2018–19 Ekstraklasa
The 2018–19 Ekstraklasa (also known as Lotto Ekstraklasa due to its sponsorship by Totalizator Sportowy, Polish lottery) was the 93rd season of the Polish Football Championship, the 85th season of the highest tier domestic division in the Polish football league system since its establishment in 1927 and the 11th season of the Ekstraklasa under its current title. The league was operated by the Ekstraklasa SA.
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 July 2018 – 19 May 2019 |
| Champions | Piast Gliwice (1st title) |
| Relegated | Miedź Legnica Zagłębie Sosnowiec |
| Champions League | Piast Gliwice |
| Europa League | Legia Warsaw Lechia Gdańsk Cracovia |
| Matches played | 296 |
| Goals scored | 823 (2.78 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Igor Angulo (24 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Lech 4–0 Zagłębie S. (12 August 2018) Zagłębie L. 4–0 Śląsk (14 September 2018) Pogoń 4–0 Wisła P. (6 October 2018) Legia 4–0 Górnik (3 November 2018) Lechia 4–0 Górnik (22 December 2018) Piast 4–0 Lech (15 February 2019) Wisła K. 4–0 Legia (31 March 2019) |
| Biggest away win | Zagłębie S. 0–6 Lech (16 December 2018) |
| Highest scoring | Wisła K. 4–5 Miedź (18 May 2019) |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches Cracovia |
| Longest unbeaten run | 13 matches Lechia Gdańsk |
| Longest winless run | 9 matches Górnik Zabrze Miedź Legnica Zagłębie Sosnowiec |
| Longest losing run | 5 matches Zagłębie Sosnowiec |
| Highest attendance | 33,000 Wisła K. 4–0 Legia (31 March 2019) |
| Lowest attendance | 0 Lech 2–0 Cracovia (29 July 2018) Lech 4–0 Zagłębie S. (12 August 2018) |
| Total attendance | 2,607,154 |
| Average attendance | 8,808 6.7% |
← 2017–18 2019–20 → | |
The season started on 20 July 2018 and concluded on 19 May 2019. It is the second Ekstraklasa season to use VAR. After the 20th matchday the league went on a winter break between 23 December 2018 and 8 February 2019. The regular season was played as a round-robin tournament. A total of 16 teams participated, 14 of which competed in the league during the 2017–18 season, while the remaining two were promoted from the 2017–18 I liga. The fixtures were announced on 22 March 2018.
Each team played a total of 30 matches, half at home and half away. After the 30th round (in the beginning of April 2019), the league was split into two groups: championship round (top eight teams) and relegation round (bottom eight teams). Each team played 7 more games (teams ranked 1 to 4 and 9 to 12 played four times at home). Therefore, each team played a total of 37 matches. The team at the top of the Championship round won the league title. The two teams at the bottom of the Relegation round were relegated to 2019–20 I liga. This was the sixth season to take place since the new playoff structure has been introduced.
The defending champions were Legia Warsaw, who won their 13th Polish title the previous season. Piast Gliwice succeeded Legia, winning its first ever Polish top league title.