The 2017–18 LigaPro (also known as Ledman LigaPro for sponsorship reasons) was the 28th season of Portuguese football's second-tier league, and the fourth season under the current LigaPro title. A total of 20 teams competed in this division, including reserve sides from top-flight Primeira Liga teams.

LigaPro
Season2017–18
ChampionsNacional
1st title
PromotedNacional
Santa Clara
RelegatedUnião da Madeira
Sporting CP B
Gil Vicente
Real
Matches played380
Goals scored947 (2.49 per match)
Top goalscorerRicardo Gomes (21 goals)
Longest unbeaten run16 matches
Nacional
Highest attendance20,446[1]
Académica 1–2 Cova da Piedade
(5 May 2018)
Total attendance436,178
Average attendance1,148

Teams

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A total of 20 teams contested the league, including 16 sides from the 2016–17 season, two teams relegated from the 2016–17 Primeira Liga and two promoted from the 2016–17 Campeonato de Portugal.

Team changes

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Stadia and locations

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Location of teams in 2017–18 LigaPro (Madeira)
Location of teams in 2016–17 LigaPro (Azores)
Team Location Stadium Capacity 2016–17 finish
Académica Coimbra Estádio Cidade de Coimbra 29,622 6th
Académico de Viseu Viseu Estádio do Fontelo 7,744 17th
Arouca Arouca Estádio Municipal de Arouca 5,000 17th (PL)
Benfica B Seixal Caixa Futebol Campus 2,720 4th
Braga B Braga Estádio 1º de Maio 28,000 7th
Cova da Piedade Cova da Piedade Estádio Municipal José Martins Vieira 3,000 16th
Famalicão Vila Nova de Famalicão Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho 5,300 15th
Gil Vicente Barcelos Estádio Cidade de Barcelos 12,046 13th
Leixões Matosinhos Estádio do Mar 9,766 18th
Nacional Funchal Estádio da Madeira 5,200 18th (PL)
Oliveirense Oliveira de Azeméis Estádio Municipal de Aveiro 32,830 2nd (CP)
Penafiel Penafiel Estádio Municipal 25 de Abril 5,320 5th
Porto B Vila Nova de Gaia Estádio Municipal Jorge Sampaio 8,270 12th
Real Queluz Complexo Desportivo do Real SC 2,415 1st (CP)
Santa Clara Ponta Delgada Estádio de São Miguel 13,277 10th
Sporting CP B Alcochete CGD Stadium Aurélio Pereira 1,180 14th
Sporting da Covilhã Covilhã Estádio Municipal José dos Santos Pinto 2,055 8th
União da Madeira Funchal Centro Desportivo da Madeira 2,300 3rd
Varzim Póvoa de Varzim Estádio do Varzim SC 7,280 9th
Vitória de Guimarães B Guimarães Estádio D. Afonso Henriques 30,000 11th

Personnel and sponsors

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Team Head coach Kit manufacturer Sponsors
Académica   Ricardo Soares Lacatoni EFAPEL
Académico de Viseu   Francisco Chaló Macron Palácio do Gelo
Arouca   Miguel Leal Joma Construções Carlos Pinho
Benfica B   Hélder Cristóvão Adidas Emirates
Braga B   João Aroso Lacatoni
Cova da Piedade   João Barbosa Lacatoni
Famalicão   Dito Lacatoni Porminho
Gil Vicente   Álvaro Magalhães Macron Barcelos / Crédito Agrícola
Leixões   Kenedy Luanvi Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos
Nacional   Costinha Hummel Santander Totta
Oliveirense   Pedro Miguel Rakso Simoldes
Penafiel   António Conceição Macron Restradas
Porto B   José Tavares New Balance
Real SC   Filipe Martins Claw Junta de Freguesia de Queluz
Santa Clara   Carlos Pinto Nike Açoreana Seguros
Sporting CP B   Luís Martins Macron NOS
Sporting da Covilhã   José Augusto Lacatoni Natura / MB Hotels
União da Madeira   José Viterbo Lacatoni Museu CR7
Varzim   João Eusébio Stadio Carnes São José
Vitória de Guimarães B   Vítor Campelos Macron

Coaching changes

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Team Outgoing head coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming head coach Date of appointment
Académica Costinha Mutual Consent 22 May 2017 Pre-season Ivo Vieira 29 May 2017
Académica Ivo Vieira Signed by Estoril 13 November 2017 6th Ricardo Soares 14 November 2017
Académica Ricardo Soares Mutual Consent 31 March 2018 5th Quim Machado 1 April 2018

Season summary

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Nacional (C, P) 38 19 14 5 72 45 +27 71 Promotion to the Primeira Liga
2 Santa Clara (P) 38 19 9 10 55 40 +15 66
3 Académico de Viseu 38 17 13 8 50 40 +10 64
4 Académica 38 19 6 13 59 40 +19 63
5 Penafiel 38 17 11 10 55 43 +12 62
6 Arouca 38 16 11 11 42 37 +5 59
7 Porto B 38 18 4 16 50 55 −5 58 Ineligible for promotion
8 Leixões 38 14 14 10 50 43 +7 56
9 Cova da Piedade 38 14 9 15 42 45 −3 51
10 Varzim 38 13 11 14 41 41 0 50
11 Vitória de Guimarães B 38 14 8 16 44 49 −5 50 Ineligible for promotion
12 Oliveirense 38 13 10 15 45 47 −2 49
13 Benfica B 38 14 7 17 54 60 −6 49 Ineligible for promotion
14 Famalicão 38 13 9 16 46 49 −3 48
15 Sporting da Covilhã 38 12 11 15 32 41 −9 47
16 Braga B 38 10 14 14 44 48 −4 44 Ineligible for promotion
17 União da Madeira (R) 38 12 8 18 44 53 −9 44 Relegation to the Campeonato de Portugal
18 Sporting CP B (R) 38 11 9 18 46 65 −19 42
19 Gil Vicente (R) 38 8 12 18 29 45 −16 36
20 Real (R) 38 8 8 22 47 61 −14 32
Source: Liga Portugal
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Matches won; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off.
(Note: The LPFP decided that only criteria 1, 5, 6 and 7 would be applied to establish the classification during the competition.)[2]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Season statistics

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Top goalscorers

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As of 14 May 2018[3]
Rank Player Club Goals
1   Ricardo Gomes Nacional 21
2   Carlos Vinícius Real 19
3   Thiago Santana Santa Clara 15
4   Heriberto Tavares Benfica B 14
5   Murilo Nacional 13
6   Dieguinho Cova da Piedade 12
  Fábio Abreu Penafiel
8   Cléo Cova da Piedade 11
  Donald Djoussé Académica
  Fernando Santa Clara
  Sandro Lima Académico Viseu
  Brayan Riascos Oliveirense
  Gustavo Costa Penafiel
  Luther Singh Braga B

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date Ref
  Carlos Vinícius Real Leixões 4–1 (H) 6 August 2017 [4]
  Gelson Dala Sporting B Santa Clara 4–3 (H) 30 September 2017 [5]
  Fábio Abreu Penafiel Sporting B 4–1 (H) 21 October 2017 [6]
  Luan Santos União da Madeira Académico Viseu 5–3 (H) 3 December 2017 [7]
  João Félix Benfica B Famalicão 5–0 (H) 30 January 2018 [8]
  Sandro Lima Académico Viseu Benfica B 5–1 (A) 11 February 2018 [9]
Note

(H) – Home ; (A) – Away

Scoring

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As of 14 May 2018

Awards

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Monthly awards

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Liga Portugal

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Month Player of the Month
Name Club
August[10]   Fede Varela Porto B
September[10]   Galeno Porto B
October/November[10]   Rui Costa Famalicão
December[11]   Rui Costa Famalicão
January[11]   Chiquinho Académica
February[12]   Carlos Vinícius Real
March[12]   Ricardo Gomes Nacional
April[13]   Ricardo Gomes Nacional

Annual awards

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Liga Portugal

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Player of the Season
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The Player of the Season was awarded to   Ricardo Gomes (Nacional).[14]

Manager of the Season
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The Manager of the Season was awarded to   Costinha (Nacional).[14]

Goalkeeper of the Season
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The Goalkeeper of the Season was awarded to   Ricardo Ribeiro (Académica).[14]

Young Player of the Year
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The Young Player of the Year was awarded to   Artur Abreu (Vitória de Guimarães B).[14]

Club Fair-Play Prize
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The Club Fair-Play Prize was awarded to Benfica B.[14]

Player Fair-Play Prize
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The Player Fair-Play Prize was awarded to   Casillas (Porto).[14]

References

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  1. ^ "A. Académica 1 : 2 CD C. Piedade" (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP). Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Regulamento das Competições Organizadas pela Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional" [Regulation for the competitions organised by the Portuguese Professional Football League] (PDF). LPFP (in Portuguese). 28 June 2016. p. 10. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Melhores Marcadores". Liga portugal. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Real 4-1 Leixões". TheFinalBall.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Sporting B 4–3 Santa Clara". TheFinalBall.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Penafiel 4–1 Sporting B". TheFinalBall.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  7. ^ "U. Madeira 5–3 Ac. Viseu". TheFinalBall.com. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Benfica B 5–0 FC Famalicão". TheFinalBall.com. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Benfica B 1–5 Ac. Viseu". TheFinalBall.com. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  10. ^ a b c "Revista Liga-te | Nº1". Issuu (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  11. ^ a b "Revista Liga-te | Nº2". Issuu. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  12. ^ a b "Revista Liga-te | Nº3". Issuu. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  13. ^ "Revista Liga-te - 4ª. Edição". Issuu (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Ricardo Gomes eleito Melhor Jogador da LEDMAN LigaPro". Liga Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-07-17.