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 promotio ...

was the 74th completed season of top-tier football in

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 * ...

and Ranheim entered as the promoted teams from the

2017 1. divisjon The 2017 1. divisjon (referred to as OBOS-ligaen for sponsorship reasons) was a Norwegian second-tier football league season. The first round of the season was played on 2 April 2017 and the season concluded with the last round on 5 November 201 ...

. 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 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 Kåre Hedley Ingebrigtsen (born 11 November 1965) is a Norwegian professional football manager, executive and former player, who played as a midfielder. He currently serves as the manager of Ranheim. Ingebrigtsen was nicknamed "Bruttern" ("the b ...

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 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 Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...

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. 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 Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are p ...

. The promoted teams were Bodø/Glimt,

(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 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 s ...

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 yout ...

(Sandefjord/Kristiansund) *Most red cards: 1 ** Aliou Coly (Kristiansund) ** Simon Larsen (Start) **

Mathias Normann Mathias Antonsen Normann (born 28 May 1996) is a Norwegian professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Russian Premier League, Russian side FC Dynamo Moscow, Dynamo Moscow, on loan from FC Rostov, Rostov. He previo ...

(Molde) **

Jacob Rasmussen Jacob Vandsø Ryfeldt Rasmussen (born 28 May 1997) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Danish Superliga club Brøndby. Club career Early career Born in Odense, Rasmussen began his youth career at age five for N� ...

(Rosenborg) **

Ivan Näsberg Ivan Tarek Fjellstad Näsberg (born 22 April 1996) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Greek Super League club PAOK. Career Vålerenga Ivan Näsberg was born in Vålerenga, grew up in Vålerenga, and apart f ...

(Vålerenga) **

Lars-Jørgen Salvesen Lars-Jørgen Salvesen (born 19 February 1996) is a Norwegian football striker who plays for Viking FK. Career He started his career in FK Vigør, and played for the senior team in the 2013 Norwegian Third Division before joining IK Start. He t ...

(Start) ** Emil Pálsson (Sandefjord) **

Tokmac Nguen Tokmac Chol Nguen (born 20 October 1993) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Hungarian club Ferencváros. Born in Kenya to South Sudanese refugees, Nguen represents the Norway national team. Club career In Norway ...

(Strømsgodset) ** Abdisalam Ibrahim (Vålerenga) **

Frode Kippe Frode Kippe (born 17 January 1978) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a central defender, mostly for Lillestrøm in the Eliteserien. He made eight appearances for the Norway national team. With 441 top division appearanc ...

(Lillestrøm) **

Marius Amundsen Marius Amundsen (born 22 September 1992 in Lørenskog) is a Norwegian football defender who plays for Skjetten. Career Amundsen started his career with Lillestrøm before joining Strømmen IF in 2012. In July 2014 he left Strømmen and returned ...

(Lillestrøm) ** Ivar Furu (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