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2019 A Lyga
The 2019 A Lyga was the 30th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier association football league of Lithuania. The season began on 2 March 2019 and ended on 27 November 2019.
| Season |
|---|
| Sūduva |
| AtlantasPalangaStumbras |
| Sūduva |
| ŽalgirisRiteriaiKauno Žalgiris |
| 127 |
| 405 (3.19 per match) |
| Tomislav Kiš (27 goals) |
| Sūduva 9–1 Atlantas(30 October 2019) |
| Atlantas 0–5 Sūduva(10 March 2019)Panevėžys 2–7 Sūduva(24 September 2019) |
| Sūduva 9–1 Atlantas(30 October 2019) |
| 16 gamesSūduva |
| 16 gamesSūduva |
| 22 gamesStumbras |
| 18 gamesStumbras |
| 2,500Žalgiris v Sūduva(20 October 2019) |
| 50Palanga v Sūduva(20 April 2019) |
| 52,357 |
| 468 |
| ← 2018 2020 → |
| All statistics correct as of 1 December. |
The 2019 A Lyga was the 30th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier association football league of Lithuania. The season began on 2 March 2019 and ended on 27 November 2019.
Sūduva Marijampolė began the season as defending champions having won their second consecutive league title last year. They secured a third consecutive title in Aukštaitija Stadium on 3 November, after they beat Panevėžys 5–1.
Only five league clubs survived throughout the year – Stumbras folded in the summer, while Atlantas and Palanga were disqualified in the off-season.
Eight clubs competed – the top six of the 2018 season, the winner of the relegation play-offs and the champions of the 2018 LFF I Lyga. Palanga remained in the league having won the play-offs, while Panevėžys made their top-tier debut replacing relegated Jonava.
Trakai changed their name to Riteriai during the preseason, for a better identification with Vilnius, where the main team has been located since 2014.
In 2019 Stumbras started the season very well by winning against FK Sūduva Marijampolė and FK Žalgiris Vilnius, claiming the top position of the 2019 A Lyga table. However, after the first half of the season the club ran into financial problems. The players and staff started leaving the team. The club was stripped of the place in 2019–20 UEFA Europa League and it's A Lyga license revoked. The club became defunct shortly afterwards.
On 5 December 2019, the Lithuanian Football Federation announce that two A Lyga clubs, FK Atlantas Klaipėda and FK Palanga have been excluded from the A Lyga due to manipulation of the match results, fined 42,000 euros and relegated to the II Lyga. Ten players and one staff were punished with fines and a ban from all football activity ranging from 6 to 12 months.
The following teams competed in the 2019 championship:
| Club | Location | Stadium | Turf | Capacity | 2018 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantas | Klaipėda | Central Stadium of Klaipėda | Natural | 4,428 | 6th |
| Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 1,000 | |||
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | SM Tauras Stadium | Natural | 500 | 5th |
| NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | |||
| Palanga | Palanga | Palanga Stadium | Natural | 1,212 | 7th |
| KlaipėdaSL | Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 1,000 | ||
| Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija Stadium | Natural | 6,600 | I Lyga, 1st |
| Žemyna Progymnasium Stadium | Artificial | 500 | |||
| Riteriai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 3rd |
| Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | |||
| Stumbras | Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 4th |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | ARVI Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 1st |
| ARVI Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | |||
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 2nd |
| Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 |
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 | Viktors Dobrecovs | Darvydas Šernas | Nike | — |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Mindaugas Čepas | Linas Pilibaitis | Hummel | BC Žalgiris |
| Palanga | Artyom Gorlov | Gvidas Juška | Nike | 011 |
| Panevėžys | Alexandru Curteian | Paulius Janušauskas | Hummel | Kalnapilis |
| Riteriai | Aurelijus Skarbalius | Valdemaras Borovskis | Nike | Ecoil |
| Stumbras | João Luís Martins | Rimvydas Sadauskas | Joma | — |
| Sūduva | Vladimir Cheburin | Algis Jankauskas | Joma | Sumeda |
| Žalgiris | João Luís Martins | Saulius Mikoliūnas | Nike | Top Sport |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantas | Vacys Lekevičius | End of caretaker spell | 11 November 2018 | Pre-season | Viktors Dobrecovs | 16 February 2019 |
| Riteriai | Albert Rybak | 21 December 2018 | Aurelijus Skarbalius | 21 December 2018 | ||
| Palanga | Valdas Trakys | Mutual consent | 2 January 2019 | Artyom Gorlov | 29 January 2019 | |
| Stumbras | Mariano Barreto | 31 January 2019 | João Luís Martins | 22 February 2019 | ||
| Žalgiris | Valdas Urbonas | Signed by Lithuania national team | 2 February 2019 | Marek Zub | 13 February 2019 |
The 7th placed team will face the runners-up of the 2019 LFF I Lyga for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn entry into the 2020 A Lyga.
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.
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Leader – Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round | |
| Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round | |
| Qualification to relegation play-offs | |
| Relegation to 2020 I Lyga |
Updated to games played on 9 November 2019
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sūduva | 16,325 | 2,100 | 500 | 1,089 | +10.6%† |
| 2 | Žalgiris | 10,115 | 2,500 | 165 | 675 | +8.9%† |
| 3 | Panevėžys | 8,800 | 1,100 | 250 | 629 | +19.6%1 |
| 4 | Stumbras | 1,857 | 500 | 100 | 310 | +63.2%† |
| 5 | Kauno Žalgiris | 4,095 | 500 | 150 | 293 | +63.7%† |
| 6 | Atlantas | 3,845 | 500 | 75 | 275 | +6.6%† |
| 7 | Riteriai | 3,720 | 400 | 70 | 248 | −20.0%† |
| 8 | Palanga | 2,415 | 400 | 50 | 186 | −12.7%† |
| League total | 51,172 | 2,500 | 50 | 483 | +21.1%† |
- Official website (in Lithuanian)
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