2017–18 Gibraltar Premier Division
# 2017–18 Gibraltar Premier Division

The 2017–18 Gibraltar Premier Division was the 119th season of the top-tier national football league in Gibraltar, as well as the fifth season since the Gibraltar Football Association joined UEFA in 2013. The league was contested by ten clubs. It began on 26 September 2017 and ended on 3 June 2018.

Europa were the defending champions, having ended a fourteen-year winning streak for Lincoln Red Imps. This season also saw three clubs from Gibraltar competing in European competition for the first time. Lincoln won their 23rd title on 19 May 2018 with two games to spare, after a 7–1 victory over Lions Gibraltar.

## Format

The ten Premier Division clubs played each other three times for a total of 27 matches each. The tenth-placed team in the league would be relegated and the ninth-placed team in the league would enter a playoff with the second-placed team from the Second Division for a place in the 2018–19 Premier Division.

The champions earned a place in the preliminary round of the 2018–19 Champions League, and the second–placed club earned a place in the preliminary round of the 2018–19 Europa League. This season, the league entered a winter break from December to February while renovations took place on Victoria Stadium.

## Teams

At the conclusion of the previous season, Europa Point was relegated. As the champions of the Second Division, Gibraltar Phoenix earned promotion to the league this season. Manchester 62 earned the right to stay in the Premier Division by winning a playoff at the end of the previous season.

| Club | Finishing position 2016–17 |
| - | - |
| Europa FC | 1st (champions) |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | 1st in Second division (Promoted) |
| Gibraltar United | 7th |
| Glacis United | 4th |
| Lincoln Red Imps | 2nd |
| Lions Gibraltar | 8th |
| Lynx | 6th |
| Manchester 62 | 9th |
| Mons Calpe | 5th |
| St Joseph's | 3rd |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Club sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Europa | Juan José Gallardo (interim) | Javi Muñoz | Jako | Alwani Group |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Albert Ferri | Francisco Javier Moreno | Luanvi | Gourmet Grill |
| Gibraltar United | Manolo Nuñez Sánchez | Kyle Goldwin | Kappa | Turicum Bank |
| Glacis United | Mariano Marcos Garcia | Daniel Guererro | Nike | Atlantic Financial Group |
| Lincoln Red Imps | Yiyi Perez (interim) | Roy Chipolina | Joma | Mansion.com |
| Lions Gibraltar | Rafael Bado | Kalian Perez | Erreà | Enterprise Insurance |
| Lynx | Albert Parody | Mohamed Badr | Nike | Verralls |
| Manchester 62 | Jonathan Sodi | Aarón Durán | Joma | CEPSA GIB |
| Mons Calpe | Luis Manuel Blanco | Rubo Blanco | Givova | Tokamóvil |
| St. Joseph's | Raúl Procopio Baizán | Iván Lobato | Kromex | Propability Ltd |

### Managerial Changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Lynx | Albert Parody | Resigned | 2 June 2017 | Pre-season | Allen Bula | 2 June 2017 |
| Glacis United | Manuel Perez | Resigned | 15 June 2017 | Pre-season | Mariano Marcos Garcia | 9 July 2017 |
| Europa | Juanjo Gallardo | Promoted to Sporting Director | 24 July 2017 | Pre-season | Johnny | 24 July 2017 |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Albert Ferri | Resigned | 9 July 2017 | Pre-season | Jaime Molina | 9 July 2017 |
| Mons Calpe | Mauro Ardizzone | Mutual consent | 14 August 2017 | Pre-season | Albert Ferri | 14 August 2017 |
| Lynx | Allen Bula | Sacked | 27 October 2017 | 10th | Albert Parody (interim) | 27 October 2017 |
| Mons Calpe | Albert Ferri | Sacked | 4 December 2017 | 8th | Luis Manuel Blanco | 9 January 2018 |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Jaime Molina | Sacked | 13 December 2017 | 7th | Sergio Mena | 1 January 2018 |
| Manchester 62 | Kiko Prieto | Sacked | 1 January 2018 | 10th | Jonathan Sodi | 1 January 2018 |
| Lynx | Albert Parody | End of interim spell | 24 January 2018 | 9th | Daniel Peluas | 24 January 2018 |
| Lynx | Daniel Peluas | Mutual consent | 18 February 2018 | 9th | Albert Parody | 19 February 2018 |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Sergio Mena | Sacked | 18 March 2018 | 8th | Albert Ferri | 19 March 2018 |
| Lincoln Red Imps | Julio César Ribas | Mutual consent | 9 April 2018 | 1st | José Carlos Tello | 16 April 2018 |
| Lincoln Red Imps | José Carlos Tello | Sacked | 20 April 2018 | 1st | Yiyi Perez (interim) | 21 April 2018 |
| Europa | Johnny | Sacked | 21 May 2018 | 2nd | Juanjo Gallardo (interim) | 21 May 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Lincoln Red Imps (C) | 27 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 71 | 19 | +52 | 65 | Qualification for the Champions League preliminary round |
| 2 | Europa FC | 27 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 67 | 20 | +47 | 60 | Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round |
| 3 | St Joseph's | 27 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 53 | 30 | +23 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round |
| 4 | Gibraltar United | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 45 | 27 | +18 | 53 | |
| 5 | Mons Calpe | 27 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 44 | |
| 6 | Gibraltar Phoenix | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 34 | 47 | −13 | 30 | |
| 7 | Glacis United | 27 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 34 | 44 | −10 | 26 | |
| 8 | Lions Gibraltar | 27 | 6 | 5 | 16 | 27 | 63 | −36 | 23 | |
| 9 | Lynx (O) | 27 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 22 | 48 | −26 | 22 | Qualification for the play-off |
| 10 | Manchester 62 (R) | 27 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 88 | −68 | 7 | Relegation to the Gibraltar Second Division |

## Promotion/relegation play-off

The ninth-placed team from the Premier Division played a play-off match with the second-placed Second Division club for a place in the 2018–19 Premier Division.

## Season statistics

### Scoring

    As of 3 June 2018

**Top scorers**

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Enrique Carreño | Europa | 19 |
| 2 | Germán Cortés | Gibraltar Phoenix | 15 |
| 2 | Kike Gómez | Europa | 15 |
| 2 | Rubo Blanco | Mons Calpe | 15 |
| 2 | Pibe | Mons Calpe | 15 |
| 6 | Falu Aranda | Lincoln Red Imps | 12 |
| 7 | Ayman Elghobashy | Gibraltar United | 11 |
| 8 | Boro | St Joseph's | 9 |
| 8 | Antonio Cerezo | Glacis United | 9 |
| 10 | Dani Ponce | Gibraltar United | 7 |
| 10 | Anthony Hernandez | Lincoln Red Imps | 7 |
| 10 | Domingo Ferrer | St Joseph's | 7 |

**Hat-tricks**

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Jean-Carlos Garcia | Lincoln Red Imps | Glacis United | 4–0 (H) | 27 September 2017 |
| Falu Aranda | Lincoln Red Imps | Gibraltar Phoenix | 5–0 (A) | 15 October 2017 |
| Antonio Cerezo | Glacis United | Lions Gibraltar | 6–2 (H) | 31 March 2018 |
| German Cortes | Gibraltar Phoenix | Lions Gibraltar | 6–1 (A) | 5 April 2018 |
| Enrique $Carreño^4$ | Europa | Lions Gibraltar | 5–0 (A) | 15 April 2018 |
| Falu Aranda | Lincoln Red Imps | Manchester 62 | 6–0 (H) | 7 May 2018 |
| Antonio $Cerezo^4$ | Glacis United | Manchester 62 | 6–0 (A) | 13 May 2018 |
| Enrique $Carreño^6$ | Europa | Manchester 62 | 9–0 (A) | 30 May 2018 |
| German Cortes | Gibraltar Phoenix | Lions Gibraltar | 5–1 (H) | 31 May 2018 |
| Franco Gargiulo | Lynx | Manchester 62 | 9–0 (H) | 3 June 2018 |
| Kevagn Robba | Lynx | Manchester 62 | 9–0 (H) | 3 June 2018 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Manuel Soler | Lincoln Red Imps | 16 |
| 2 | Javi Muñoz | Europa | 12 |
| 3 | Kyle Goldwin | Gibraltar United | 9 |
| 4 | Borja Gonzalez | Glacis United | 7 |
| 5 | Mateo Grasso | Mons Calpe | 6 |
| 5 | Jamie Robba | St Joseph's | 6 |
| 7 | Edu Oliva | Lions Gibraltar | 4 |
| 8 | Goito | Gibraltar Phoenix | 3 |
| 8 | José Miguel Gonzalez | Lions Gibraltar | 3 |
| 8 | Joaquin Ketlun | Lynx | 3 |
| 8 | Félix Romero | St Joseph's | 3 |
