2020 Latvian Higher League

The 2020 Latvian Higher League , known as the Optibet Virslīga for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of top-tier football in Latvia. The season began on 15 June 2020 and ended on 29 November 2020.[1] The league winners earned a place in the UEFA Champions League and the second and third-placed clubs earned a place in the new UEFA Europa Conference League.[2]

Latvian Higher League
Season2020
Dates15 June 2020 – 29 November 2020
ChampionsRiga
RelegatedTukums
Champions LeagueRiga
Conference LeagueRFS
Valmiera
Liepāja
Matches played135
Goals scored415 (3.07 per match)
Top goalscorerDodô (18 goals)
Biggest home winSpartaks Jūrmala 7–0 Jelgava
(26 November 2020)
Biggest away winJelgava 0–7 Liepāja
(29 November 2020)
Highest scoringLiepāja 2–5 RFS
(30 June 2020)
RFS 5–2 Valmiera
(29 July 2020)
Riga 5–2 Tukums
(23 August 2020)
Spartaks Jūrmala 7–0 Jelgava
(26 November 2020)
Jelgava 0–7 Liepāja
(29 November 2020)
Longest winning run14 matches
Riga
Longest unbeaten run14 matches
Riga
Longest winless run20 matches
Tukums
Longest losing run6 matches
Tukums
← 2019
2021 →
All statistics correct as of 29 November 2020.

Riga were the defending champions after winning the league the previous season.[3]

Teams

The nine clubs from the previous season remained in the league and Tukums joined as champions of 1.Liga.[4]

Locations of the 2020 Latvian Higher League teams

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Riga (C) 27 23 0 4 60 21 +39 69 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Rīgas FS 27 21 3 3 66 21 +45 66 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
3 Valmiera/BSS 27 13 8 6 47 33 +14 47
4 Ventspils 27 12 8 7 40 25 +15 44
5 Liepāja 27 12 6 9 57 34 +23 42 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
6 Spartaks Jūrmala 27 11 7 9 53 44 +9 40
7 Jelgava 27 6 4 17 19 64 −45 22
8 Daugavpils 27 5 5 17 30 48 −18 20
9 Metta/LU 27 4 4 19 22 55 −33 16
10 Tukums (R) 27 3 5 19 21 70 −49 14 Relegation to the Latvian First League
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play ranking; 7) Play-off.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Liepāja qualified for the Europa Conference League as the 2020 Latvian Football Cup winners.

Results

Rounds 1–18
Rounds 1–18
Home \ Away DAU JEL LIE MLU RIG RFS SPJ TUK VAL VEN
Daugavpils 0–0 0–2 4–2 0–1 2–3 0–2 1–1 0–2 3–1
Jelgava 1–0 1–5 2–2 0–3 0–4 2–3 2–1 1–2 1–0
Liepāja 1–1 3–1 3–0 1–4 2–5 3–2 2–2 0–1 1–1
Metta / LU 1–4 1–0 2–1 0–3 0–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 1–2
Riga 3–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 0–2 4–2 5–2 2–0 1–0
Rīgas FS 2–1 1–0 3–0 5–1 1–2 4–1 3–0 5–2 1–0
Spartaks Jūrmala 3–3 4–1 2–2 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–3 1–3
Tukums 0–6 1–2 0–5 1–3 1–5 0–3 0–2 2–3 0–0
Valmiera / BSS 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–4 2–2 2–0 3–0
Ventspils 2–0 5–0 2–1 0–0 0–2 3–2 1–1 3–0 2–2
Source: soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Rounds 19–27
Rounds 19–27
Home \ Away DAU JEL LIE MLU RIG RFS SPJ TUK VAL VEN
Daugavpils 0–4 1–0 1–2 1–3 0–0
Jelgava 2–0 0–7 0–2 2–2 0–5
Liepāja 3–0 1–0 0–1 5–0 1–1
Metta / LU 0–1 0–3 1–1 1–2
Riga 2–0 2–1 5–1 1–0 0–3
Rīgas FS 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–1
Spartaks Jūrmala 7–0 1–2 2–4 1–2
Tukums 2–1 0–0 3–1 0–2 0–2
Valmiera / BSS 3–0 2–2 0–1 5–0
Ventspils 0–2 1–0 2–0 1–1
Source: soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Statistics

Top scorers
As of matches played 29 November 2020[5]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Brazil Dodô Liepāja 18
2 Nigeria Tolu Arokodare Valmiera 15
Serbia Nemanja Belaković Spartaks
4 Democratic Republic of the Congo Kule Mbombo Riga 12
5 Russia Yevgeni Kozlov Ventspils 11
Latvia Raimonds Krollis METTA/LU
7 Nigeria Chinonso Offor Daugavpils
RFS		 10
Brazil Emerson Deocleciano RFS
9 Latvia Artūrs Karašausks Liepāja 9
10 Ivory Coast Alain Kouadio RFS 8
Austria Tomáš Šimkovič RFS
Latvia Kaspars Svārups Ventspils

References
  1. "Virsliga". soccerway. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  2. "UEL2 Access List 2021–24" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  3. "Optibet Virsliga". LFF. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  4. "1.Liga". soccerway. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  5. "Latvian First Division - Top scorers". flashscore.com.
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