The 2018

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

was the 74th completed season of top-tier

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. This was second season of Eliteserien as rebranding from Tippeligaen. The season began on 11 March and ended 24 November 2018, not including play-off matches. Fixtures for the 2018 season were announced on 19 December 2017. Rosenborg were the defending champions, while Bodø/Glimt,

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

and

Ranheim Ranheim is a neighbourhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Østbyen. The neighbourhood approximately to the east of the centre of Trondheim. It comprises Olderdalen, Væretrøa, Reppe, and ...

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

on 11 November 2018.

Overview

Summary

Brann started the season well and won eight of their nine opening games. They lost their first match 0–4 against

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

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 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

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 Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

were the first team to be relegated to the 1. divisjon when they drew 1–1 against

Sarpsborg 08 Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, the ...

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 Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

and was relegated as the second team from bottom. Stabæk drew 2–2 against Strømsgodset after a goal by Strømsgodset's

Mustafa Abdellaoue Mustafa "Mos" Abdellaoue (born 1 August 1988) is a Norwegian professional footballer who most recently played as a forward for Eliteserien side Sarpsborg 08. He is the younger brother of former Norway international Mohammed Abdellaoue. Club care ...

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. 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,

(both returning to the top flight after a season's absence) and

(returned to the top flight after an absence of sixty-one years). They replaced

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

, Aalesund and

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

ending their top flight spells of two, eleven and twenty-nine years respectively.

Stadia and locations

:''Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.'' ;Notes

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

Transfers

Winter

Summer

League table

Positions by round

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 The 2019 Eliteserien was the 75th season of top-tier football in Norway. This was third season of Eliteserien as rebranding from Tippeligaen. The season began on 30 March and was scheduled to end 30 November 2019, not including play-off matches, ...

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

Results

Season statistics

Top scorers

Hat-tricks

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

Top assists

Clean sheets

Discipline

Player

*Most yellow cards: 10 **

Flamur Kastrati Flamur Kastrati (born 14 November 1991) is a Kosovar retired professional footballer who recently played as a forward for Eliteserien club Odd. Kastrati is of Kosovar-Albanian descent and grew up in Norway. He has represented Norway at youth ...

(Sandefjord/Kristiansund) *Most red cards: 1 **

Aliou Coly Aliou Coly (born 10 December 1992) is a Senegalese footballer playing as a defender for Jerv in the OBOS-ligaen. Career Club Early career Aliou Coly started playing football for Casa Sports in Senegal. In 2012, Coly went on trial with Tippe ...

(Kristiansund) **

Simon Larsen Simon Andreas Larsen (born 1 June 1988) is a retired Norwegian football defender. Club career He played for the Norwegian team Vindbjart from 2011. In 2012, he signed for Norwegian team Vålerenga. He made his debut on 10 April 2012 against ...

(Start) ** Mathias Normann (Molde) ** Jacob Rasmussen (Rosenborg) ** Ivan Näsberg (Vålerenga) ** Lars-Jørgen Salvesen (Start) ** Emil Pálsson (Sandefjord) ** Tokmac Nguen (Strømsgodset) **

Abdisalam Ibrahim Abdisalam Abdulkadir Ibrahim (born 1 May 1991) is a Norwegian-Somali footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ullensaker/Kisa in the OBOS-ligaen. Club career Early career Born in Somalia, Ibrahim moved to Norway in 1998. He began his footbal ...

(Vålerenga) ** Frode Kippe (Lillestrøm) ** Marius Amundsen (Lillestrøm) **

Ivar Furu Ivar Erlien Furu (born 7 May 1994) is a Norwegian footballer who plays for Gamle Oslo. Furu was born in Trondheim, and grew up in Sunndalsøra. Career Furu played for Molde as a junior, he then moved to KR in 2014 on loan. He went to Byåsen ...

(Ranheim)

Club

*Most yellow cards: 57 **Start *Most red cards: 2 **Lillestrøm **Start **Vålerenga

Attendances

Awards

References

{{2018–19 in European football (UEFA) Eliteserien seasons 0