2020–21 Lebanese Premier League

The 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League was the 59th season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1934. The league was initially scheduled to start on 18 September,[2] before being postponed to 3 October as part of preventive measures by the state towards the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4]

Lebanese Premier League
Season2020–21
Dates3 October 2020 – 24 April 2021
ChampionsAnsar
14th title
RelegatedChabab Ghazieh
Salam Zgharta
AFC CupAnsar
Nejmeh
Matches played96
Goals scored211 (2.2 per match)
Top goalscorerHassan Maatouk
(14 goals)
Best goalkeeperAli Daher (10 clean sheets)
Biggest winAnsar 6–0 Salam Zgharta
(8 December 2020)
Highest scoringAnsar 6–1 Safa
(6 November 2020)
Longest winning run4 matches
Ansar
Nejmeh[1]
Longest unbeaten run15 matches
Nejmeh[1]
Longest winless run16 matches
Salam Zgharta[1]
Longest losing run12 matches
Salam Zgharta[1]
Total attendance0[lower-alpha 1]

It was the first season to feature a "split" format, in which the season was divided into two phases. In the first phase, each club played against each other once, for a total of 11 matchdays. In the second phase, the league was split into two halves – the "top six" and the "bottom six". Points were carried over from the first phase, and each club played five games within its own half. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all games in the season were played behind closed doors.[5]

Since the 2019–20 season was cancelled, Ahed were the three-time defending champions, having won their 7th title in the 2018–19 season.[6] Ansar won their 14th Lebanese Premier League title, their first since 2007, beating Nejmeh in the Beirut derby 2–1 in the final matchday.

Summary

Regulations

On 24 June 2020, a player quota for the season was announced.[7] Each club had to involve one player under the age of 22 for at least 600 minutes, two players for at least 800 combined minutes, and three players for at least 1,200 combined minutes.[7] Also, each club was allowed a maximum of eight players over the age of 30, with only five being able to be fielded in a game.[7] In case a club were to not meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have had three points deducted from their total in the league.[7] Due to the economic situation in Lebanon, other regulations were introduced, namely the abolition of foreign players in the league.[8]

Format

The 2020–21 season consisted of two phases: in the first phase, each team played against one another once.[8] In the second phase, the 12 teams were divided into two groups based on their position in the first phase; the teams carried over their point tally from the first phase.[9] After the first phase was completed, clubs could not move out of their own half in the league, even if they achieved more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.[9]

The top six teams played against each other once,[8] with the champion automatically qualifying to the 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs—assuming they met the criteria set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[10] The runners-up instead directly qualified to the 2022 AFC Cup group stage—as long as the champions met the AFC criteria for the AFC Champions League.[8] The bottom six teams also played against each other once, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.[8]

Teams
See also: List of football clubs in Lebanon

Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League season and the two teams promoted from the Second Division. Due to the 2019–20 season being cancelled, the same 12 teams participated in the 2020–21 season.

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League teams
🌍
Beirut Lebanese Premier League clubs

Prior to the start of each season, every team choose two stadiums as their home venues. In case both stadiums were unavailable for a certain matchday, another venue was used.

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Ahed Beirut (Ouzai) Ahed Stadium[note 1] 2,000
Akhaa Ahli Aley Aley Amin AbdelNour Stadium 3,500
Ansar Beirut (Tariq El Jdideh) Ansar Stadium[note 1] —
Bourj Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium[note 1] 1,500
Chabab Ghazieh Ghazieh Kfarjoz Stadium 2,000
Nejmeh Beirut (Ras Beirut) Rafic Hariri Stadium[note 1] 5,000
Safa Beirut (Wata El-Museitbeh) Safa Stadium[note 1] 4,000
Salam Zgharta Zgharta Zgharta Sports Complex 5,000
Shabab Bourj Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium[note 1] 1,500
Shabab Sahel Beirut (Haret Hreik) Shabab Al Sahel Stadium[note 1] —
Tadamon Sour Tyre Sour Municipal Stadium 6,500
Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli Municipal Stadium 22,000

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 2]
1 Ansar (C) 16 13 1 2 37 8 +29 40 Qualification for AFC Cup group stage[lower-alpha 3]
2 Nejmeh 16 10 5 1 31 10 +21 35
3 Shabab Sahel 16 8 3 5 15 11 +4 27
4 Ahed 16 6 6 4 20 16 +4 24[lower-alpha 4]
5 Safa 16 7 3 6 25 25 0 24[lower-alpha 4]
6 Akhaa Ahli Aley 16 5 5 6 8 12 −4 20
7 Bourj 16 5 8 3 18 13 +5 23[lower-alpha 5]
8 Shabab Bourj 16 6 5 5 22 14 +8 23[lower-alpha 5]
9 Tripoli 16 5 4 7 11 15 −4 19
10 Tadamon Sour 16 3 7 6 7 12 −5 16
11 Chabab Ghazieh (R) 16 3 2 11 12 26 −14 11 Relegation to Lebanese Second Division
12 Salam Zgharta (R) 16 0 1 15 6 50 −44 1
Source: FA Lebanon
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon, all games were played behind closed doors.
  2. Teams play each other once (11 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
  3. No standby team qualified to the 2022 AFC Cup as only Ansar and Nejmeh were granted a license.[11]
  4. Head-to-head results: Ahed 2–1 Safa, Safa 3–3 Ahed.
  5. Head-to-head results: Shabab Bourj 0–1 Bourj, Bourj 1–1 Shabab Bourj.

Results

Matches 1–11

Teams play each other once.

Home \ Away AHE ANS AKH BRJ GHA NEJ SAF SAL SHB SAH TAD TRI
Ahed — 1–3 0–1 3–2 — 2–2 2–1 3–0 — 0–0 — 0–0
Ansar — — — — 3–0 1–2 6–1 6–0 2–0 0–1 — —
Akhaa Ahli Aley — 0–2 — — 1–0 — — — — 1–1 1–0 —
Bourj — 0–3 0–0 — 3–0 — — — — 0–0 0–0 —
Chabab Ghazieh 0–1 — — — — 1–3 0–1 2–1 — 0–2 1–0 —
Nejmeh — — 1–1 2–0 — — — 4–0 — — 2–0 —
Safa — — 0–2 1–4 — 1–1 — 5–0 — 0–1 — —
Salam Zgharta — — 0–1 2–2 — — — — — — 0–2 0–3
Shabab Bourj 1–1 — 2–0 0–1 4–1 1–1 1–2 3–0 — 0–1 1–1 0–1
Shabab Sahel — — — — — 1–2 — 4–0 — — — 1–0
Tadamon Sour 0–0 0–1 — — — — 0–3 — — 0–1 — —
Tripoli — 0–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–3 0–3 — — — 0–0 —
Source: FA Lebanon
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 12–16

After 11 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams i.e. the top six and the bottom six, with the teams playing every other team in their section once.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers
Hassan Maatouk won the Lebanese Premier League Golden Boot after scoring 14 goals, and was also the top assist provider with 7 assists.
Rank Player Club Goals[12]
1 Lebanon Hassan Maatouk Ansar 14
2 Lebanon Adnan Melhem Shabab Bourj 10
3 Lebanon Mohamad Kdouh Ahed 7
Lebanon Akram Moghrabi Tripoli
5 Lebanon Hassan "Moni" Chaito Ansar 6
Lebanon Mahmoud Siblini Nejmeh
7 Lebanon Ahmad Hijazi Ansar 5
Lebanon Fadel Antar Bourj
Lebanon Ali Hammoud Ansar

Hat-tricks
Mohamad Kdouh scored a hat-trick in the first matchday of the season.
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Lebanon Mohamad KdouhAhedBourj3–2[13]4 October 2020
Lebanon Hassan MaatoukAnsarBourj3–0[14]26 December 2020
Lebanon Haidar AwadaShabab SahelSalam Zgharta4–0[15]27 December 2020
Lebanon Akram MoghrabiSafaSalam Zgharta5–0[16]3 January 2021

Most assists
With 6 assists, Mohamad Haidar was the joint-second top assist provider of the season.
Rank Player Club Assists[12]
1 Lebanon Hassan Maatouk Ansar 7
2 Lebanon Mohamad Haidar Ahed 6
Lebanon Khaled Takaji Nejmeh
4 Lebanon Ahmad Jalloul Safa 5
5 Lebanon Abbas Awad Shabab Bourj 4
Lebanon Hassan "Moni" Chaito Ansar
Lebanon Hussein Awada Shabab Bourj

Clean sheets
Ali Daher kept 10 clean sheets for Shabab Sahel, the most throughout the season.
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[12]
1 Lebanon Ali Daher Shabab Sahel 10
2 Lebanon Abedelkarim Saleh Bourj 9
3 Lebanon Nazih Assad Ansar 8
Lebanon Shaker Wehbe Akhaa Ahli Aley
5 Lebanon Mohamad Santina Tadamon Sour 7
6 Lebanon Ali Sabeh Nejmeh 6
7 Lebanon Mostafa Matar Tripoli 5
8 Lebanon Talal Dandashli Safa 4
Lebanon Mehdi Khalil Ahed

Player
  • Most red cards: 1
    • Lebanon Yasser Achour (Shabab Bourj)
    • Lebanon Ali Rmeity (Shabab Bourj)
    • Lebanon Hussein Sayed (Chabab Ghazieh)
    • Lebanon Kazzem Attieh (Tadamon Sour)
    • Lebanon Ali Abdallah Bitar (Tadamon Sour)
    • Lebanon Hussein Zein (Ahed)
    • Lebanon Ahmad Khatib (Bourj)

Notes
  1. Only used as a training ground

References
  1. Mahfoud, Maroun (25 April 2021). "The 2020-21 season in numbers". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  2. "September kick off for new Lebanese season". The AFC. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. Mahfoud, Maroun (19 August 2020). "LFA cancels all on-going tournaments and postpone the Premier League". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. "The 2020-2021 Lebanese Premier League schedule has been revealed". FA Lebanon. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  5. "الجمهور يعود.. لا يعود". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  6. الميادين, شبكة (7 April 2019). "نادي العهد... قصة طموح ومثابرة نحو المجد". شبكة الميادين (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  7. "الاتحاد اللبناني يعلن عن قرارات حاسمة". كووورة. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  8. Abou Diab, Rami (25 June 2020). "The new regulations for the Lebanese Premier League". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  9. "هل يُمكن أن يُحسم اللقب قبل الدورة السداسية؟". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  10. Abdallah, Rakan (1 August 2020). "What are the criteria for a Lebanese club to play in the Champions League?". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  11. "List of Licensed Clubs for the 2022 AFC Cup" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  12. "2020–21 Lebanese Premier League Stats". FA Lebanon. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  13. "Ahed vs Bourj". FA Lebanon. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  14. Khaled, Nasser (26 December 2020). هاتريك معتوق يقود الأنصار لاكتساح البرج [Maatouk's hat-trick leads Ansar to sweep Bourj]. Kooora. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  15. Khaled, Nasser (27 December 2020). هاتريك عواضة يعيد شباب الساحل بفوز عريض من زغرتا [Awada's hat-trick gives Shabab Sahel a big win against Zgharta]. Kooora. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  16. Khaled, Nasser (3 January 2021). الصفاء يؤمن تأهله لسداسية اللقب [Safa secure their qualification to the "top six"]. Kooora. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
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