2018 Eliteserien

The 2018 Eliteserien was the 74th completed season of top-tier football in Norway. This was second season of Eliteserien as rebranding from Tippeligaen.

Eliteserien
Season2018
Dates11 March – 24 November
ChampionsRosenborg
26th title
RelegatedSandefjord
Start
Champions LeagueRosenborg
Europa LeagueMolde
Brann
Haugesund
Matches played240
Goals scored672 (2.8 per match)
Top goalscorerFranck Boli
(17 goals)
Biggest home winMolde 5–0 Sandefjord
(11 March 2018)
Biggest away winStart 1–6 Vålerenga
(14 April 2018)
Highest scoringStart 1–6 Vålerenga
(14 April 2018)
Longest winning runBrann
(7 games)
Longest unbeaten runBrann
(14 games)
Longest winless runSandefjord
(15 games)
Longest losing runSandefjord
(8 games)
Highest attendance21,201
Rosenborg 1–1 Ranheim
(5 May 2018)
Lowest attendance1,393
Ranheim 1–1 Sandefjord
(19 August 2018)
Average attendance5,865 Decrease 12.4%
← 2017
2019 →

The season began on 11 March and ended 24 November 2018, not including play-off matches.[1] Fixtures for the 2018 season were announced on 19 December 2017.[2] Rosenborg were the defending champions, while Bodø/Glimt, Start and Ranheim entered as the promoted teams from the 2017 1. divisjon.

Rosenborg won their fourth consecutive title, their 26th top-flight title overall, with one match to spare following a 1–0 away win against Start on 11 November 2018.[3]

Overview

Summary

Brann started the season well and won eight of their nine opening games. They lost their first match 0–4 against Molde in the 15th round. Rosenborg started the season poorly with no win in the first three games, but managed to tighten the gap to Brann. Head coach Kåre Ingebrigtsen was sacked on 19 July[4] although Rosenborg was placed second in the league, two points behind Brann at the time.

On 11 November, Rosenborg were confirmed as Eliteserien champions following their 1–0 away win against Start in the 29th round. They won their fourth consecutive title and 26th top-flight title overall. Molde won eight of their final nine games and finished in second place, five points behind Rosenborg.

Sandefjord were the first team to be relegated to the 1. divisjon when they drew 1–1 against Sarpsborg 08 in their penultimate game. Before the 30th and final round, five teams were in risk of either relegation or relegation play-offs. Start lost 1–3 away to Haugesund and was relegated as the second team from bottom. Stabæk drew 2–2 against Strømsgodset after a goal by Strømsgodset's Mustafa Abdellaoue in the last minute of the game. That goal made sure Strømsgodset retained their spot in the next season's Eliteserien, while Stabæk were forced to play relegation play-offs.[5] Stabæk won the play-offs against Aalesund 2–1 on aggregate and retained their spot in Eliteserien.

Teams

Sixteen teams competed in the league – the top thirteen teams from the previous season, and three teams promoted from 1. divisjon. The promoted teams were Bodø/Glimt, Start (both returning to the top flight after a season's absence) and Ranheim (returned to the top flight after an absence of sixty-one years). They replaced Sogndal, Aalesund and Viking ending their top flight spells of two, eleven and twenty-nine years respectively.

Stadia and locations
Locations of the teams in 2018 Eliteserien
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team Ap. Location Arena Turf Capacity
Bodø/Glimt 23 Bodø Aspmyra Stadion Artificial 5,635
Brann 61 Bergen Brann Stadion Natural 12,914[lower-alpha 1]
Haugesund 12 Haugesund Haugesund Stadion Natural 8,754
Kristiansund 2 Kristiansund Kristiansund Stadion Artificial 4,277
Lillestrøm 55 Lillestrøm Åråsen Stadion Natural 11,500
Molde 42 Molde Aker Stadion Artificial 11,249
Odd 37 Skien Skagerak Arena Artificial 11,767
Ranheim 8 Trondheim EXTRA Arena Artificial 3,000
Rosenborg 55 Trondheim Lerkendal Stadion Natural 21,421
Sandefjord 7 Sandefjord Komplett Arena Natural 6,582
Sarpsborg 08 7 Sarpsborg Sarpsborg Stadion Artificial 8,022
Stabæk 22 Bærum Nadderud Stadion Natural 4,938
Start 41 Kristiansand Sør Arena Artificial 14,448
Strømsgodset 31 Drammen Marienlyst Stadion Artificial 8,935
Tromsø 31 Tromsø Alfheim Stadion Artificial 6,687
Vålerenga 58 Oslo Intility Arena Artificial 16,555
Notes
  1. The capacity of Brann Stadion was reduced from 17,686 to 12,914 due to renovations.

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Sponsor
Bodø/Glimt Norway Kjetil Knutsen Norway Martin Bjørnbak Diadora Sparebanken Nord-Norge
Brann Norway Lars Arne Nilsen Netherlands Vito Wormgoor Nike Sparebanken Vest
Haugesund Norway Eirik Horneland Norway Christian Grindheim Macron Haugaland Kraft
Kristiansund Norway Christian Michelsen Norway Dan Peter Ulvestad Macron SpareBank 1 Nordvest
Lillestrøm Sweden Jörgen Lennartsson Norway Frode Kippe Puma DNB
Molde Norway Ole Gunnar Solskjær Norway Ruben Gabrielsen Nike Sparebanken Møre
Odd Norway Dag-Eilev Fagermo Norway Steffen Hagen Hummel SpareBank 1 Telemark
Ranheim Norway Svein Maalen Norway Mads Reginiussen Umbro SpareBank 1 SMN
Rosenborg Netherlands Rini Coolen (interim) Denmark Mike Jensen Adidas SpareBank 1 SMN
Sandefjord Spain Martí Cifuentes Norway Håvard Storbæk Macron Jotun
Sarpsborg 08 Norway Geir Bakke Denmark Patrick Mortensen Select Borregaard
Stabæk Norway Henning Berg Norway Andreas Hanche-Olsen Macron SpareBank 1 Østlandet
Start Norway Kjetil Rekdal Norway Simon Larsen Macron Sparebanken Sør
Strømsgodset Norway Bjørn Petter Ingebretsen Norway Jakob Glesnes Puma DNB
Tromsø Finland Simo Valakari Norway Simen Wangberg Select Sparebanken Nord-Norge
Vålerenga Norway Ronny Deila Norway Daniel Fredheim Holm Umbro DNB

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Table Incoming manager Date of appointment Table
Start England Mick Priest (interim) End of caretaker spell 1 December 2017[6] Pre-season England Mark Dempsey 1 December 2017[7] Pre-season
Sandefjord Norway Lars Bohinen Signed by Aalesund 20 December 2017[8] Sweden Magnus Powell 16 January 2018[9]
Sandefjord Sweden Magnus Powell Sacked 25 April 2018[10] 12th Norway Geir Ludvig Fevang (interim) 27 April 2018 12th
Start England Mark Dempsey Sacked 18 May 2018[11] 16th Iceland Johannes Hardarson (interim) 19 May 2018 16th
Sandefjord Norway Geir Ludvig Fevang (interim) End of caretaker spell 31 May 2018[12] 16th Spain Martí Cifuentes 31 May 2018 16th
Start Iceland Johannes Hardarson (interim) End of caretaker spell 1 June 2018[13] 15th Norway Kjetil Rekdal 1 June 2018 15th
Strømsgodset Norway Tor Ole Skullerud Resigned 6 June 2018[14] 12th Norway Bjørn Petter Ingebretsen 7 June 2018[15] 12th
Lillestrøm Norway Arne Erlandsen Sacked 26 June 2018[16] 13th Norway Arild Sundgot (interim) 26 June 2018 13th
Stabæk Spain Antoni Ordinas Sacked 27 June 2018[17] 14th Norway Jan Peder Jalland (interim)
Norway Gaute Larsen (interim)		 28 June 2018[18] 14th
Stabæk Norway Jan Peder Jalland (interim)
Norway Gaute Larsen (interim)		 End of caretaker spell 4 July 2018[17] 14th Norway Henning Berg 4 July 2018[19] 14th
Lillestrøm Norway Arild Sundgot (interim) End of caretaker spell 13 July 2018 13th Sweden Jörgen Lennartsson 13 July 2018[20] 13th
Rosenborg Norway Kåre Ingebrigtsen Sacked 19 July 2018[4] 2nd Netherlands Rini Coolen (interim) 19 July 2018[21] 2nd

Transfers

Winter
Main article: List of Norwegian football transfers winter 2017–18

Summer
Main article: List of Norwegian football transfers summer 2018

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Rosenborg (C) 30 19 7 4 51 24 +27 64 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
2 Molde 30 18 5 7 63 36 +27 59 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Brann 30 17 7 6 45 31 +14 58
4 Haugesund 30 16 5 9 45 33 +12 53
5 Kristiansund 30 13 7 10 46 41 +5 46
6 Vålerenga 30 11 9 10 39 44 −5 42
7 Ranheim 30 12 6 12 43 50 −7 42
8 Sarpsborg 08 30 11 8 11 46 39 +7 41
9 Odd 30 11 7 12 39 38 +1 40
10 Tromsø 30 11 3 16 41 48 −7 36
11 Bodø/Glimt 30 6 14 10 32 35 −3 32
12 Lillestrøm 30 7 11 12 34 44 −10 32
13 Strømsgodset 30 7 10 13 46 48 −2 31
14 Stabæk (O) 30 6 11 13 37 50 −13 29 Qualification for the relegation play-offs
15 Start (R) 30 8 5 17 30 54 −24 29 Relegation to First Division
16 Sandefjord (R) 30 4 11 15 35 57 −22 23
Source: Football Association of Norway (in Norwegian), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if between two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off (only used to decide champions or relegation).[22]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Since the winners of the 2018 Norwegian Cup (Rosenborg) qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners (Europa League first qualifying round) was passed to the second-placed team, while the spot awarded to the second-placed team (Europa League first qualifying round) was passed to the fourth-placed team.

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Rosenborg121112864222222322222211111111111
Molde111222336687864344454433333322
Brann423111111111111111122222222233
Haugesund574496443455446533333344444444
Kristiansund1111811101111101010101099988898910910877555
Vålerenga636737775566688999776676788886
Ranheim1495643554333233466645555555667
Sarpsborg 086523799977445776555677891099998
Odd10151511141086889910101010101010910867666779
Tromsø15895856899787557778108910891010101010
Bodø/Glimt3611161614131413131411111212121212111111111111111212111111
Lillestrøm131316131213151211111113131313131313141313151513131314141312
Strømsgodset81313958101112121312121111111111111212121212121411121213
Stabæk81014151215121314141214141414141414131414131314151515151514
Start247101416161616161515151515151515151515141415141113131415
Sandefjord161610141112141515151616161616161616161616161616161616161616
Leader / 2019–20 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round
2019–20 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
Relegation play-offs
Relegation to 2019 1. divisjon
Source: nifs.no

Relegation play-offs
Main article: 2018 Eliteserien promotion/relegation play-offs

The 14th-placed team, Stabæk takes part in a two-legged play-off against Aalesund, the winners of the 1. divisjon promotion play-offs, to decide who will play in the 2019 Eliteserien.

Stabæk1–0Aalesund
Børkeeiet 27' Report
Attendance: 3,831
Aalesund1–1Stabæk
O. Lie 30' Report Guèye 71' (o.g.)
Attendance: 6,333
Referee: Tore Hansen

Stabæk won 2–1 on aggregate and retained their position in Eliteserien.

Results
Home \ Away BOD BRA HAU KRI LIL MOL ODD RAN ROS SND SRP SBK STA STM TRO VÅL
Bodø/Glimt — 2–2 0–3 3–0 3–1 0–1 1–1 4–0 0–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 0–1 1–1
Brann 2–0 — 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–4 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–0 3–0 4–1 3–1 3–0 0–0
Haugesund 1–0 1–3 — 3–2 2–2 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 4–2 1–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–0
Kristiansund 1–1 3–1 2–1 — 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–3 0–2 3–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 4–0 5–1 0–1
Lillestrøm 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 — 2–2 0–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 3–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–1
Molde 1–2 5–1 2–0 3–2 2–1 — 0–1 2–3 1–0 5–0 2–2 3–0 3–1 2–0 2–1 5–1
Odd 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–2 3–1 1–1 — 2–0 1–1 5–0 3–1 0–3 3–0 2–2 1–0 3–2
Ranheim 0–0 0–2 4–2 2–1 3–2 3–1 3–1 — 1–3 1–1 2–1 4–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 2–2
Rosenborg 1–1 1–2 1–0 2–2 3–0 4–0 3–1 1–1 — 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 4–3 2–1 3–0
Sandefjord 1–1 0–1 0–2 3–3 1–3 1–3 1–1 1–2 0–1 — 0–1 1–1 4–1 2–1 1–0 0–1
Sarpsborg 08 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 1–2 4–1 1–0 1–1 — 4–2 4–0 0–1 2–3 3–0
Stabæk 0–0 1–2 2–1 0–1 3–2 3–1 2–1 3–2 0–1 3–3 1–3 — 1–1 2–2 1–1 1–1
Start 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–3 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–4 1–0 2–1 — 1–1 4–1 1–6
Strømsgodset 4–0 1–1 0–1 2–3 2–2 1–2 3–0 3–0 0–1 2–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 — 2–4 2–0
Tromsø 1–2 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 2–4 2–1 4–0 2–1 4–1 0–2 0–0 1–2 3–1 — 3–0
Vålerenga 2–2 2–0 2–2 0–2 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–3 2–2 0–0 1–0 3–2 1–4 3–0 —
Source: Football Association of Norway (in Norwegian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals[23] Games Average
1 Ivory Coast Franck Boli Stabæk 17 29 0,59
2 Norway Marcus Pedersen Strømsgodset 14 23 0,61
3 Norway Erling Haaland Molde 12 25 0,48
Denmark Patrick Mortensen Sarpsborg 08 12 28 0,43
Norway Thomas Lehne Olsen Lillestrøm 12 29 0,41
6 Liberia Sam Johnson Vålerenga 11 24 0,46
Ivory Coast Daouda Bamba Kristiansund/Brann 11 29 0,38
8 Norway Bård Finne Vålerenga 10 25 0,40
Norway Kristian Fardal Opseth Bodø/Glimt 10 30 0,30
10 Norway Mads Reginiussen Ranheim 9 26 0,35
Norway Steffen Lie Skålevik Brann 9 28 0,32
Norway Bendik Bye Kristiansund 9 30 0,30
Nigeria David Akintola Haugesund 9 30 0,30

Hat-tricks
Main article: List of Eliteserien hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Norway Marcus PedersenStrømsgodsetOdd3–0 (H)15 April 2018
Norway Erling Haaland4MoldeBrann4–0 (A)1 July 2018
Norway Bendik ByeKristiansundStrømsgodset3–2 (A)9 July 2018
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Top assists
Rank Player Club Assists[24]
1 Norway Gjermund Åsen Tromsø 10
2 Norway Magnus Wolff Eikrem Molde 8
Norway Birger Meling Rosenborg
4 Norway Stian Aasmundsen Kristiansund 7
Norway Fredrik Aursnes Molde
Norway Eirik Hestad Molde
Ghana Gilbert Koomson Brann
Norway Tokmac Nguen Kristiansund
9 Nigeria David Akintola Haugesund 6
Norway Eirik Ulland Andersen Strømsgodset
Norway Vegar Eggen Hedenstad Rosenborg
Norway Erling Knudtzon Lillestrøm
Norway Kristoffer Løkberg Ranheim
Norway Pau Morer Sandefjord
Kosovo Elbasan Rashani Odd
Norway Ulrik Saltnes Bodø/Glimt
Norway Alexander Stølås Haugesund

Clean sheets
André Hansen of Rosenborg kept 12 clean sheets over the season, more than any other goalkeeper.
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 Norway André Hansen Rosenborg 12
2 Austria Samuel Şahin-Radlinger Brann 11
3 Ghana Adam Larsen Kwarasey Vålerenga 10
4 Norway Per Kristian Bråtveit Haugesund 9
5 Sweden Andreas Linde Molde 8
Norway Sondre Rossbach Odd
7 Germany Jonas Deumeland Start 5
Norway Aslak Falch Sarpsborg 08
Norway Gudmund Kongshavn Tromsø
Republic of Ireland Sean McDermott Kristiansund

Player
Flamur Kastrati received the most yellow cards this season with 10.

Club
  • Most red cards: 2[28]
    • Lillestrøm
    • Start
    • Vålerenga

Attendances
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Rosenborg 246,355 21,201 13,668 16,424 −6.6%†
2 Brann 156,466 12,914 8,173 10,431 −12.0%†
3 Vålerenga 137,700 14,740 6,063 9,180 −5.4%†
4 Molde 106,661 9,444 6,218 7,111 −8.7%†
5 Strømsgodset 89,088 7,587 5,199 5,939 −5.3%†
6 Lillestrøm 83,393 10,409 3,842 5,560 −1.2%†
7 Odd 80,746 6,761 4,466 5,383 −24.2%†
8 Sarpsborg 08 75,074 6,149 4,365 5,005 +6.5%†
9 Start 71,573 10,419 3,068 4,772 +16.6%†
10 Haugesund 64,749 7,523 3,430 4,317 −3.1%†
11 Kristiansund 60,629 4,277 3,753 4,042 +5.7%†
12 Stabæk 54,833 4,561 3,035 3,656 −7.7%†
13 Tromsø 54,828 5,214 2,908 3,655 +1.6%†
14 Bodø/Glimt 48,282 4,731 2,615 3,219 +24.6%†
15 Sandefjord 47,042 5,319 2,461 3,136 −21.8%†
16 Ranheim 30,274 2,919 1,393 2,018 +191.6%†
League total 1,407,693 21,201 1,393 5,865 −12.4%†

Updated to games played on 24 November 2018
Source: nifs.no

Awards
Award Winner Club
Player of the Year Norway André Hansen[29] Rosenborg
Breakthrough of the Year Norway Erling Haaland[30] Molde
Manager of the Year Norway Svein Maalen[31] Ranheim
Goal of the Year Norway Jon-Helge Tveita[32] Sarpsborg 08

References
  1. "Hovedterminliste menn 2018" (PDF). fotball.no.
  2. "Terminlisten er klar: Slik spilles Eliteserien 2018". aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  3. "Rosenborg vant Eliteserien: – Det har vært et vanvittig turbulent år". NRK Sport (in Norwegian). NRK. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  4. "Styrelederen om sparkingen av Ingebrigtsen: – Ubehagelig og tøft" (in Norwegian). NRK. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  5. "Strømsgodset reddet Eliteserie-kontrakten på overtid – sendte Stabæk til kvalik". eurosport.no (in Norwegian). Eurosport. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  6. "Mark Dempsey tar over Start". www.tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV 2 (Norway). 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  7. "Mark Dempsey tar over start". www.tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV 2 (Norway). 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  8. "Lars Bohinen ny Aafk-trener". www.aafk.no (in Norwegian). Aalesunds FK. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  9. "Magnus Powell blir ny hovedtrener". www.sandefjordfotball.no (in Norwegian). Sandefjord Fotball. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  10. "Magnus Powell ferdig i Sandefjord: - Kjemien ikke helt på topp". www.vg.no (in Norwegian). VG. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  11. "Start og Dempsey skiller lag". www.ikstart.no (in Norwegian). IK Start. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  12. "Spanske Cifuentes er Sandefjords nye trener" [Spaniard Cifuentes is Sandefjord's new head coach]. www.vg.no (in Norwegian). VG. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  13. "Rekdal: – Posisjonen til Start trigget meg". www.fvn.no (in Norwegian). Fædrelandsvennen]. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  14. "Skullerud ferdig i Strømsgodset: – Ugunstig tidspunkt" (in Norwegian). NRK. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  15. ""BP" blir Godset-vikar" (in Norwegian). TV2. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  16. "Ferdig i Lillestrøm" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  17. "Stabæk-Ordinas ble tatt på sengen: – Ja, jeg fikk sparken" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  18. "Gaute Larsen skal hjelpe trenerløse Stabæk" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  19. "Henning Berg ny Stabæk-trener" (in Norwegian). Stabæk. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  20. "Lennartsson tar over Lillestrøm" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  21. "Rosenborgs trenervikar ble spurt om å steppe inn torsdag morgen" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  22. "Eliteserien - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  23. "Toppscorerliste". nifs.no (in Norwegian). NTB. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  24. "Assist". altomfotball.no. TV2. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  25. "Eliteserien 2018 - Toppscorer, gule og røde kort". Norwegian Football Association. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  26. "Eliteserien 2018 Statistikk". altomfotball.no. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  27. "Eliteserien 2018 Råeste lag". altomfotball.no. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  28. "Eliteserien 2018 Statistikk". altomfotball.no. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  29. "Rosenborg-keeper ble årets spiller i Eliteserien". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). 25 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  30. "Håland vant "Årets gjennombrudd"!". www.moldefk.no (in Norwegian). 25 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  31. "Maalen årets trener i Eliteserien". www.ranheimfotball.no (in Norwegian). 25 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  32. "Tveita med årets mål i Eliteserien 2018". www.sarpsborg08.no (in Norwegian). 25 November 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
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