| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Žalgiris |
| Relegated | Kauno Žalgiris |
| Champions League | Žalgiris |
| Europa League | Trakai Sūduva Marijampolė Atlantas |
| Matches | 129 |
| Goals | 358 (2.78 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Andrija Kaluđerović (20 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Sūduva 6–1Stumbras (22 October 2016) |
| Biggest away win | Stumbras 0–5Žalgiris (24 June 2016) |
| Highest scoring | Stumbras 3–6Žalgiris (12 March 2016) |
| Longest winning run | Žalgiris (9 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Žalgiris (16 games) |
| Longest winless run | Kauno Žalgiris (16 games) |
| Longest losing run | Utenis (6 games) |
| Highest attendance | 1,500[1] Žalgiris 2–0Trakai (2 March 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 50[2] Kauno Žalgiris 1–3Utenis (22 April 2016) |
| Total attendance | 63,515 |
| Average attendance | 501 |
←2015 2017 → | |
The2016 A Lyga, also known asSMSCredit.lt A Lyga for sponsoring purposes was the 27th season of theA Lyga, the top-tierassociation football league ofLithuania. The season began on 2 March and ended on 26 November 2016.[3]Žalgiris Vilnius were the defending champions.
FK Šiauliai failed to obtain a license to play in theA Lyga and were relegated alongsideFK Kruoja, which withdrew andFK Klaipedos Granitas, which was disqualified. They were replaced byFK Lietava Jonava, which will make its debut at the top level. FK Spyris Kaunas changed its name toFK Kauno Žalgiris.[4]
The league reduced its number of teams from ten sides down to eight. As a consequence, each team will play every other four times, twice at home and twice away with the top six then playing an additional round against each other.[3]
The following teams are competing in the 2016 championship:[5]
| Club | Location | Stadium | Turf | Capacity | 2015 position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantas | Klaipėda | Central Stadium of Klaipėda | Natural | 4,428 | 3rd |
| Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch[6] | Artificial | 1,000 | |||
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 5th |
| NFA Stadium[7] | Artificial | 500 | |||
| Lietava | Jonava | Central Stadium of Jonava | Natural | 1,008 | I Lyga,1st |
| KaunasSL | NFA Stadium[8] | Artificial | 500 | ||
| KėdainiaiSL | Kėdainiai Stadium[9] | Artificial | 3,000 | ||
| Stumbras | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 7th |
| NFA Stadium[10] | Artificial | 500 | |||
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | ARVI Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 4th |
| ARVI Football Indoor Arena[11] | Artificial | 2,660 | |||
| Trakai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 2nd |
| Sportima Arena[12] | Artificial | 3,157 | |||
| Utenis | Utena | Utenis Stadium | Natural | 3,073 | 6th |
| VisaginasSL | Visaginas Artificial Football Pitch[13] | Artificial | 212 | ||
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 1st |
| Sportima Arena[14] | Artificial | 3,157 |
^ Stadium location
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined underFIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Head coach(es) | Captain(s) | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantas |  Konstantin Sarsania |  Andrius Bartkus | Jako | — |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Laimis Bičkauskas | Ignas Dedura | Joma | BC Žalgiris |
| Lietava | Robertas Poškus[15] | Laurynas Stonkus | Joma[16] | Achema |
| Stumbras | Darius Gvildys Mariano Barreto[17] | Artūras Rimkevičius Nerijus Mačiulis | Hummel | Novecorum Group |
| Sūduva |  Aleksandar Veselinović Eivinas Černiauskas(caretaker) Vladimir Cheburin[18](interim) | Tomas Radzinevičius | Joma | Sumeda |
| Trakai | Valdas Urbonas Albert Rybak (interim) Serhiy Kovalets[19] | Deividas Česnauskis | Nike | Ecoil |
| Utenis | Mindaugas Čepas Oleh Boychyshyn(interim) | Valentin Jeriomenko Robertas Freidgeimas | Adidas[20] | Baltijos polistirenas[20] |
| Žalgiris | Valdas Dambrauskas | Egidijus Vaitkūnas | Nike[21] | TOP Sport[22] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Žalgiris Vilnius | 28 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 62 | 22 | +40 | 66 | Qualification toChampionship round |
| 2 | Trakai | 28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 47 | 22 | +25 | 58 | |
| 3 | Sūduva Marijampolė | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 51[a] | |
| 4 | Atlantas | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 51[a] | |
| 5 | Lietava Jonava | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 29 | |
| 6 | Stumbras Kaunas | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 35 | 52 | −17 | 27 | |
| 7 | Utenis Utena(O) | 28 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 47 | −23 | 16 | Qualification toRelegation play-offs |
| 8 | Kauno Žalgiris | 28 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 23 | 55 | −32 | 15 | Relegation toI Lyga cancelled |
Source:Soccerway Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Source:Soccerway Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
Top six will play each other once.[3]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Žalgiris Vilnius(C) | 33 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 74 | 29 | +45 | 76 | Qualification toChampions League second qualifying round[a] |
| 2 | Trakai | 33 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 55 | 26 | +29 | 67 | Qualification toEuropa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sūduva Marijampolė | 33 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 58 | |
| 4 | Atlantas | 33 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 56 | |
| 5 | Stumbras Kaunas | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 43 | 63 | −20 | 33 | |
| 6 | Lietava Jonava | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 35 | 58 | −23 | 32 |
The 7th placed team will face the runners-up of the2016 LFF I Lyga for a two-legged play-off. The winner onaggregate score after both matches will earn entry into the 2017 A Lyga.
| Palanga | 2–3 | Utenis Utena |
|---|---|---|
Navikas 74'Bagužis 90+5' | Report | Poruchynskyy 2',44' Vereshchak 54' |
3–3 on aggregate. Utenis won on away goals.
Top scorers[edit]
| Hat-tricks[edit]
|
| Team | GP | Total | High | Low | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Žalgiris | 17 | 13,394 | 1,500 | 350 | 788 |
| Sūduva | 17 | 13,190 | 1,200 | 500 | 776 |
| Atlantas | 16 | 9,850 | 1,200 | 100 | 616 |
| Lietava | 16 | 7,864 | 1,100 | 100 | 492 |
| Utenis | 14 | 4,957 | 670 | 150 | 355 |
| Kauno Žalgiris | 14 | 4,740 | 850 | 50 | 339 |
| Stumbras | 16 | 5,320 | 620 | 100 | 333 |
| Trakai | 17 | 4,200 | 430 | 100 | 248 |
| Total | 127α | 63,515 | 888[31] | 284[32] | 501 |
^ — Official attendance statistic for the play-off matches wasn't publicly released.
Awards were presented at the LFF Awards ceremony, which was held on November 28. Finalists for voted awards were announced after the season and winners were presented at the award ceremony.[33]
| Award | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Mantas Kuklys (Žalgiris) |
| Young Player of the Year | Eligijus Jankauskas (Sūduva) |
| Manager of the Year | Valdas Dambrauskas (Žalgiris) |
| Golden Boot | Andrija Kaluđerović (Žalgiris) |
| Goal of the Season | Matija Ljujić (Žalgiris) |
| Fair Play Award | Trakai |
|
|
From 2016 seasonA lyga together withLithuanian Football Federation decided to expand project "Bring you hearts to the stadium" and honor players who played 10 or more times for theLithuania national team with golden heart on their shirts.[40]
In 2016 season these players have had this evaluation:
^ — The match betweenFK Žalgiris andFK Sūduva Marijampolė was postponed due to theChampions League qualification match happening that week, so neither club's players were considered for the award.
