2020 Latvian Higher League

Latvian football league season for the highest division

Football league season

Latvian Higher LeagueSeason| 2020

|

Dates| 15 June 2020 – 29 November 2020
Champions| Riga
Relegated| Tukums
Champions League| Riga
Conference League| RFS
Valmiera
Liepāja
Matches played| 135
Goals scored| 415 (3.07 per match)
Top goalscorer| Dodô (18 goals)
Biggest home win| Spartaks Jūrmala 7–0 Jelgava
(26 November 2020)
Biggest away win| Jelgava 0–7 Liepāja
(29 November 2020)
Highest scoring| Liepāja 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 run| 14 matches
Riga
Longest unbeaten run| 14 matches
Riga
Longest winless run| 20 matches
Tukums
Longest losing run| 6 matches
Tukums

← 2019

2021 →

All statistics correct as of 29 November 2020.

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]

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

## Teams

[edit]

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

Riga

Valmieras FK

Jelgava

Liepāja

Spartaks

Ventspils

Daugavpils

Tukums

Riga teams:
METTA/LU
RFS
Riga

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the 2020 Latvian Higher League teams

## League table

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation

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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[a]
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

[edit]

### Rounds 1–18

[edit]

Rounds 1–18  Home \ Away  | DAU | JEL | LIE | MLU | RIG | RFS | SPJ | TUK | VAL | VEN

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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

[edit]

Rounds 19–27  Home \ Away  | DAU | JEL | LIE | MLU | RIG | RFS | SPJ | TUK | VAL | VEN

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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

[edit]

### Top scorers

[edit]

As of matches played 29 November 2020[5]
Rank  | Player  | Club  | Goals

|
|
|

1  |  Dodô | Liepāja | 18
2  |  Tolu Arokodare | Valmiera | 15
Nemanja Belaković | Spartaks
4  |  Kule Mbombo | Riga | 12
5  |  Yevgeni Kozlov | Ventspils | 11
Raimonds Krollis | METTA/LU
7  |  Chinonso Offor | Daugavpils
RFS | 10
Emerson Deocleciano | RFS
9  |  Artūrs Karašausks | Liepāja  | 9
10  |  Alain Kouadio  | RFS  | 8
Tomáš Šimkovič | RFS
Kaspars Svārups  | Ventspils

## References

[edit]

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.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Latvian and English)

* v
* t
* e

2020 in Latvian football

« 2019

2021 »

| League competitions|

* Latvian Higher League
* 1.Liga
* 2.Liga
* Latvian Women's League

|

Cup competitions|

* Latvian Football Cup

European competitions|

* Champions League
* '19–'20
* '20–'21
* Europa League
* '19–'20
* '20–'21

Club seasons

Higher League|

* Daugavpils
* Jelgava
* Liepāja
* METTA/LU
* Riga
* Riga FS
* Spartaks Jūrmala
* Tukums
* Valmiera/BSS
* Ventspils

Winter transfers ↔ Summer transfers

* v
* t
* e

Seasons of Top Latvian Football Leagues

Championship|

* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926

Higher League|

* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937–38
* 1938–39
* 1939–40
* 1940–41
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944

Latvian SSR|

* 1941
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991

Higher League|

* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
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* 2009
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* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* v
* t
* e

2019–20 in European men's football (UEFA)

Domestic leagues|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus '19 '20
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* England
* Estonia '19 '20
* Faroe Islands '19 '20
* Finland '19 '20
* France
* Georgia '19 '20
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland '19 '20
* Israel
* Italy
* Kazakhstan '19 '20
* Kosovo
* Latvia '19 '20
* Lithuania '19 '20
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '19 '20
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '19 '20
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Scotland
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden '19 '20
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* Wales

Domestic cups|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* England
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands '19 '20
* Finland '19 '20
* France
* Georgia '19 '20
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland '19 '20
* Israel
* Italy
* Kazakhstan '19
* Kosovo
* Latvia '19 '20
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania '19 '20
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '19 '20
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '19 '20
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Scotland
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* Wales

League cups|

* England
* France
* Iceland '19 '20
* Israel
* Northern Ireland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '19 '20
* Scotland
* Wales

Supercups|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* England
* Estonia '19 '20
* Faroe Islands
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Israel
* Italy
* Kazakhstan
* Kosovo
* Lithuania '19 '20
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Norway '19
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '19 '20
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Spain
* Turkey
* Ukraine

UEFA competitions|

* Champions League
* qualifying phase and play-off round
* group stage
* knockout phase
* Final
* Europa League
* qualifying phase and play-off round
* Champions Path
* Main Path
* group stage
* knockout phase
* Final
* Super Cup
* Youth League
* UEFA Champions League Path
* Domestic Champions Path
* knockout phase

International competitions|

* UEFA Euro 2020
* qualification
* 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup
* 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup
* 2021 Euro Under-21
* qualification
* 2020 Euro Under-19
* qualification
* 2020 Euro Under-17
* qualification
* Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics

* v
* t
* e

2020–21 in European men's football (UEFA)

Domestic leagues|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus '20 '21
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* England
* Estonia '20 '21
* Faroe Islands '20 '21
* Finland '20 '21
* France
* Georgia '20 '21
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland '20 '21
* Israel
* Italy
* Kazakhstan '20 '21
* Kosovo
* Latvia '20 '21
* Lithuania '20 '21
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '20 '21
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '20 '21
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Scotland
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden '20 '21
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* Wales

Domestic cups|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* England
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands '20 '21
* Finland '20 '21
* France
* Georgia '20 '21
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland '20 '21
* Israel
* Italy
* Kazakhstan '21
* Kosovo
* Latvia '20 '21
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania '20 '21
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Ireland
* Norway '20
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '20 '21
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Scotland '19–'20 '20–'21
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain '19–'20 '20–'21
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* ~~Wales~~

League cups|

* England
* Iceland
* Israel
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '20
* Scotland
* Wales

Supercups|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* England
* Estonia '20 '21
* Faroe Islands
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Iceland
* Israel
* Italy
* Kazakhstan
* Kosovo
* Lithuania
* Malta
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland '20 '21
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Spain
* Turkey
* Ukraine

UEFA competitions|

* Champions League
* qualifying phase and play-off round
* group stage
* knockout phase
* Final
* Europa League
* qualifying phase and play-off round
* Champions Path
* Main Path
* group stage
* knockout phase
* Final
* Super Cup
* ~~Youth League~~

International competitions|

* UEFA Euro 2020
* qualification
* 2022 FIFA World Cup
* qualification
* 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
* League A
* League B
* League C
* League D
* 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup
* 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup
* 2021 Euro Under-21
* qualification
* 2021 Euro Under-19
* qualification
* 2021 Euro Under-17
* qualification
* Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics

*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template