | 12 | Ladislav Hudec | 11 September 2017 |
| AS Trenčín | Martin Ševela | Released | 12 September 2017 | 10 | Vladimír Cifranič Roman Marčok | 12 September 2017 |
| 1. FC Tatran Prešov | Miroslav Jantek | Released | 14 September 2017 | 10 | Pavol Mlynár (interim) | 24 September 2017 |
| FK Železiarne Podbrezová | Karol Praženica | Released | 19 September 2017 | 11 | Marek Fabuľa | 19 September 2017 |
| 1. FC Tatran Prešov | Pavol Mlynár | End of interim spell | 9 October 2017 | 11 | Serhiy Kovalets | 9 October 2017 |
| ŠK Slovan Bratislava | Ivan Vukomanović | Released | 30 October 2017 | 3 | Martin Ševela | 30 October 2017 |
| 1. FC Tatran Prešov | Serhiy Kovalets | Released | 24 January 2018 | 11 | Anton Mišovec | 24 January 2018 |
| FK Senica | Ladislav Hudec | Manager position | 8 February 2018 | 12 | Ton Caanen | 8 February 2018 |

## Regular stage
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Spartak Trnava | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 16 | +18 | 50 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 2 | Slovan Bratislava | 22 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 45 | 26 | +19 | 41 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 3 | DAC Dunajská Streda | 22 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 29 | 20 | +9 | 39 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 4 | Žilina | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 42 | 35 | +7 | 37 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 5 | Trenčín | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 54 | 32 | +22 | 36 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 6 | Ružomberok | 22 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 31 | 21 | +10 | 33 | Qualification for the championship group |
| 7 | Nitra | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 30 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 8 | Zemplín Michalovce | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 25 | −7 | 24 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 9 | Podbrezová | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 37 | −18 | 20 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 10 | ViOn Zlaté Moravce | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 25 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 11 | Senica | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 17 | 42 | −25 | 14 | Qualification for the relegation group |
| 12 | Tatran Prešov | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 44 | −31 | 14 | Qualification for the relegation group |

### Results

Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league, for a total of 22 matches played each.
| Home \ Away | TRČ | DAC | POD | SEN | ZPM | RUŽ | ŽIL | SLO | NIT | TRV | TAT | ZTM |
| Trenčín | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| DAC Dunajská Streda | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 |
| Podbrezová | 1–8 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Senica | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Zemplín Michalovce | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Ružomberok | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Žilina | 5–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 7–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| Slovan Bratislava | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 6–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Nitra | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Spartak Trnava | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Tatran Prešov | 0–7 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 0–4 | 0–2 | — | 1–1 |
| ViOn Zlaté Moravce | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 4–1 | — |

## Championship group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TRN | SLO | DAC | ŽIL | TRE | RUŽ |
| 1 | Spartak Trnava (C) | 32 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 64 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Slovan Bratislava | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 59 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| 3 | DAC Dunajská Streda | 32 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 46 | 32 | +14 | 57 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 |
| 4 | Žilina | 32 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 63 | 51 | +12 | 53 | Qualification for Europa League play-offs | 6–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–5 | 3–0 |
| 5 | Trenčín (O) | 32 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 75 | 47 | +28 | 51 | Qualification for Europa League play-offs | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 |
| 6 | Ružomberok | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 40 | Qualification for Europa League play-offs | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — |
* ↑ As the winners of 2017–18 Slovak Cup (Slovan Bratislava) finished in the top three of the league, the last Europa League spot awarded through the league (first qualifying round) will be decided by play-offs among the teams finishing fourth to seventh.

## Relegation group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | NIT | ZMI | POD | ZLM | SEN | TAT |
| 7 | Nitra | 32 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 33 | 29 | +4 | 45 | Qualification for Europa League play-offs | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–2 | 3–2 |
| 8 | Zemplín Michalovce | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 41 | | 4–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| 9 | Podbrezová | 32 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 29 | 43 | −14 | 38 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| 10 | ViOn Zlaté Moravce | 32 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 31 | | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 4–0 |
| 11 | Senica (O) | 32 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 26 | Qualification for relegation play-offs | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 |
| 12 | Tatran Prešov (R) | 32 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 56 | −34 | 26 | Relegation to 2. Liga | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |
* ↑ As the winners of 2017–18 Slovak Cup (Slovan Bratislava) finished in the top three of the league, the last Europa League spot awarded through the league (first qualifying round) will be decided by play-offs among the teams finishing fourth to seventh.

## Europa League play-offs

Teams placed between 4th and 7th position will take part in the Europa league play-offs. The best of them will play against the fourth-placed of the championship play-offs to determine the Europa League play-off winners. The winners will qualify for the first qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.
All times are UTC+2.

### Final
## Relegation play-offs

Team placed 11th in the relegation match will face 2nd team from 2. Liga 2017–18 to for two spots in the next season.
All times are UTC+2.

### Second leg

2–2 on aggregate. FK Senica won on away goal.

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 19 May 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Samuel Mráz | Žilina | 21$^a$ |
| 2 | Rangelo Janga | AS Trenčín | 14 |
| 3 | Jakub Mareš | ŠK Slovan | 12 |
| 3 | Aleksandar Čavrić | ŠK Slovan | 12 |
| 5 | Róbert Gešnábel | Z.Moravce (9)/Ružomberok (2) | 11 |
| 6 | Erik Pačinda | DAC D.Streda | 10 |
| 6 | Antonio Mance | AS Trenčín | 10 |
| 8 | Filip Hološko | ŠK Slovan | 8 |
| 8 | Hilary Gong | AS Trenčin | 8 |
| 8 | Roland Černák | Prešov (7)/D.Streda (1) | 8 |
| 8 | Martin Koscelník | Michalovce | 8 |
$^a$ Included 2 play-off goals

### Hat-tricks

| Round | Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| 1 | Jakub Mareš | Slovan Bratislava | Tatran Prešov | 1–5 | 23 July 2017 |
| 21 | Aleksandar Čavrić | Slovan Bratislava | MŠK Žilina | 6–0 | 24 February 2018 |
| 22 | Antonio Mance | AS Trenčín | Zl. Moravce | 1–4 | 3 March 2018 |
| 30 | Frank Castañeda | FK Senica | Zl. Moravce | 3–1 | 5 May 2018 |

### Clean sheets

    As of 19 May 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Lukáš Hroššo | FC Nitra | 14 |
| 2 | Patrik Macej | DAC D.Streda | 13 |
| 3 | Martin Vantruba | Spartak Trnava | 11 |
| 3 | Miloš Volešák | Žilina | 11 |
| 5 | Martin Kuciak | Podbrezová | 10 |
| 6 | Matúš Macík | MFK Ružomberok | 8 |
| 7 | Matúš Kira | Michalovce | 7 |
| 8 | Pavel Kováč | Zl. Moravce | 5 |
| 8 | Michal Šulla | Slovan | 5 |
| 8 | Igor Šemrinec | Trenčín | 5 |

### Discipline

    As of 19 May 2018

#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 12
** Yasin Pehlivan (Trnava)
* Most red cards: 2
** Ján Krivák (Podbrezová)
** Damián Bariš (Zl.Moravce)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 75
** FK Senica
* Most red cards: 7
** FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce

## Awards
### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| July/August | Lukáš Hroššo | FC Nitra |
| September | Erik Jirka | Spartak Trnava |
| October | Samuel Mráz | MŠK Žilina |
| Nov/Dec | Erik Pačinda | Dunajská Streda |
| Feb/Mar | Marvin Egho | Spartak Trnava |
| April | Samuel Mráz | MŠK Žilina |
| May | Samuel Mráz | MŠK Žilina |

### Top Eleven

Source:
* Goalkeeper: Lukáš Hroššo (FC Nitra)
* Defence: Erick Davis (DAC D.Streda), Ľubomír Šatka (DAC D.Streda), Boris Godál (Spartak Trnava), Boris Sekulić (ŠK Slovan)
* Midfield: Erik Pačinda (DAC D.Streda), Marin Ljubičić (DAC D.Streda), Aschraf El Mahdioui (AS Trenčín), Aleksandar Čavrić (Slovan Bratislava)
* Attack: Marvin Egho (Spartak Trnava), Samuel Mráz (MŠK Žilina)

### Top Eleven U-21

Source:
* Goalkeeper: Martin Vantruba (Spartak Trnava)
* Defence: Matúš Kuník (FC Nitra), Dávid Hancko (MŠK Žilina), Richard Križan (FC Nitra), Andrej Kadlec (Spartak Trnava)
* Midfield: Aschraf El Mahdioui (AS Trenčín), Miroslav Káčer (MŠK Žilina), Erik Jirka (Spartak Trnava), Ewerton (Zl.Moravce), Hilary Gong (AS Trenčín)
* Attack: Samuel Mráz (MŠK Žilina)

### Individual awards

Manager of the season
Nestor El Maestro (Spartak Trnava)
Player of the Year
Boris Godál (Spartak Trnava)
Young player of the Year
Samuel Mráz (MŠK Žilina)