# 2018–19 Iraqi Premier League

The 2018–19 Iraqi Premier League (Arabic: الدوري العراقي الممتاز 2018–19) was the 45th season of the Iraqi Premier League, the highest division for Iraqi association football clubs, since its establishment in 1974. The season started on 14 September 2018 and ended on 24 July 2019.
A two-horse title race ensued for most of the season and Al-Shorta ended up as champions by finishing five points ahead of Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya at the top of the table. During this season, Al-Shorta managed to equal the record of 39 consecutive Iraqi Premier League matches undefeated set by Al-Zawraa in 1994. The club's manager Nebojša Jovović became the first manager from Europe to win the Iraqi Premier League title.

## Teams

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Bahri | Basra | Al-Fayhaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Diwaniya | Al-Diwaniya Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hudood | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hussein | Baghdad | Five Thousand Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Karkh | Baghdad | Al-Karkh Stadium | 5,150 |
| Al-Minaa | Basra | Al-Fayhaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Naft | Baghdad | Al-Sinaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Najaf | Najaf | Al-Najaf International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Samawa | Samawa | Al-Samawa Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Shorta | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Talaba | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Zawraa | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Amanat Baghdad | Baghdad | Amanat Baghdad Stadium | 5,000 |
| Erbil | Erbil | Franso Hariri Stadium | 25,000 |
| Naft Al-Junoob | Basra | Al-Fayhaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | Najaf | Al-Najaf International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Naft Maysan | Amara | Maysan Olympic Stadium | 25,000 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Shorta (C) | 38 | 27 | 8 | 3 | 73 | 22 | +51 | 89 | 2020 and 2021 AFC Champions League and 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup first round |
| 2 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 38 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 58 | 27 | +31 | 84 | 2021 AFC Champions League play-off round and 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup first round |
| 3 | Al-Zawraa | 38 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 57 | 40 | +17 | 65 | 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and 2021 play-off round and 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup preliminary round |
| 4 | Al-Naft | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 63 | |
| 5 | Naft Maysan | 38 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 57 | 47 | +10 | 59 | |
| 6 | Al-Karkh | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 57 | |
| 7 | Naft Al-Wasat | 38 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 50 | |
| 8 | Amanat Baghdad | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 50 | |
| 9 | Al-Hudood | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 50 | |
| 10 | Al-Kahrabaa | 38 | 10 | 18 | 10 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 48 | |
| 11 | Erbil | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 48 | |
| 12 | Al-Najaf | 38 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 44 | |
| 13 | Al-Talaba | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 44 | |
| 14 | Al-Diwaniya | 38 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 32 | 43 | −11 | 44 | |
| 15 | Naft Al-Junoob | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 37 | 53 | −16 | 42 | |
| 16 | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 30 | 38 | −8 | 41 | |
| 17 | Al-Minaa | 38 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 34 | 42 | −8 | 40 | |
| 18 | Al-Samawa | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 26 | 59 | −33 | 33 | |
| 19 | Al-Bahri (R) | 38 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 39 | 66 | −27 | 29 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
| 20 | Al-Hussein (R) | 38 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 29 | 52 | −23 | 27 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
* ↑ Al-Shorta qualified for both the 2020 and 2021 AFC Champions League group stages by virtue of their position as 2018–19 league champions due to the abandonment of the 2019–20 domestic season.
* ↑ Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya qualified for the 2021 AFC Champions League play-off round by virtue of their position as 2018–19 league runners-up due to the abandonment of the 2019–20 domestic season.
* ↑ Al-Zawraa qualified for both the 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and 2021 AFC Champions League play-off round by virtue of their position as 2018–19 Iraq FA Cup winners due to the abandonment of the 2019–20 domestic season.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAH | DIW | HUD | HUS | KAH | KAR | MIN | NFT | NJF | QWJ | SMA | SHR | SNK | TLB | ZWR | AMN | ERB | NFJ | NFW | NFM |
| Al-Bahri | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Al-Diwaniya | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–7 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Al-Hudood | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–5 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Al-Hussein | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Al-Karkh | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Minaa | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Al-Naft | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–2 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Al-Najaf | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Al-Samawa | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Shorta | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Al-Talaba | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Al-Zawraa | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 |
| Amanat Baghdad | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Erbil | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Naft Al-Junoob | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 2–4 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | | 0–0 |
| Naft Maysan | 4–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Shorta | 28 |
| 2 | Marwan Hussein | Al-Talaba | 23 |
| 3 | Alaa Abbas | Al-Zawraa | 20 |
| 4 | Mohanad Ali | Al-Shorta | 19 |
| 4 | Mohammed Dawood | Al-Naft | 19 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Mohammed Dawood | Al-Naft | Al-Minaa | 4–2 | 4 November 2018 |
| Alassane Diallo | Al-Shorta | Al-Diwaniya | 7–1 | 7 December 2018 |
| Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Shorta | Al-Diwaniya | 7–1 | 7 December 2018 |
| Mohammed Dawood$^4$ | Al-Naft | Naft Al-Junoob | 5–1 | 17 December 2018 |
| Marwan Hussein | Al-Talaba | Naft Al-Junoob | 4–1 | 1 February 2019 |
| Shareef Abdul-Kadhim | Al-Hudood | Al-Karkh | 3–5 | 15 February 2019 |
| Mohammed Jabbar Shokan | Al-Minaa | Al-Samawa | 3–0 | 29 March 2019 |
| Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Shorta | Al-Kahrabaa | 5–3 | 10 May 2019 |
| Omar Mansouri | Al-Zawraa | Naft Al-Wasat | 3–3 | 16 May 2019 |
| Hammadi Ahmed | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Al-Shorta | 3–2 | 23 May 2019 |
| Alaa Abbas | Al-Zawraa | Al-Talaba | 5–0 | 2 June 2019 |
| Farhan Shakor | Al-Naft | Al-Talaba | 4–1 | 16 June 2019 |

#### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Soccer Iraq Goal of the Season | Mohanad Ali | Al-Shorta |