| Season | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 March – 24 November |
| Champions | Rosenborg 26th title |
| Relegated | Sandefjord Start |
| Champions League | Rosenborg |
| Europa League | Molde Brann Haugesund |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 672 (2.8 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Franck Boli (17 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Molde 5–0 Sandefjord (11 March 2018) |
| Biggest away win | Start 1–6Vålerenga (14 April 2018) |
| Highest scoring | Start 1–6 Vålerenga (14 April 2018) |
| Longest winning run | Brann (7 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Brann (14 games) |
| Longest winless run | Sandefjord (15 games) |
| Longest losing run | Sandefjord (8 games) |
| Highest attendance | 21,201 Rosenborg 1–1Ranheim (5 May 2018) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,393 Ranheim 1–1 Sandefjord (19 August 2018) |
| Average attendance | 5,865 |
←2017 2019 → | |
The2018Eliteserien was the 74th completed season of top-tierfootball inNorway. 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.[1] Fixtures for the 2018 season were announced on 19 December 2017.[2]Rosenborg were the defending champions, whileBodø/Glimt,Start andRanheim entered as the promoted teams from the2017 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 againstStart on 11 November 2018.[3]
Brann started the season well and won eight of their nine opening games. They lost their first match 0–4 againstMolde in the 15th round.Rosenborg started the season poorly with no win in the first three games, but managed to tighten the gap toBrann. Head coachKåre Ingebrigtsen was sacked on 19 July[4] 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 againstStart 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 were the first team to be relegated to the 1. divisjon when they drew 1–1 againstSarpsborg 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 toHaugesund and was relegated as the second team from bottom.Stabæk drew 2–2 againstStrømsgodset after a goal by Strømsgodset'sMustafa 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.[5] Stabæk won the play-offs againstAalesund 2–1 on aggregate and retained their spot in Eliteserien.
Sixteen teams competed in the league – the top thirteen teams from the previous season, and three teams promoted from1. divisjon. The promoted teams wereBodø/Glimt,Start (both returning to the top flight after a season's absence) andRanheim (returned to the top flight after an absence of sixty-one years). They replacedSogndal,Aalesund andViking ending their top flight spells of two, eleven and twenty-nine years respectively.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodø/Glimt | Diadora | Sparebanken Nord-Norge | ||
| Brann | Nike | Sparebanken Vest | ||
| Haugesund | Macron | Haugaland Kraft | ||
| Kristiansund | Macron | SpareBank 1 Nordvest | ||
| Lillestrøm | Puma | DNB | ||
| Molde | Nike | Sparebanken Møre | ||
| Odd | Hummel | SpareBank 1 Telemark | ||
| Ranheim | Umbro | SpareBank 1 SMN | ||
| Rosenborg | Adidas | SpareBank 1 SMN | ||
| Sandefjord | Macron | Jotun | ||
| Sarpsborg 08 | Select | Borregaard | ||
| Stabæk | Macron | SpareBank 1 Østlandet | ||
| Start | Macron | Sparebanken Sør | ||
| Strømsgodset | Puma | DNB | ||
| Tromsø | Select | Sparebanken Nord-Norge | ||
| Vålerenga | Umbro | DNB |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End of caretaker spell | 1 December 2017[6] | Pre-season | 1 December 2017[7] | Pre-season | ||
| Sandefjord | Signed byAalesund | 20 December 2017[8] | 16 January 2018[9] | ||||
| Sandefjord | Sacked | 25 April 2018[10] | 12th | 27 April 2018 | 12th | ||
| Start | Sacked | 18 May 2018[11] | 16th | 19 May 2018 | 16th | ||
| Sandefjord | End of caretaker spell | 31 May 2018[12] | 16th | 31 May 2018 | 16th | ||
| Start | End of caretaker spell | 1 June 2018[13] | 15th | 1 June 2018 | 15th | ||
| Strømsgodset | Resigned | 6 June 2018[14] | 12th | 7 June 2018[15] | 12th | ||
| Lillestrøm | Sacked | 26 June 2018[16] | 13th | 26 June 2018 | 13th | ||
| Stabæk | Sacked | 27 June 2018[17] | 14th | 28 June 2018[18] | 14th | ||
| Stabæk | End of caretaker spell | 4 July 2018[17] | 14th | 4 July 2018[19] | 14th | ||
| Lillestrøm | End of caretaker spell | 13 July 2018 | 13th | 13 July 2018[20] | 13th | ||
| Rosenborg | Sacked | 19 July 2018[4] | 2nd | 19 July 2018[21] | 2nd |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosenborg(C) | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 51 | 24 | +27 | 64 | Qualification for theChampions League first qualifying round[a] |
| 2 | Molde | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 59 | Qualification for theEuropa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Brann | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 58 | |
| 4 | Haugesund | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 53 | |
| 5 | Kristiansund | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 46 | |
| 6 | Vålerenga | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 42 | |
| 7 | Ranheim | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 43 | 50 | −7 | 42 | |
| 8 | Sarpsborg 08 | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 41 | |
| 9 | Odd | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 40 | |
| 10 | Tromsø | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 36 | |
| 11 | Bodø/Glimt | 30 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 32 | 35 | −3 | 32 | |
| 12 | Lillestrøm | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 34 | 44 | −10 | 32 | |
| 13 | Strømsgodset | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 31 | |
| 14 | Stabæk(O) | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 29 | Qualification for therelegation play-offs |
| 15 | Start(R) | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 30 | 54 | −24 | 29 | Relegation toFirst Division |
| 16 | Sandefjord(R) | 30 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 23 |
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosenborg | 12 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Molde | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Brann | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Haugesund | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Kristiansund | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Vålerenga | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| Ranheim | 14 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Sarpsborg 08 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Odd | 10 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Tromsø | 15 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Bodø/Glimt | 3 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Lillestrøm | 13 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| Strømsgodset | 8 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| Stabæk | 8 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
| Start | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Sandefjord | 16 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Leader /2019–20 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round | |
| 2019–20 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round | |
| Relegation play-offs | |
| Relegation to2019 1. divisjon |
The 14th-placed team, Stabæk takes part in a two-legged play-off against Aalesund, the winners of the1. divisjon promotion play-offs, to decide who will play in the2019 Eliteserien.
Stabæk won 2–1 on aggregate and retained their position in Eliteserien.
| Home \ Away | BOD | BRA | HAU | KRI | LIL | MOL | ODD | RAN | ROS | SND | SRP | SBK | STA | STM | TRO | VÅL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodø/Glimt | — | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Brann | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Haugesund | 1–0 | 1–3 | — | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Kristiansund | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 |
| Lillestrøm | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Molde | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 |
| Odd | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Ranheim | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| Rosenborg | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Sandefjord | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Sarpsborg 08 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 4–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 |
| Stabæk | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Start | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–6 |
| Strømsgodset | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–4 | 2–0 |
| Tromsø | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 3–0 |
| Vålerenga | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–0 | — |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[23] | Games | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stabæk | 17 | 29 | 0,59 | |
| 2 | Strømsgodset | 14 | 23 | 0,61 | |
| 3 | Molde | 12 | 25 | 0,48 | |
| Sarpsborg 08 | 12 | 28 | 0,43 | ||
| Lillestrøm | 12 | 29 | 0,41 | ||
| 6 | Vålerenga | 11 | 24 | 0,46 | |
| Kristiansund/Brann | 11 | 29 | 0,38 | ||
| 8 | Vålerenga | 10 | 25 | 0,40 | |
| Bodø/Glimt | 10 | 30 | 0,30 | ||
| 10 | Ranheim | 9 | 26 | 0,35 | |
| Brann | 9 | 28 | 0,32 | ||
| Kristiansund | 9 | 30 | 0,30 | ||
| Haugesund | 9 | 30 | 0,30 |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strømsgodset | Odd | 3–0 (H) | 15 April 2018 | |
| Molde | Brann | 4–0 (A) | 1 July 2018 | |
| Kristiansund | Strømsgodset | 3–2 (A) | 9 July 2018 |
4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosenborg | 12 | |
| 2 | Brann | 11 | |
| 3 | Vålerenga | 10 | |
| 4 | Haugesund | 9 | |
| 5 | Molde | 8 | |
| Odd | |||
| 7 | Start | 5 | |
| Sarpsborg 08 | |||
| Tromsø | |||
| Kristiansund |

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosenborg | 246,355 | 21,201 | 13,668 | 16,424 | −6.6%† |
| 2 | Brann | 156,466 | 12,914 | 8,173 | 10,431 | −12.0%† |
| 3 | Vålerenga | 137,700 | 14,740 | 6,063 | 9,180 | −5.4%† |
| 4 | Molde | 106,661 | 9,444 | 6,218 | 7,111 | −8.7%† |
| 5 | Strømsgodset | 89,088 | 7,587 | 5,199 | 5,939 | −5.3%† |
| 6 | Lillestrøm | 83,393 | 10,409 | 3,842 | 5,560 | −1.2%† |
| 7 | Odd | 80,746 | 6,761 | 4,466 | 5,383 | −24.2%† |
| 8 | Sarpsborg 08 | 75,074 | 6,149 | 4,365 | 5,005 | +6.5%† |
| 9 | Start | 71,573 | 10,419 | 3,068 | 4,772 | +16.6%† |
| 10 | Haugesund | 64,749 | 7,523 | 3,430 | 4,317 | −3.1%† |
| 11 | Kristiansund | 60,629 | 4,277 | 3,753 | 4,042 | +5.7%† |
| 12 | Stabæk | 54,833 | 4,561 | 3,035 | 3,656 | −7.7%† |
| 13 | Tromsø | 54,828 | 5,214 | 2,908 | 3,655 | +1.6%† |
| 14 | Bodø/Glimt | 48,282 | 4,731 | 2,615 | 3,219 | +24.6%† |
| 15 | Sandefjord | 47,042 | 5,319 | 2,461 | 3,136 | −21.8%† |
| 16 | Ranheim | 30,274 | 2,919 | 1,393 | 2,018 | +191.6%† |
| League total | 1,407,693 | 21,201 | 1,393 | 5,865 | −12.4%† |
Updated to games played on 24 November 2018
Source:nifs.no
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Rosenborg | |
| Breakthrough of the Year | Molde | |
| Manager of the Year | Ranheim | |
| Goal of the Year | Sarpsborg 08 |