2018 Venezuelan Primera División season

The 2018 Primera División season, officially Liga de Fútbol Profesional Venezolano or Liga FUTVE, was the 37th professional season of Venezuela's top-flight football league. Monagas were the defending champions, but did not qualify to the Serie Final, after being eliminated in the regular season of the Torneo Apertura and by Caracas in the quarter-finals of the Torneo Clausura.

Liga FUTVE

Season	2018
Champions	Zamora (4th title)
Copa Libertadores	Zamora Deportivo Lara Caracas Deportivo La Guaira
Copa Sudamericana	Zulia (cup winners) Mineros Monagas Estudiantes de Mérida
Matches played	336
Goals scored	773 (2.3 per match)
Top goalscorer	Apertura: Tommy Tobar (12 goals) Clausura: Darwin González (13 goals) Season: Anthony Uribe (16 goals)
Biggest home win	Monagas 5–0 Atlético Venezuela 28 July 2018 Zulia 5–0 Metropolitanos 23 September 2018
Biggest away win	Atlético Venezuela 0–4 Aragua 24 February 2018 Anzoátegui 0–4 Metropolitanos 4 August 2018
Highest scoring	Deportivo Lara 3–3 Zulia 11 February 2018 Mineros 3–3 Carabobo 23 April 2018 Zulia 2–4 Aragua 13 May 2018 Est. Mérida 4–2 Est. Caracas 18 May 2018
← 2017 2019 →

Zamora were the champions, defeating Deportivo Lara on the Serie Final, 5–1 on aggregate.

Teams

Stadia and locations

ARC

Caracas

Deportivo Anzoátegui

Deportivo Lara

Deportivo Táchira

Est. Mérida

Portuguesa

Mineros

Monagas

Trujillanos

Zamora

Zulia

ARC teams:
Academia Puerto Cabello
Aragua
Carabobo

Caracas teams:
Caracas
Deportivo La Guaira
Atlético Venezuela
Metropolitanos
Est. Caracas

Locations of the 2018 Primera División teams

Relegated to 2018 Segunda División 17 Deportivo JBL 18 Atlético Socopó

Promoted to 2018 Primera División 1 Estudiantes de Caracas 3 Academia Puerto Cabello

Gran Valencia reached the final of the Segunda División and earned promotion to the Primera División, but the team was suspended "temporarily" by the Honorary Council of the FVF after forfeiting the second leg of the final.^[1] On 15 January, Academia Puerto Cabello was announced as the replacement.^[2]

Team	Manager	City	Stadium	Capacity
Academia Puerto Cabello	Pedro Depablos	Puerto Cabello	La Bombonerita	7,500
Aragua	Enrique García	Maracay	Olímpico Hermanos Ghersi Páez	14,000
Atlético Venezuela	Vacant	Caracas	Brígido Iriartec	10,000
Carabobo	Jhonny Ferreira	Valencia	Misael Delgadod	10,400
Caracas	Noel Sanvicente	Caracas	Olímpico de la UCVa	23,940
Deportivo Anzoátegui	Jobanny Rivero	Puerto La Cruz	José Antonio Anzoátegui	37,485
Deportivo La Guaira	Daniel Farías	Caracas	Olímpico de la UCVa	23,940
Deportivo Lara	Leonardo González	Cabudare	Metropolitano de Cabudare	47,913
Deportivo Táchira	Giovanny Pérez	San Cristóbal	Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo	38,755
Estudiantes de Caracas	José María Morr	Caracas	Brígido Iriartec	10,000
Estudiantes de Mérida	Martín Brignani	Mérida	Metropolitano de Méridab	42,200
Metropolitanos	Jhon Giraldo	Caracas	Olímpico de la UCVc	23,940
Mineros	Horacio Matuszyczk	Ciudad Guayana	Polideportivo Cachamay	41,600
Monagas	José Manuel Rey	Maturín	Monumental de Maturín	51,796
Portuguesa	Raymond Páez	Acarigua	General José Antonio Páez	18,000
Trujillanos	José Nabor Gavidia	Valera	José Alberto Pérez	25,000
Zamora	Alí Cañas	Barinas	Agustín Tovar	29,800
Zulia	Francesco Stifano	Maracaibo	José "Pachencho" Romero	40,800

a: Caracas and Deportivo La Guaira played outside of the Estadio Olímpico in Caracas until September due to maintenance works at the stadium. Caracas played its matches at Cocodrilos Sports Park and La Guaira at the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz (Torneo Apertura) and the Universidad Santa María campus in Caracas (Torneo Clausura).
b: In the Torneo Apertura, Estudiantes de Mérida played Matchday 3 (against Aragua) at the Estadio General José Antonio Páez in Acarigua and Matchday 5 (against Mineros) at the Estadio Rafael Calles Pinto in Guanare, as the Estadio Metropolitano in Mérida was suspended.
c: Atlético Venezuela, Estudiantes de Caracas and Metropolitanos played at Brígido Iriarte Stadium in Caracas until 11 March as the stadium was suspended. Atlético Venezuela is playing at the Estadio Giuseppe Antonelli in Maracay and Estudiantes de Caracas and Metropolitanos are playing at the Universidad Santa María campus in Caracas. Metropolitanos will play at the Estadio Olímpico in Caracas once the works are finished.^[3]
d: In the Torneo Clausura, Carabobo will play outside of the Estadio Misael Delgado in Valencia due to maintenance works at the stadium. Carabobo will play at the Estadio Metropolitano in Cabudare.^[3]

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Torneo Apertura
Deportivo Anzoátegui	Charles López			Pre-season	Francisco Velásquez	24 January
Deportivo Anzoátegui	Francisco Velásquez	Sacked	3 March[4]	18th	Lisandro Altieri	6 March[4]
Atlético Venezuela	Alex Pallarés	Mutual consent	20 March[5]	12th	Tony Franco	25 March[6]
Deportivo La Guaira	Pedro Depablos	Sacked	19 April[7]	5th	Daniel Farías	23 April[8]
Metropolitanos	Daniel de Oliveira	Mutual consent	30 April[9]	17th	Manuel Di Maio (caretaker)	2 May[10]
Deportivo Táchira	Francesco Stifano		22 May[11]	10th	Alex Pallarés	23 May[12]
Academia Puerto Cabello	Jeremy Nowak		29 May[13]	14th	Pedro Depablos	1 June[14]
Monagas	Jhonny Ferreira	Resigned	5 June[15]	15th	José Manuel Rey	25 June[16]
Deportivo Anzoátegui	Lisandro Altieri	Replaced	7 June	18th	José González	7 June[17]
Metropolitanos	Manuel Di Maio	End of caretaker spell	12 June	17th	Jhon Giraldo	12 June[18]
Zulia	Carlos Maldonado	Mutual consent	13 June[19]	13th	Francesco Stifano	17 June[20]
Torneo Clausura
Estudiantes de Mérida	José Nabor Gavidia	Sacked	18 June[21]	Pre-tournament	Martín Brignani	19 June[22]
Aragua	José Manuel Rey	Signed by Monagas	25 June[16]		Héctor Estrada	29 June[23]
Portuguesa	Carlos Horacio Moreno	Resigned	2 August[24]	17th	Raúl Vargas (caretaker)	2 August[25]
Deportivo Anzoátegui	José González	Mutual consent	27 August[26]	16th	Richard Arrieta (caretaker)	27 August[26]
Estudiantes de Caracas	José Fasciana		29 August[27]	14th	José María Morr	30 August[28]
Deportivo Anzoátegui	Richard Arrieta	End of caretaker spell	4 September	16th	Jobanny Rivero	4 September[29]
Carabobo	Wilson Gutiérrez	Resigned	6 September[30]	15th	Gustavo Caraballo	7 September[31]
Portuguesa	Raúl Vargas	Replaced	7 September[32]	18th	Raymond Páez	7 September[33]
Atlético Venezuela	Tony Franco	Sacked	2 November[34]	13th
Aragua	Héctor Estrada		14 November[35]	17th	Enrique García	28 November[36]
Carabobo	Gustavo Caraballo		16 November[37]	16th	Jhonny Ferreira	29 November[38]
Deportivo Táchira	Alex Pallarés	Resigned	20 November[39]	3rd, SF	Giovanny Pérez	3 December[40]
Trujillanos	Horacio Matuszyczk		20 November[41]	5th, QF	José Nabor Gavidia	27 November[42]
Mineros	Juan Tolisano		22 November[43]	11th	Horacio Matuszyczk	22 November[44]

Torneo Apertura

The Torneo Apertura is the first tournament of the season. The regular season started on 28 January and ended on 19 May.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Carabobo	17	10	6	1	31	16	+15	36	Advance to knockout stage
2	Zamora	17	9	4	4	21	15	+6	31
3	Caracas	17	9	3	5	22	13	+9	30
4	Mineros	17	8	6	3	21	14	+7	30
5	Deportivo La Guaira	17	8	4	5	20	16	+4	28
6	Deportivo Lara	17	7	6	4	21	15	+6	27
7	Estudiantes de Mérida	17	7	6	4	24	20	+4	27
8	Aragua	17	6	6	5	22	16	+6	24
9	Portuguesa	17	6	5	6	14	22	−8	23
10	Deportivo Táchira	17	5	7	5	20	19	+1	22
11	Atlético Venezuela	17	6	4	7	21	21	0	22
12	Trujillanos	17	5	6	6	15	19	−4	21
13	Zulia	17	3	8	6	24	26	−2	17
14	Academia Puerto Cabello	17	4	5	8	8	14	−6	17
15	Monagas	17	3	7	7	18	19	−1	16
16	Estudiantes de Caracas	17	3	4	10	12	29	−17	13
17	Deportivo Anzoátegui	17	1	9	7	15	25	−10	12
18	Metropolitanos	17	2	6	9	13	23	−10	12

Source: Liga FUTVE, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.

Results

Home \ Away	APC	ARA	AVE	CBO	CAR	ANZ	DLG	LAR	TAC	ESC	ESM	MET	MIN	MON	POR	TRU	ZAM	ZUL
Academia Puerto Cabello	—	0–1	—	—	—	0–0	1–2	—	—	1–0	2–1	—	—	1–0	0–1	—	—	0–0
Aragua	—	—	—	0–1	1–2	—	—	1–0	1–1	—	—	2–0	0–1	—	—	0–0	3–2	—
Atlético Venezuela	1–0	0–4	—	—	—	2–1	0–1	—	—	3–1	4–0	—	—	1–0	1–2	—	—	1–1
Carabobo	3–2	—	1–0	—	0–0	2–2	2–1	—	—	—	2–1	—	—	2–2	4–0	—	—	3–2
Caracas	2–0	—	0–2	—	—	4–0	2–1	—	—	—	0–0	—	—	1–2	1–0	—	—	3–1
Deportivo Anzoátegui	—	2–1	—	—	—	—	1–2	—	—	1–1	1–1	—	0–1	1–1	0–0	—	0–1	—
Deportivo La Guaira	—	0–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	1–2	2–0	1–2	1–0	2–2	0–0	1–1	—	1–2	—
Deportivo Lara	1–0	—	3–2	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3–1	2–0	—	3–3
Deportivo Táchira	2–0	—	1–1	3–2	0–3	2–2	—	0–0	—	—	—	3–1	—	—	—	2–0	—	1–1
Estudiantes de Caracas	—	1–1	—	0–1	1–0	—	—	2–2	1–0	—	—	1–0	1–2	—	—	0–1	0–2	—
Estudiantes de Mérida	—	1–1	—	—	—	—	—	2–1	2–1	4–2	—	3–1	1–1	—	—	1–1	3–0	—
Metropolitanos	0–0	—	1–0	0–0	1–2	2–2	—	0–2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0–0	—	1–1
Mineros	0–1	—	2–0	3–3	2–0	—	—	1–1	1–0	—	—	2–1	—	—	—	1–0	—	1–1
Monagas	—	2–2	—	—	—	—	—	1–2	2–2	4–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	—	—	—	1–2	—
Portuguesa	—	1–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–3	1–0	1–0	—	—	0–3	—
Trujillanos	0–0	—	2–2	0–3	1–1	3–1	1–2	—	—	—	—	—	—	1–0	3–1	—	—	2–0
Zamora	0–0	—	1–1	0–2	1–0	—	—	0–0	1–0	—	—	2–2	1–0	—	—	3–0	—	—
Zulia	—	2–4	—	—	—	1–1	0–1	—	—	4–0	1–2	—	—	2–1	2–2	—	2–0	—

Source: Liga FUTVE, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Knockout stage

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	2	Zamora	3	3	6
	7	Estudiantes de Mérida	1	1	2
								2	Zamora	1	3	4
								3	Caracas	0	2	2
	3	Caracas	3	2	5
	6	Deportivo Lara	1	0	1
															2	Zamora	1	1	2
															4	Mineros	1	0	1
	1	Carabobo	0	2	2
	8	Aragua	0	0	0
								1	Carabobo	1	2	3
								4	Mineros	1	3	4
	4	Mineros	0	2	2
	5	Deportivo La Guaira	0	0	0

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Aragua	0–2	Carabobo	0–0	0–2
Estudiantes de Mérida	2–6	Zamora	1–3	1–3
Deportivo Lara	1–5	Caracas	1–3	0–2
Deportivo La Guaira	0–2	Mineros	0–0	0–2

First leg

Aragua v Carabobo

26 May 2018	Aragua	0–0	Carabobo	Maracay
17:00		Report		Stadium: Hermanos Ghersi Páez Referee: Juan Soto

Deportivo La Guaira v Mineros

26 May 2018	Deportivo La Guaira	0–0	Mineros	Puerto La Cruz
19:30		Report		Stadium: Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui Referee: Ángel Arteaga

Estudiantes de Mérida v Zamora

27 May 2018	Estudiantes de Mérida	1–3	Zamora	Mérida
17:00	Jaramillo 77'	Report	Romero 41' Uribe 55' González 66'	Stadium: Estadio Metropolitano Referee: Jesús Valenzuela

Deportivo Lara v Caracas

27 May 2018	Deportivo Lara	1–3	Caracas	Cabudare
19:30	Falcón 26'	Report	Hernández 32' Aristeguieta 35', 71'	Stadium: Estadio Metropolitano Referee: José Luis Hoyo

Second leg

Carabobo v Aragua

30 May 2018	Carabobo	2–0 (2–0 agg.)	Aragua	Valencia
17:00	Cova 39' Montaña 88'	Report		Stadium: Misael Delgado Referee: José Argote

Mineros v Deportivo La Guaira

30 May 2018	Mineros	2–0 (2–0 agg.)	Deportivo La Guaira	Ciudad Guayana
19:30	Blanco 46', 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Polideportivo Cachamay Referee: Orlando Bracamonte

Zamora v Estudiantes de Mérida

31 May 2018	Zamora	3–1 (6–2 agg.)	Estudiantes de Mérida	Barinas
17:00	Gallardo 35', 37' Romero 49'	Report	Rivas 39'	Stadium: Agustín Tovar Referee: Freddy Briceño

Caracas v Deportivo Lara

31 May 2018	Caracas	2–0 (5–1 agg.)	Deportivo Lara	Maracay
19:30	Aristeguieta 30', 76'	Report		Stadium: Hermanos Ghersi Páez Referee: Alexis Herrera

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Mineros	4–3	Carabobo	1–1	3–2
Caracas	2–4	Zamora	0–1	2–3

First leg

Mineros v Carabobo

2 June 2018	Mineros	1–1	Carabobo	Ciudad Guayana
19:00	Peña 40'	Report	Fernández 55'	Stadium: Polideportivo Cachamay Referee: Francisco López

Caracas v Zamora

3 June 2018	Caracas	0–1	Zamora	Maracay
19:00		Report	Rojas 60'	Stadium: Hermanos Ghersi Páez Referee: Ángel Arteaga

Second leg

Carabobo v Mineros

6 June 2018	Carabobo	2–3 (3–4 agg.)	Mineros	Valencia
19:00	Cova 40' Rivero 45'	Report	Peña 31' Machado 80' Blanco 90+5'	Stadium: Misael Delgado Referee: Jesús Valenzuela

Zamora v Caracas

7 June 2018	Zamora	3–2 (4–2 agg.)	Caracas	Barinas
19:00	Osorio 3' Pérez 24' Romero 78'	Report	Pernía 10' Arrieta 90+2'	Stadium: Agustín Tovar Referee: Marlon Escalante

Final

Mineros	1–1	Zamora
Gómez 71'	Report	Romero 68'

10 June 2018

19:00

Polideportivo Cachamay, Ciudad Guayana

Referee: Alexis Herrera

---

Zamora	1–0	Mineros
Gallardo 73'	Report

13 June 2018

19:00

Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas

Referee: José Argote

Zamora won 2–1 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Tommy Tobar	Carabobo	12
2	Edwuin Pernía	Caracas	11
3	Fernando Aristeguieta	Caracas	8
	Manuel Arteaga	Deportivo La Guaira
5	Jhonder Cádiz	Monagas	7
	Richard Blanco	Mineros
	Cristian Alessandrini	Atlético Venezuela
	Anthony Uribe	Zamora
	Maurice Cova	Carabobo
	Danny Pérez	Zamora

Torneo Clausura

The Torneo Clausura is the second tournament of the season. The regular season started on 21 July and ended on 28 October.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Monagas	17	10	4	3	26	12	+14	34	Advance to knockout stage
2	Deportivo La Guaira	17	8	6	3	28	25	+3	30
3	Deportivo Táchira	17	8	5	4	24	15	+9	29
4	Deportivo Lara	17	7	8	2	20	11	+9	29
5	Trujillanos	17	8	5	4	23	19	+4	29
6	Estudiantes de Mérida	17	7	7	3	28	20	+8	28
7	Zamora	17	8	4	5	25	19	+6	28
8	Caracas	17	8	4	5	22	19	+3	28
9	Mineros	17	6	9	2	24	15	+9	27
10	Zulia	17	6	5	6	25	19	+6	23
11	Estudiantes de Caracas	17	5	4	8	18	25	−7	19
12	Academia Puerto Cabello	17	3	9	5	21	23	−2	18
13	Atlético Venezuela	17	4	6	7	18	25	−7	18
14	Metropolitanos	17	4	3	10	14	25	−11	15
15	Deportivo Anzoátegui[a]	17	5	5	7	16	23	−7	14
16	Carabobo	17	3	5	9	11	19	−8	14
17	Aragua	17	3	4	10	8	19	−11	13
18	Portuguesa	17	2	3	12	13	30	−17	9

Source: Liga FUTVE, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
Notes:

1. Deportivo Anzoátegui were deducted 6 points.^[45]

Results

Home \ Away	APC	ARA	AVE	CBO	CAR	ANZ	DLG	LAR	TAC	ESC	ESM	MET	MIN	MON	POR	TRU	ZAM	ZUL
Academia Puerto Cabello	—	—	0–2	2–2	2–0	—	—	2–2	0–0	—	—	1–1	2–2	—	—	1–1	2–1	—
Aragua	0–0	—	2–0	—	—	0–0	1–2	—	—	0–0	1–3	—	—	0–1	1–0	—	—	0–2
Atlético Venezuela	—	—	—	1–1	0–1	—	—	0–0	0–0	—	—	2–1	2–2	—	—	3–0	0–2	—
Carabobo	—	0–0	—	—	—	—	—	0–2	0–1	1–0	—	1–0	0–0	—	—	0–1	0–2	—
Caracas	—	2–0	—	0–3	—	—	—	0–1	1–1	1–2	—	3–0	0–0	—	—	2–0	2–2	—
Deportivo Anzoátegui	2–1	—	1–1	1–0	1–2	—	—	2–1	0–1	—	—	0–4	—	—	—	3–1	—	0–2
Deportivo La Guaira	3–2	—	2–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	—	1–1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2–2	—	1–1
Deportivo Lara	—	2–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	1–1	1–0	2–2	2–1	0–0	1–1	—	—	2–0	—
Deportivo Táchira	—	3–1	—	—	—	—	3–1	—	—	3–1	2–3	—	1–4	0–1	3–0	—	1–1	—
Estudiantes de Caracas	1–1	—	1–1	—	—	3–2	2–3	—	—	—	3–2	—	—	0–1	1–0	—	—	1–1
Estudiantes de Mérida	2–0	—	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–2	—	—	—	—	—	—	1–1	2–1	—	—	1–1
Metropolitanos	—	0–2	—	—	—	—	1–1	—	0–3	0–1	0–1	—	1–1	2–0	1–0	—	1–0	—
Mineros	—	1–0	—	—	—	2–0	1–1	—	—	3–0	2–1	—	—	1–2	2–2	—	2–2	—
Monagas	2–1	—	5–0	3–0	2–0	1–1	2–3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2–0	1–1	—	1–0
Portuguesa	1–3	—	1–3	1–0	1–2	1–1	1–2	0–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1–2	—	2–1
Trujillanos	—	2–0	—	—	—	—	—	1–0	0–1	4–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	—	—	—	2–0	—
Zamora	—	1–0	—	—	—	1–2	3–1	—	—	2–1	1–1	—	—	1–0	4–1	—	—	2–1
Zulia	1–1	—	3–1	2–1	2–3	—	—	0–2	1–0	—	—	5–0	0–1	—	—	2–2	—	—

Source: Liga FUTVE, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Knockout stage

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	2	Deportivo La Guaira	0	3	3
	7	Zamora	1	1	2
								2	Deportivo La Guaira	0	3	3
								3	Deportivo Táchira	1	1	2
	3	Deportivo Táchira	0	3	3
	6	Estudiantes de Mérida	0	1	1
															2	Deportivo La Guaira	0	0	0
															4	Deportivo Lara	0	1	1
	4	Deportivo Lara (a)	1	1	2
	5	Trujillanos	2	0	2
								4	Deportivo Lara	1	2	3
								8	Caracas	1	0	1
	1	Monagas	2	1	3
	8	Caracas	2	2	4

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Caracas	4–3	Monagas	2–2	2–1
Zamora	2–3	Deportivo La Guaira	1–0	1–3
Estudiantes de Mérida	1–3	Deportivo Táchira	0–0	1–3
Trujillanos	2–2 (a)	Deportivo Lara	2–1	0–1

First leg

Estudiantes de Mérida v Deportivo Táchira

3 November 2018	Estudiantes de Mérida	0–0	Deportivo Táchira	Mérida
16:00		Report		Stadium: Estadio Metropolitano Referee: Juan Soto

Zamora v Deportivo La Guaira

3 November 2018	Zamora	1–0	Deportivo La Guaira	Barinas
19:00	Soto 18'	Report		Stadium: Agustín Tovar Referee: José Luis Hoyo

Trujillanos v Deportivo Lara

4 November 2018	Trujillanos	2–1	Deportivo Lara	Valera
16:00	Jo. Hernández 37' (pen.), 54'	Report	A. Gómez 26'	Stadium: José Alberto Pérez Referee: Ramón Ortega

Caracas v Monagas

4 November 2018	Caracas	2–2	Monagas	Caracas
19:00	Canelón 10' Arrieta 54' (pen.)	Report	J. González 15' (pen.), 64'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Referee: Jesús Valenzuela

Second leg

Deportivo La Guaira v Zamora

7 November 2018	Deportivo La Guaira	3–1 (3–2 agg.)	Zamora	Caracas
16:00	D. González 54' (pen.), 87' H. García 90+4'	Report	Uribe 26'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Referee: Francisco López

Deportivo Táchira v Estudiantes de Mérida

7 November 2018	Deportivo Táchira	3–1 (3–1 agg.)	Estudiantes de Mérida	San Cristóbal
19:00	Aquino 2', 37' (pen.), 62'	Report	J. Gómez 48' (pen.)	Stadium: Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo Referee: Ramón Ortega

Deportivo Lara (a) v Trujillanos

8 November 2018	Deportivo Lara (a)	1–0 (2–2 agg.)	Trujillanos	Cabudare
16:00	Je. Hernández 90+1' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Estadio Metropolitano Referee: Juan Carlos Cabeza

Monagas v Caracas

8 November 2018	Monagas	1–2 (3–4 agg.)	Caracas	Maturín
19:00	Pérez 81'	Report	Arrieta 40' R. Hernández 51'	Stadium: Estadio Monumental Referee: Marco Suárez

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Caracas	1–3	Deportivo Lara	1–1	0–2
Deportivo Táchira	2–3	Deportivo La Guaira	1–0	1–3

First leg

Caracas v Deportivo Lara

11 November 2018	Caracas	1–1	Deportivo Lara	Caracas
16:00	Quijada 63'	Report	Soto 30'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Referee: Ramón Ortega

Deportivo Táchira v Deportivo La Guaira

11 November 2018	Deportivo Táchira	1–0	Deportivo La Guaira	San Cristóbal
19:00	Aquino 25'	Report		Stadium: Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo Referee: Emikar Caldera

Second leg

Deportivo Lara v Caracas

15 November 2018	Deportivo Lara	2–0 (3–1 agg.)	Caracas	Cabudare
16:00	Centeno 10' Castellanos 52'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Metropolitano Referee: Eduardo Mármol

Deportivo La Guaira v Deportivo Táchira

15 November 2018	Deportivo La Guaira	3–1 (3–2 agg.)	Deportivo Táchira	Caracas
19:00	C. González 66' H. García 78' Iriberri 90+3'	Report	Pérez Greco 52'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Referee: Alexis Herrera

Final

Deportivo Lara	0–0	Deportivo La Guaira
	Report

18 November 2018

19:00

Estadio Metropolitano, Cabudare

Referee: Orlando Bracamonte

---

Deportivo La Guaira	0–1	Deportivo Lara
	Report	Je. Hernández 90'

25 November 2018

16:00

Estadio Olímpico, Caracas

Referee: Jesús Valenzuela

Deportivo Lara won 1–0 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Darwin González	Deportivo La Guaira	13
2	Gustavo Ascona	Trujillanos	10
3	Anthony Uribe	Zamora	9
	Enzo Maidana	Academia Puerto Cabello
	Víctor Aquino	Deportivo Táchira
6	Junior Paredes	Zulia	7
	Rubén Rojas	Monagas
	Edder Farías	Atlético Venezuela
	Jesús Arrieta	Caracas
	Robert Hernández	Caracas

Serie Final

The Serie Final is held between the champions of the Torneo Apertura and the Torneo Clausura to determine the champions of the season. The best team of the finalists in the aggregate table chose the order of the legs.

First leg

Deportivo Lara	1–1	Zamora
F. Vargas 34'	Report	Romero 31'

2 December 2018

18:00

Estadio Metropolitano, Cabudare

Referee: Ángel Arteaga

Deportivo Lara

Zamora

GK 1 Carlos Salazar RB 29 Jefre Vargas CB 4 Leonardo Aponte CB 26 Giacomo Di Giorgi (c) LB 27 Daniel Carrillo CM 13 Jesús Bueno  75' CM 5 Bernaldo Manzano CM 20 Juan Castellanos  69' LW 18 Freddy Vargas  62' CF 23 Jesús Hernández RW 10 David Centeno  74' Substitutes: GK 25 Luis Curiel DF 3 Ignacio Anzola  62' DF 11 Oswaldo Chaurant MF 15 Ricardo Andreutti MF 24 José Romero  69' FW 16 Manuel Godoy FW 28 Yomber Camacaro  78'  75' Manager: Leonardo González

GK 1 Joel Graterol RB 3 Carlos Castro  40' CB 17 Kevin de la Hoz CB 5 Ignacio González (c)  90+3' LB 12 Mayker González CM 25 Maikol Quintero  48' CM 23 Oscar Hernández AM 13 Pedro Ramírez  72' RW 19 Antonio Romero  31'  90+1' CF 21 Rodolfo Marcano  58' LW 7 Erickson Gallardo  86' Substitutes: GK 29 Daniel Valdés MF 8 José Pinto  72' MF 26 Edixon Mena  86' MF 27 José Soto FW 11 Juan Zárate FW 18 Ángel Osorio  90+1' FW 30 Darwin Matheus Manager: Alí Cañas

Match rules 90 minutes. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Second leg

Zamora	4–0	Deportivo Lara
Romero 5', 25', 57' Osorio 90'	Report

5 December 2018

19:00

Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas

Referee: José Argote

Zamora won 5–1 on aggregate.

Zamora

Deportivo Lara

GK 1 Joel Graterol RB 3 Carlos Castro CB 17 Kevin de la Hoz CB 5 Ignacio González (c) LB 12 Mayker González CM 25 Maikol Quintero CM 23 Oscar Hernández  51' AM 13 Gustavo Rojas  13' RW 19 Pedro Ramírez  88' LW 7 Erickson Gallardo CF 19 Antonio Romero  69' Substitutes: GK 29 Daniel Valdés MF 8 José Pinto  51' MF 26 Edixon Mena  88' MF 27 José Soto FW 11 Juan Zárate  6' FW 18 Ángel Osorio  90'  69' FW 30 Darwin Matheus Manager: Alí Cañas

GK 1 Carlos Salazar RB 29 Jefre Vargas CB 4 Leonardo Aponte CB 26 Giacomo Di Giorgi (c) LB 27 Daniel Carrillo CM 13 Jesús Bueno  45'  46' CM 5 Bernaldo Manzano CM 10 David Centeno LW 18 Freddy Vargas  62' CF 23 Jesús Hernández  28' RW 7 Argenis Gómez  47'  68' Substitutes: GK 25 Luis Curiel DF 3 Ignacio Anzola  68' DF 11 Oswaldo Chaurant MF 15 Ricardo Andreutti MF 20 Juan Castellanos  46' MF 30 Herlbert Soto FW 16 Manuel Godoy  62' Manager: Leonardo González

Match rules 90 minutes. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is used to determine the winner. Penalty shoot-out if the tie persists (no extra time is played). Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Aggregate table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Zamora (C)	34	17	8	9	46	34	+12	59	Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage
2	Caracas	34	17	7	10	44	32	+12	58	Qualification to Copa Libertadores second stage
3	Deportivo La Guaira	34	16	10	8	48	41	+7	58	Qualification to Copa Libertadores first stage
4	Mineros	34	14	15	5	45	29	+16	57	Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage
5	Deportivo Lara	34	14	14	6	41	26	+15	56	Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage
6	Estudiantes de Mérida	34	14	13	7	52	40	+12	55	Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage
7	Deportivo Táchira	34	13	12	9	44	34	+10	51
8	Monagas	34	13	11	10	44	31	+13	50	Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage[a]
9	Carabobo	34	13	11	10	42	35	+7	50
10	Trujillanos	34	13	11	10	38	38	0	50
11	Zulia	34	9	13	12	49	45	+4	40	Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage[b]
12	Atlético Venezuela	34	10	10	14	39	46	−7	40
13	Aragua	34	9	10	15	30	35	−5	37
14	Academia Puerto Cabello	34	7	14	13	29	37	−8	35
15	Estudiantes de Caracas	34	8	8	18	30	55	−25	32
16	Portuguesa	34	8	8	18	27	52	−25	32
17	Metropolitanos	34	6	9	19	27	48	−21	27
18	Deportivo Anzoátegui[c]	34	6	14	14	31	48	−17	26

Source: FVF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Monagas qualified for the Copa Sudamericana by being the 2018 Clausura classification table best team not qualified for the 2019 Copa Libertadores.
2. Zulia qualified for the Copa Sudamericana by winning the 2018 Copa Venezuela.
3. Deportivo Anzoátegui were deducted 6 points.^[45]

References

1. "Consejo de Honor del fútbol suspendió de forma temporal al Gran Valencia". federacionvenezolanadefutbol.com (in Spanish). 4 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
2. "Academia Puerto Cabello". twitter.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2018.
3. "Carabobo se mudará a Cabudare para el Clausura". meridiano.com.ve (in Spanish). 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
4. "Deportivo Anzoátegui presentó a Lisandro Altieri como nuevo director técnico". eltiempo.com.ve (in Spanish). 6 March 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
5. "Alex Pallarés: "Me llevo buenos recuerdos y mucho agradecimiento"". atleticovenezuelacf.com (in Spanish). 21 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
6. ""Tony" Franco es el nuevo timonel del Atlético". atleticovenezuelacf.com (in Spanish). 25 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
7. "Pedro Depablos no seguirá al mando del Deportivo La Guaira". ovaciondeportes.com (in Spanish). 19 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
8. "Daniel Farías asume el banquillo del Deportivo La Guaira". el-nacional.com (in Spanish). 23 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
9. "Daniel De Oliveira y Metropolitanos separan sus caminos". Metropolitanos FC (in Spanish). 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
10. "Manuel Di Maio asume las riendas del Metropolitanos FC de manera interina". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 2 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
11. "Francesco Stifano abandona el timonel aurinegro". el-nacional.com (in Spanish). 22 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
12. "Alex Pallarés toma el timón del Deportivo Táchira". venezuela.as.com (in Spanish). 23 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
13. "JEREMY NOWAK Y LA ACADEMIA PUERTO CABELLO SE DESVINCULAN". laligafutve.com (in Spanish). 29 May 2018.
14. "Pedro Depablos es el nuevo director técnico de la Academia Puerto Cabello". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 1 June 2018.
15. "Monagas SC confirmó la salida de Jhonny Ferreira como técnico del equipo". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 5 June 2018.
16. "Rey es anunciado como nuevo técnico del Monagas". ovaciondeportes.com (in Spanish). 25 June 2018.
17. "José "Patón" González asume como nuevo DT del Dvo Anzoátegui". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 7 June 2018.
18. "Jhon Giraldo será el nuevo Director Técnico del Metropolitanos FC". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 12 June 2018.
19. "Carlos Maldonado no seguirá en el banquillo del Zulia". ovaciondeportes.com (in Spanish). 13 June 2018.
20. "Francesco Stifano es nuevo Director Técnico del Zulia FC". ovaciondeportes.com (in Spanish). 17 June 2018.
21. "Estudiantes Oficial". twitter.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 June 2018.
22. "Estudiantes de Mérida anunció al argentino Martín Brignani como su DT". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 19 June 2018.
23. "El entrenador colombiano Héctor Estrada dirigirá al Aragua FC". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 29 June 2018.
24. "Carlos Horacio Moreno le dijo adiós al Portuguesa". liderendeportes.com (in Spanish). 2 August 2018.
25. "Carlos Moreno dimite como DT de Portuguesa FC". vavel.com (in Spanish). 2 August 2018.
26. "José "Patón" Gónzález no sigue como Director Técnico del DANZ". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 27 August 2018.
27. "José Fasciana no seguirá al mando de Estudiantes de Caracas". meridiano.com.ve (in Spanish). 29 August 2018.
28. "José María Morr asumirá el banquillo de Estudiantes de Caracas". meridiano.com.ve (in Spanish). 30 August 2018.
29. "Jovanny "La Flecha" Rivero tomará el banquillo del Deportivo Anzoátegui". meridiano.com.ve (in Spanish). 4 September 2018.
30. "Wilson Gutiérrez y su cuerpo técnico no continúan al mando del Carabobo FC". meridiano.com.ve (in Spanish). 6 September 2018.
31. "Carabobo FC anunció a Gustavo Caraballo como su nuevo timonel". el-carabobeno.com (in Spanish). 7 September 2018.
32. "Carabobo FC y Portuguesa FC cambian de DT para el cierre del Clausura". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 7 September 2018.
33. "El merideño Raymond Páez es el nuevo DT del Portuguesa FC". balonazos.com (in Spanish). 7 September 2018.
34. "Antonio Franco terminó su etapa con el Atlético Venezuela". atleticovenezuelacf.com (in Spanish). 2 November 2018.
35. "Héctor Estrada se desvincula del Aragua FC". araguafc.com (in Spanish). 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
36. "Enrique "Kike" García asume las riendas del Aragua FC". araguafc.com (in Spanish). 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
37. "Carabobo Fútbol Club". twitter.com (in Spanish). 16 November 2018.
38. "Jhonny Ferreira regresa a la dirección técnica del granate". drive.google.com (in Spanish). 29 November 2018.
39. "Pallarés se despidió del Carrusel Aurinegro (+ AUDIOS)". deportivotachira.com (in Spanish). 20 November 2018.
40. "El tachirense Giovanny Pérez asume las riendas del Aurinegro". deportivotachira.com (in Spanish). 3 December 2018.
41. "TRUJILLANOS F.C." twitter.com (in Spanish). 23 November 2018.
42. "TRUJILLANOS F.C." twitter.com (in Spanish). 22 November 2018.
43. "Mineros de Guayana". twitter.com (in Spanish). 22 November 2018.
44. "Mineros de Guayana". twitter.com (in Spanish). 22 November 2018.
45. "Clasificación Temporada 2018" (in Spanish). FVF. Retrieved 8 November 2018. -6 Puntos por la Comisión Disciplina FIFA Decisión 180647 PST VSN ZH (-6 Points per FIFA Disciplinary Commission Decision 180647 PST VSN ZH)

External links

• Official website of the Venezuelan Football Federation (in Spanish)
• Liga FUTVE