The 2020 A Lyga was the 31st season of the A Lyga, the top-tier football league of Lithuania. The season began on 6 March and was planned to end on 7 November 2020. On 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Season | 2020 |
---|---|
Dates | 6 March – 7 November 2020 |
Champions | Žalgiris |
Champions League | Žalgiris |
Europa Conference League | Sūduva Kauno Žalgiris Panevėžys |
Matches played | 60 |
Goals scored | 153 (2.55 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Hugo Vidémont (13 goals) |
Biggest home win | Žalgiris 4–0 Panevėžys (6 March 2020) |
Biggest away win | Riteriai 0–3 Kauno Žalgiris (8 March 2020) |
Highest scoring | Žalgiris 4–0 Panevėžys (6 March 2020) |
Longest winning run | 3 matches Sūduva |
Longest unbeaten run | 3 matches Sūduva |
Longest winless run | 4 matches Panevėžys |
Longest losing run | 4 matches Panevėžys |
← 2019 2021 →
All statistics correct as of 13 June 2020. |
Teams
editFK Sūduva Marijampolė begin the season as defending champions having won their third consecutive league title last year.
Three clubs dropped out of A Lyga last season - Stumbras folded in the summer, while Atlantas and Palanga were disqualified after the end of the season after investigation revealed numerous match-fixing incidents.
Licensing process
editThe top 5 previous season's teams - FK Sūduva Marijampolė, FK Žalgiris, FK Riteriai, FK Kauno Žalgiris and FK Panevėžys met licensing criteria and received a straight pass to their licenses. Disqualified FK Palanga and FK Atlantas appealed the disqualification decision and expressed interest in playing in A Lyga. Their appeals were rejected.
Five of the I Lyga teams applied for A Lyga licenses - FK Banga Gargždai, FC Džiugas, Vilniaus Vytis, DFK Dainava and FC Hegelmann Litauen. The previous year's I Lyga winners FC Džiugas failed to meet A Lyga licensing criteria, and their application was rejected. FC Džiugas will continue playing in I Lyga this season. FK Banga Gargždai won the play-off match against FK Palanga and earned the right to play in A Lyga. Their A Lyga license was granted upon appeal. Vilniaus Vytis and DFK Dainava did not earn promotion to A Lyga, however they were hoping for exceptions which are common in Lithuanian football. In this instance their applications were rejected on the grounds of failing to meet several critical criteria. FC Hegelmann Litauen withdrew their application prior to the licensing committee's meeting. This meant that only six teams will play in the 2020 A Lyga championship. The LFF announced that four I Lyga teams will qualify for promotion to A Lyga next season.[2]
Club | Location | Stadium | Surface | Capacity | Seasons in A Lyga |
2019 position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banga | Gargždai | Gargždai Stadium | Artificial | 2,323 | 7 | 2nd in LFF I lyga |
— | — | — | ||||
Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | SM Tauras Stadium | Natural | 500 | 6 | 4th |
NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | ||||
Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija Stadium | Natural | 6,600 | 2 | 5th |
Žemyna Progymnasium Stadium | Artificial | 500 | ||||
Riteriai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 7 | 3rd |
Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | ||||
Sūduva | Marijampolė | Sūduva Stadium (Hikvision Arena) |
Natural | 6,250 | 18 | 1st |
Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena (Hikvision FIA) |
Artificial | 2,660 | ||||
Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 19 | 2nd |
Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 |
Personnel and kits
editTeam | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|---|---|
Banga | - | |||
Kauno Žalgiris | BC Žalgiris | |||
Panevėžys | Kalnapilis | |||
Riteriai | Ecoil | |||
Sūduva | Hikvision | |||
Žalgiris | Top Sport |
Managerial changes
editTeam | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Riteriai | end of caretaker spell | 3 January 2020 | 7 January 2020 | ||
Sūduva | contract expiry | at the end of the 2019 season | 8 January 2020 | ||
Žalgiris | end of caretaker spell | 27 November 2019 | 19 January 2020 | ||
Kauno Žalgiris | contract expiry [5] | 2 December 2019 | 3 December 2019 | ||
Sūduva | contract termination[6] | 14 April 2020 | 23 May 2020 | ||
Panevėžys | contract termination[7] | 15 June 2020 | 4 July 2020 | ||
Riteriai | resigned[8] | 28 June 2020 | 28 June 2020 | ||
Riteriai | end of caretaker spell[9] | 26 July 2020 | 26 July 2020 | ||
Riteriai | contract termination[10] | 1 August 2020 | 1 August 2020 | ||
Riteriai | end of caretaker spell[11] | 11 August 2020 | 11 August 2020 |
Regular season
editOn 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.[12]
League table
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Žalgiris (C) | 20 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 14 | +28 | 45 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
2 | Sūduva | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 43 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
3 | Kauno Žalgiris | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 18 | +12 | 38 | |
4 | Banga | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 30 | −14 | 16 | |
5 | Panevėžys | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 19 | 38 | −19 | 12 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round[a] |
6 | Riteriai | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 38 | −21 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won.[13]
(C) Champions
Notes:
- ^ Panevėžys qualified for the Europa Conference League as the 2020 Lithuanian Football Cup winners.
Fixtures and results
editSeason statistics
editTop scorers
editRank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Žalgiris | 13 | |
2 | Sūduva | 11 | |
3 | Kauno Žalgiris | 8 | |
4 | Žalgiris | 6 | |
5 | Sūduva | 5 | |
Panevėžys | |||
6 | Kauno Žalgiris | 4 | |
Kauno Žalgiris | |||
Sūduva | |||
Sūduva | |||
Žalgiris | |||
Žalgiris |
Updated to match(es) played on 1 September 2020.
Source: soccerway.com[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Svarbi informacija dėl LFF vykdomų varžybų ir renginių sustabdymo". LFF (in Lithuanian). 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ^ "Vykdomojo komiteto posėdžio metu patvirtintas I ir A lygų komandų skaičius". LFF. 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
- ^ "Personalas – FK Banga".
- ^ Brazdžionis, Gintaras (5 August 2018). ""Hummel" prizas žiūrovams" (in Lithuanian). FK Panevėžys. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ ""Kauno Žalgirio" komandoje – trenerių kaita". 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Nutraukta sutartis su H. Pfeifenbergeriu – FK Sūduva".
- ^ ""Panevėžys" atleido A.Kurtijaną".
- ^ "Mindaugas Čepas traukiasi iš "Riterių"".
- ^ ""Riteriams" vadovaus strategas iš Lenkijos".
- ^ "Išsiskyrė "Riterių" keliai su J. Niedzviedzu".
- ^ "Futbolo Klubas Riteriai » "Riterius" treniruos specialistas iš Suomijos".
- ^ "Svarbi informacija dėl LFF vykdomų varžybų ir renginių sustabdymo". LFF (in Lithuanian). 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ^ "A Lyga 2019 - Season rules" (DOCX) (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Football Federation. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ "Top Scorers".
External links
edit- Official website (in Lithuanian and English)