# 2018 A Lyga

The 2018 A Lyga was the 29th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier association football league of Lithuania. The season began on 25 February 2018 and ended on 11 November 2018.
Sūduva Marijampolė began the season as defending champions having won their first league title last year. They secured a second consecutive title in ARVI Football Arena on 7 November, after they beaten Atlantas 6–0.

## Teams
### Clubs and locations

The following teams are competing in the 2018 championship:
| Club | Location | Stadium | Turf | Capacity | 2017 position |
| Atlantas | Klaipėda | Central Stadium of Klaipėda | Natural | 4,428 | 5th |
| Atlantas | Klaipėda | Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 1,000 | 5th |
| Jonava | Jonava | Central Stadium of Jonava | Natural | 1,008 | 4th |
| Jonava | Jonava | Jonava Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 558 | 4th |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 8th |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 8th |
| Palanga | Palanga | Palanga Stadium | Natural | 1,212 | I Lyga, 1st |
| Palanga | Klaipėda | Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 1,000 | I Lyga, 1st |
| Stumbras | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 7th |
| Stumbras | Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 7th |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | ARVI Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 1st |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | ARVI Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | 1st |
| Trakai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 3rd |
| Trakai | Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 3rd |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 2nd |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 2nd |
^ Stadium location

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Atlantas | Vacys Lekevičius (caretaker) | Andrius Bartkus | Adidas | Marijampolės pieno konservai |
| Jonava | Artūras Ramoška | Tadas Eliošius Laurynas Stonkus | Erreà | — |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Mindaugas Čepas | Aurimas Raginis | Hummel | BC Žalgiris |
| Palanga | Valdas Trakys | Gvidas Juška | Nike | — |
| Stumbras | Mariano Barreto | Rimvydas Sadauskas | Joma | — |
| Sūduva | Vladimir Cheburin | Algis Jankauskas | Joma | Sumeda |
| Trakai | Albert Rybak (caretaker) | Valdemaras Borovskis | Nike | Ecoil |
| Žalgiris | Valdas Urbonas | Georgas Freidgeimas | Nike | Top Sport |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Žalgiris | Aleksandr Brazevich | End of contract | 24 November 2017 | Pre-season | Aurelijus Skarbalius | 27 November 2017 |
| Jonava | Mindaugas Čepas | End of contract | 21 December 2017 | Pre-season | Darius Gvildys (caretaker) | 21 December 2017 |
| Atlantas | Igoris Pankratjevas | Mutual consent | 5 January 2018 | Pre-season | Algimantas Briaunys (caretaker) | 5 January 2018 |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Johnny McKinstry | Mutual consent | 5 January 2018 | Pre-season | Mindaugas Čepas | 5 January 2018 |
| Jonava | Darius Gvildys | End of caretaker spell | 12 January 2018 | Pre-season | Filipe Ribeiro | 12 January 2018 |
| Jonava | Filipe Ribeiro | Sacked | 15 May 2018 | 8th | Darius Gvildys | 15 May 2018 |
| Trakai | Oleg Vasilenko | Sacked | 18 May 2018 | 3rd | Virmantas Lemežis (caretaker) | 18 May 2018 |
| Atlantas | Algimantas Briaunys | End of caretaker spell | 1 June 2018 | 4th | Anatoli Shelest | 1 June 2018 |
| Trakai | Virmantas Lemežis | End of caretaker spell | 18 June 2018 | 3rd | Kibu Vicuña | 18 June 2018 |
| Atlantas | Anatoli Shelest | Sacked | 21 June 2018 | 5th | Algimantas Briaunys (caretaker) | 3 August 2018 |
| Žalgiris | Aurelijus Skarbalius | Sacked | 21 June 2018 | 2nd | Valdas Urbonas | 23 June 2018 |
| Jonava | Darius Gvildys | Mutual consent | 12 July 2018 | 8th | Artūras Ramoška | 12 January 2018 |
| Atlantas | Algimantas Briaunys | Resigned | 30 August 2018 | 6th | Tadas Labukas (caretaker) | 6 September 2018 |
| Atlantas | Tadas Labukas | End of caretaker spell | 13 September 2018 | 6th | Anatoli Shelest | 13 September 2018 |
| Trakai | Kibu Vicuña | Signed by Wisła Płock | 11 October 2018 | 4th | Albert Rybak (caretaker) | 11 October 2018 |
| Atlantas | Anatoli Shelest | Mutual consent | 24 October 2018 | 6th | Vacys Lekevičius (caretaker) | 24 October 2018 |

## Regular season
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sūduva | 28 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 59 | 16 | +43 | 67 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 2 | Žalgiris | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 60 | 20 | +40 | 62 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 3 | Stumbras | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 45 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 4 | Trakai | 28 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 37 | 26 | +11 | 42 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 5 | Kauno Žalgiris | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 22 | 31 | −9 | 35 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 6 | Atlantas | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 55 | −29 | 23 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 7 | Palanga (O) | 28 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 58 | −41 | 20 | Qualification to Relegation play-offs |
| 8 | Jonava (R) | 28 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 50 | −26 | 19 | Relegation to I Lyga |

### Results
## Championship round
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sūduva (C) | 33 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 72 | 20 | +52 | 77 | Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Žalgiris | 33 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 70 | 23 | +47 | 75 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Trakai | 33 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 29 | +17 | 51 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Stumbras | 33 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 | |
| 5 | Kauno Žalgiris | 33 | 11 | 6 | 16 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 39 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 6 | Atlantas | 33 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 28 | 75 | −47 | 24 | |
* 1 2 Trakai ahead of Stumbras on head-to-head points record; Trakai 8, Stumbras 5.

### Results

| Home \ Away | ATL | KŽA | STU | SŪD | TRA | ŽAL |
| Atlantas | — | 1–3 | — | — | 1–5 | — |
| Kauno Žalgiris | — | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | — |
| Stumbras | 6–0 | — | — | 1–4 | 0–3 | — |
| Sūduva | 6–0 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Trakai | — | 1–0 | — | — | — | 0–1 |
| Žalgiris | 0–0 | 5–2 | 2–0 | — | — | — |

## Relegation play-offs

The 7th placed team faced the runners-up of the 2018 LFF I Lyga for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2019 A Lyga.

### Second leg

Palanga won 5–0 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.

## Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.
* Leader – Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
* Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
* Qualification to relegation play-offs
* Relegation to 2019 I Lyga
| 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 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
| Sūduva | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Žalgiris | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Trakai | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Stumbras | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Kauno Žalgiris | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Atlantas | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Palanga | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | | | | | |
| Jonava | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | | | | | |
Updated to games played on 11 November 2018

## Attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Sūduva | 16,740 | 2,400 | 450 | 985 | −9.6%$^†$ |
| 2 | Žalgiris | 10,530 | 2,000 | 100 | 620 | −13.6%$^†$ |
| 3 | Jonava | 5,160 | 850 | 50 | 369 | +10.1%$^†$ |
| 4 | Trakai | 4,947 | 1,000 | 50 | 310 | +13.6%$^†$ |
| 5 | Atlantas | 4,120 | 700 | 70 | 258 | −41.9%$^†$ |
| 6 | Palanga | 2,980 | 500 | 50 | 213 | +0.9%$^1$ |
| 7 | Stumbras | 3,220 | 500 | 50 | 190 | −7.8%$^†$ |
| 8 | Kauno Žalgiris | 2,860 | 450 | 80 | 179 | +1.1%$^†$ |
| | League total | 50,577 | 2,400 | 50 | 399 | −16.5%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 11 November 2018 Source: A Lyga, Lietuvos Futbolas Notes: 1: Team played last season in the I Lyga

## Awards
### Yearly awards
#### Individual

Awards were presented at the Lithuanian Football Awards ceremony, which was held on 21 February 2019. Finalists for voted awards were announced after the season and winners were presented at the award ceremony.
2018 A Lyga awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Ovidijus Verbickas (Sūduva) |
| Young Player of the Year | Justinas Marazas (Trakai) |
| Manager of the Year | Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) |
| Golden Boot | Liviu Antal (Žalgiris) |

#### Team of the Year

| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Rf |
| Kardum (Sūduva) | Slijngard (Žalgiris) Tomić (Žalgiris) Jankauskas (Sūduva) Švrljuga (Sūduva) | Kazlauskas (Atlantas/Trakai) Offenbacher (Sūduva) Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras) | Antal (Žalgiris) Ogana (Žalgiris) | |

### Monthly awards
#### Individual

Player of the Month :
| Month | Player | Stats |
| March | Karolis Laukžemis (Sūduva) | 4GP, 3G, 1A |
| April | Ovidijus Verbickas (Sūduva) | 5GP, 5G |
| May | Liviu Antal (Žalgiris) | 5GP, 4G, 1A |
| June & July | Marcos Júnior (Stumbras) | 3GP, 2G |
| August | Liviu Antal (Žalgiris) | 3GP, 7G, 1A |
| September & October | Tomáš Šimkovič (Žalgiris) | 9GP, 4G, 4A |
Young Player of the Month :
| Month | Player | Stats | Rf |
| March | Wasn't announced | Wasn't announced | Wasn't announced |
| April | Justinas Marazas (Trakai) | 5GP, 3G | |
| May | Kgaogelo Sekgota (Stumbras) | 5GP, 1G, 2A | |
| June & July | Edvinas Kloniūnas (Kauno Žalgiris) | 4GP, 1G | |
| August | Levan Matcharashvili (Stumbras) | 5GP, 1A | |
| September & October | Ernestas Mockus (Kauno Žalgiris) | 4GP, 1A | |
Coach of the Month :
| Month | Player | Win % |
| March | Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) | 4GP, 75% |
| April | Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) | 5GP, 80% |
| May | Aurelijus Skarbalius (Žalgiris) | 5GP, 80% |
| June & July | Mariano Barreto (Stumbras) | 3GP, 100% |
| August | Valdas Urbonas (Žalgiris) | 3GP, 100% |
| September & October | Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) | 10GP, 70% |

#### Team of the Month

Team of the Month :
| Month | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| March | Bartkus (Žalgiris) | Slavickas (Sūduva) Klimavičius (Žalgiris) Artimavičius (Atlantas) Baravykas (Žalgiris) | Veliulis (Jonava) Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Vorobjovas (Trakai) Švrljuga (Sūduva) | Laukžemis (Sūduva) Acevedo (Sūduva) |
| April | Kardum (Sūduva) | Nazaré (Stumbras) Jankauskas (Sūduva) Januševskij (Trakai) Švrljuga (Sūduva) | Koç (Atlantas) Zasavițchi (Jonava) Verbickas (Sūduva) Antal (Žalgiris) | Mukanya (Trakai) Juška (Palanga) |
| May | Mikelionis (Kauno Žalgiris) | Mikoliūnas (Žalgiris) Snapkauskas (Kauno Žalgiris) Kerla (Sūduva) Švrljuga (Sūduva) | Sekgota (Stumbras) N'Diaye (Sūduva) Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Urbys (Palanga) | Tadić (Sūduva) Antal (Žalgiris) |
| June & July | Bartkus (Žalgiris) | Nazaré (Stumbras) Almeida (Stumbras) Sadauskas (Stumbras) Švrljuga (Sūduva) | Antal (Žalgiris) Pilibaitis (Kauno Žalgiris) Cá (Stumbras) Kloniūnas (Kauno Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras) | Cicilia (Sūduva) |
| August | Bartkus (Žalgiris) | Slijngard (Žalgiris) Osipov (Trakai) Mbodj (Žalgiris) Baravykas (Žalgiris) | Kazlauskas (Trakai) Pilibaitis (Kauno Žalgiris Antal (Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras) | Thuique (Jonava) Ogana (Žalgiris) |
| September & October | Švedkauskas (Trakai) | Floro (Stumbras) Jankauskas (Sūduva) Mbodj (Žalgiris) Švrljuga (Sūduva) | Sirgėdas (Kauno Žalgiris) Offenbacher (Sūduva Šimkovič (Žalgiris) Júnior (Stumbras) | Gotal (Sūduva) Ogana (Žalgiris) |
Multiple appearances :
| Player | Club | App |
| Andro Švrljuga | Sūduva | 4 |
| Liviu Antal | Žalgiris | 4 |
| Džiugas Bartkus | Žalgiris | 3 |
| Tomáš Šimkovič | Žalgiris | 3 |
| Marcos Júnior | Stumbras | 3 |
| Jardel Nazaré | Stumbras | 2 |
| Rolandas Baravykas | Žalgiris | 2 |
| Linas Pilibaitis | Kauno Žalgiris | 2 |
| Algis Jankauskas | Sūduva | 2 |
| Mamadou Mbodj | Žalgiris | 2 |
| Ogana Louis | Žalgiris | 2 |