2018 Malmö FF season

The 2018 season was Malmö FF's 107th in existence, their 83rd season in Allsvenskan and their 18th consecutive season in the league. They competed in Allsvenskan where they finished third, 2017–18 Svenska Cupen where they finished as runners-up, and the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League where they were knocked out in the third qualifying round. Malmö FF also participated in two competitions in which the club continued playing in for the 2019 season, the 2018–19 Svenska Cupen and the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. The season began with the group stage of Svenska Cupen on 18 February, league play started on 2 April and concluded on 11 November. The season concluded with the last UEFA Europa League group stage match on 13 December.

Malmö FF
2018 season
ChairmanHåkan Jeppsson
Head coachMagnus Pehrsson (until 14 May)
Daniel Andersson (14 May until 12 June)
Uwe Rösler (from 12 June)
StadiumStadion
Allsvenskan3rd
2017–18 Svenska CupenRunners-up
2018–19 UEFA Champions LeagueThird qualifying round
Top goalscorerLeague: Markus Rosenberg (13)
All: Markus Rosenberg (18)
Highest home attendance20,072 (9 April vs AIK, Allsvenskan)
Lowest home attendance3,155 (4 March vs IF Brommapojkarna, Svenska Cupen)
Average home league attendance14,921

The club's chairman, Håkan Jeppsson, died unexpectedly on 7 December, a week before the last match of the season. Malmö FF won five Swedish championships and participated in two UEFA Champions League group stages, as well as two UEFA Europa League group stages, under his reign. For the first time in the history of the club, Malmö FF managed to qualify for the knock-out stages of the UEFA Europa League. It was also the first time, and third time in total, since the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup that the club qualified for European knock-out matches after the new year. On the domestic stage, Malmö FF ended the season in third place, having had a difficult start to the league season.

Players
Malmö FF playing a Champions League qualifier against MOL Vidi FC in August 2018.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  FIN Walter Viitala
2 DF  SWE Eric Larsson
3 DF  ALB Egzon Binaku
4 DF  SWE Behrang Safari (vice captain)
5 MF  DEN Søren Rieks
6 MF  SWE Oscar Lewicki
7 MF  COM Fouad Bachirou
8 MF  ISL Arnór Ingvi Traustason
9 FW  SWE Markus Rosenberg (captain)
10 FW  SWE Carlos Strandberg
11 FW  SWE Alexander Jeremejeff
11 FW  SWE Guillermo Molins
14 MF  DEN Anders Christiansen
17 DF  SWE Rasmus Bengtsson
18 MF  USA Romain Gall
20 MF  NGA Bonke Innocent
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF  GHA Kingsley Sarfo
22 MF  SWE Isak Ssewankambo
23 FW  SWE Marcus Antonsson
24 DF  DEN Lasse Nielsen
26 DF  NOR Andreas Vindheim
27 GK  SWE Johan Dahlin
29 GK  SWE Fredrik Andersson
30 GK  SWE Mathias Nilsson
31 DF  SWE Franz Brorsson
32 MF  SWE Mattias Svanberg
34 MF  SWE Pavle Vagić
35 MF  SWE Samuel Adrian
37 FW  SWE Tim Prica
38 MF  ALB Laorent Shabani
39 MF  SWE Felix Konstandeliasz
40 DF  SWE Hugo Andersson

In
No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving from
 Type
 Transfer
window		 Ends
 Transfer
fee		 Source
2 DF Eric Larsson 26 GIF Sundsvall End of contract Winter 2021 Free mff.se
8 MF Arnór Ingvi Traustason 24 Rapid Wien Transfer Winter 2021 Undisclosed mff.se
3 DF Egzon Binaku 22 BK Häcken Transfer Winter 2021 (€800,000)[1] mff.se
7 MF Fouad Bachirou 27 Östersunds FK Transfer Winter 2021 (€700,000)[2] mff.se
5 MF Søren Rieks 30 IFK Göteborg End of contract Winter 2020 Free mff.se
22 MF Isak Ssewankambo 22 Molde Loan Winter 2018 – mff.se
14 MF Anders Christiansen 28 Gent Transfer Summer 2022 Undisclosed mff.se
23 FW Marcus Antonsson 27 Leeds United Transfer Summer 2021 Undisclosed mff.se
18 MF Romain Gall 23 GIF Sundsvall Transfer Summer 2022 (€500,000)[3] mff.se
11 FW Guillermo Molins 29 Panathinaikos End of contract Summer 2021 Free mff.se
1 GK Walter Viitala 26 Viborg FF Transfer Summer 2018 Free mff.se

Out
N
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving to
 Type
 Transfer
window		 Transfer
fee		 Source
3 DF Anton Tinnerholm 26 New York City End of contract Winter Free mff.se
25 DF Felipe Carvalho 24 Vålerenga End of contract Winter Free mff.se
– GK Jakob Tånnander 17 Lunds BK Loan Winter – sydsvenskan.se
10 MF Magnus Wolff Eikrem 27 Seattle Sounders End of contract Winter Free mff.se
23 MF Jo Inge Berget 27 New York City End of contract Winter Free mff.se
5 MF Erdal Rakip 21 Benfica End of contract Winter Free mff.se
– DF Anton Kralj 19 Gefle IF Loan Winter – mff.se
7 MF Anders Christiansen 27 Gent Transfer Winter Undisclosed mff.se
– GK Sixten Mohlin 21 Dalkurd FF Loan Winter – mff.se
14 MF Erik Andersson 20 Trelleborgs FF Transfer Winter Undisclosed mff.se
37 DF Dennis Hadžikadunić 19 Trelleborgs FF Loan Winter – mff.se
33 FW Teddy Bergqvist 18 Varbergs BoIS Loan Winter – mff.se
21 MF Kingsley Sarfo 23 Free agent Discharged – – mff.se
32 MF Mattias Svanberg 19 Bologna Transfer Summer (€4,500,000)[4] mff.se
37 DF Dennis Hadžikadunić 20 FC Rostov Transfer Summer (€1,000,000)[5] mff.se
11 FW Alexander Jeremejeff 24 BK Häcken Transfer Summer (€484,000)[6] mff.se
34 MF Pavle Vagić 18 Jönköpings Södra Loan Summer – mff.se

Player statistics

Appearances and goals
As of 17 December 2018
Number Position Name 2018 Allsvenskan 2017–18 Svenska Cupen
2018–19 Svenska Cupen		 2018–19 UEFA Champions League
2018–19 UEFA Europa League		 Total
Appearances Goals Appearances Goals Appearances Goals Appearances Goals
1 GK Walter Viitala 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2 DF Eric Larsson 25 2 6 0 10 1 41 3
3 DF Egzon Binaku 18 0 4 0 2 0 24 0
4 DF Behrang Safari 21 0 6 0 13 0 40 0
5 MF Søren Rieks 26 10 7 0 14 0 47 10
6 MF Oscar Lewicki 28 0 6 0 13 1 47 1
7 MF Fouad Bachirou 22 0 7 0 13 0 42 0
8 MF Arnór Ingvi Traustason 22 4 5 1 12 2 39 7
9 FW Markus Rosenberg 27 13 6 2 13 4 46 19
10 FW Carlos Strandberg 19 7 6 2 6 3 31 12
11 FW Alexander Jeremejeff 13 1 6 2 2 0 21 3
11 FW Guillermo Molins 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1
14 MF Anders Christiansen 15 2 1 0 12 1 28 3
17 DF Rasmus Bengtsson 13 0 5 1 13 0 31 1
18 MF Romain Gall 12 6 1 0 5 0 18 6
20 MF Bonke Innocent 15 0 1 0 5 0 21 0
21 MF Kingsley Sarfo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 MF Isak Ssewankambo 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
23 FW Marcus Antonsson 15 8 1 0 12 5 28 13
24 DF Lasse Nielsen 27 0 7 1 14 0 48 1
26 DF Andreas Vindheim 10 1 4 0 11 1 25 2
27 GK Johan Dahlin 25 0 7 0 14 0 46 0
29 GK Fredrik Andersson 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
30 GK Mathias Nilsson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 DF Franz Brorsson 23 0 3 0 10 0 36 0
32 MF Mattias Svanberg 12 2 6 1 0 0 18 3
34 MF Pavle Vagić 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
35 MF Samuel Adrian 9 0 0 0 2 0 11 0
37 FW Tim Prica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38 MF Laorent Shabani 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
39 MF Felix Konstandeliasz 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
40 DF Hugo Andersson 4 1 1 0 0 0 5 1

Competitions
Malmö FF's Allsvenskan opener against IF Elfsborg.
Malmö FF's home fixture against Hammarby on matchday 26.

Allsvenskan
Main article: 2018 Allsvenskan

After losing several key players during the off-season, many of whom to free transfers, Malmö FF went into the 2018 season with the expressed strategy of only partially replacing the players who were lost with new signings such as Fouad Bachirou, Arnór Ingvi Traustason and Søren Rieks, and filling the depth of the squad with players from the club's academy.[7]

After an unbeaten pre-season and cup run Malmö FF started their season away to IF Elfsborg on 2 April. Teenage starlet Mattias Svanberg opened the club's season tally less than two minutes into the opener in a game Malmö FF ended up winning 2–1. A week later, MFF played their home opener against AIK, who were widely considered MFF's biggest challenger for the title. Despite conceding a penalty and a red card to Franz Brorsson, MFF were able to secure a point with AIK seemingly unwilling to take initiative in front of the sell-out crowd at Stadion.[8]

Despite encouraging signs early in the season, the AIK match turned out to be the start of a historically bad run for Malmö FF, where they won only two of ten matches between 9 April and 16 May, including an embarrassing 3–0 loss in the final of the Swedish Cup. With the title seemingly out of reach only weeks into the season, Magnus Pehrsson was fired after the 1–0 loss to Trelleborgs FF on 13 May.[9] With the club currently in eleventh place, Malmö FF CEO Niclas Carlnén expressibly revised the club's Allsvenskan target from winning the title to reaching a spot in the top three.[10] Sporting director and former club captain Daniel Andersson stepped in as caretaker manager for the three games that remained before the World Cup break, but was unable to right the ship as the team took four points from those three games.

On 12 June Uwe Rösler was appointed head coach,[11] while Andersson also announced several signings in an effort to move up the table and make a run for the upcoming Champions League qualifiers. The 2017 Allsvenskan MVP Anders Christiansen was reacquired from Gent, former club captain Guillermo Molins was brought in on a free transfer, former Allsvenskan top scorer Marcus Antonsson moved from Leeds, and Sundsvall's breakthrough player Romain Gall was added to the squad.

The changes proved effective and Malmö FF emerged as a new team for the second half of the season, with nine wins and one draw over the first ten Allsvenskan games after the World Cup break. A hectic schedule saw MFF eventually get into a five-game slump in which they only won one game, but the team was able to bounce back and finish league play with three straight wins to reach third place and secure a qualifying spot for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 AIK (C) 30 19 10 1 50 16 +34 67 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 IFK Norrköping 30 19 8 3 51 27 +24 65 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Malmö FF 30 17 7 6 57 29 +28 58
4 Hammarby IF 30 17 7 6 56 35 +21 58
5 BK Häcken 30 16 5 9 58 27 +31 53 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
Source: svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Play-off is only played if need to decide champion, teams for relegation or UEFA competition and will be played on a neutral ground).
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. BK Häcken qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round by winning the 2018–19 Svenska Cupen.

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
30 17 7 6 57 29  +28 58 10 4 1 32 8  +24 7 3 5 25 21  +4

Source: svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish)

Results by round
Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
GroundAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAAHAHAHAHAH
ResultWDDLWLLLWLDWDWWWWWWWWWLDDWDWWW
Position55698101011111112101087665444444445543
Source: see below
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches
2 April 2018 Matchday 1 IF Elfsborg 1–2 Malmö FF Borås
17:30 Prodell  17' Report Svanberg  2'
Traustason  24'		 Stadium: Borås Arena
Attendance: 11,615
Referee: Bojan Pandžić
9 April 2018 Matchday 2 Malmö FF 1–1 AIK Malmö
19:00 Rosenberg  43' (pen.) Report Goitom  12' Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 20,072
Referee: Stefan Johannesson
13 April 2018 Matchday 3 GIF Sundsvall 2–2 Malmö FF Sundsvall
19:00  76' (o.g.)
Sema  87'		 Report Strandberg  77'
Jeremejeff  84'		 Stadium: Idrottsparken
Attendance: 3,479
Referee: Patrik Eriksson
18 April 2018 Matchday 4 Djurgårdens IF 3–0 Malmö FF Stockholm
19:00 Kadewere  46', 77'
Kozica  90+2'		 Report Stadium: Tele2 Arena
Attendance: 13,010
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim
23 April 2018 Matchday 5 Malmö FF 3–1 IF Brommapojkarna Malmö
19:00 Rosenberg  40', 70'
Rieks  85'		 Report Ajeti  63' (pen.) Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 14,745
Referee: Magnus Lindgren
29 April 2018 Matchday 6 Kalmar FF 3–0 Malmö FF Kalmar
17:30 Söderqvist  25'
Elm  33'
Hiago  45+1'		 Report Stadium: Guldfågeln Arena
Attendance: 7,047
Referee: Patrik Eriksson
3 May 2018 Matchday 16 Malmö FF 1–0 Djurgårdens IF Malmö
19:00 Strandberg  59' Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 15,728
Referee: Andreas Ekberg
7 May 2018 Matchday 7 Malmö FF 1–2 IFK Göteborg Malmö
19:00 Strandberg  54' Report Wernersson  42'
Erlingmark  58'		 Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 17,715
Referee: Stefan Johannesson
13 May 2018 Matchday 8 Trelleborgs FF 1–0 Malmö FF Trelleborg
17:30 Nielsen  90' Report Stadium: Vångavallen
Attendance: 7,043
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
16 May 2018 Matchday 10 Hammarby IF 3–2 Malmö FF Stockholm
19:00 Đurđić  36', 65'
Dibba  70'		 Report Rieks  19'
Svanberg  46'		 Stadium: Tele2 Arena
Attendance: 23,490
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson
20 May 2018 Matchday 9 Malmö FF 2–0 BK Häcken Malmö
17:30 Rieks  49'
Rosenberg  78' (pen.)		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 15,735
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim
27 May 2018 Matchday 11 Malmö FF 1–1 Dalkurd FF Malmö
15:00 Strandberg  55' Report Awad  43' Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 14,099
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson
7 July 2018 Matchday 12 IK Sirius 0–4 Malmö FF Uppsala
13:00 Report Rosenberg  15', 47'
Traustason  49'
Rieks  84'		 Stadium: Studenternas IP
Attendance: 1,823
Referee: Stefan Johannesson
14 July 2018 Matchday 13 Malmö FF 1–1 Östersunds FK Malmö
18:00 Rosenberg  33' Report Ghoddos  72' Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 13,211
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
21 July 2018 Matchday 14 Örebro SK 1–2 Malmö FF Örebro
16:00 Rogić  69' Report Strandberg  48', 73' Stadium: Behrn Arena
Attendance: 4,045
Referee: Andreas Ekberg
28 July 2018 Matchday 15 Malmö FF 2–1 IFK Norrköping Malmö
18:00 Rosenberg  5' (pen.)
Rieks  65'		 Report Skrabb  56' Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 15,731
Referee: Bojan Pandžić
10 August 2018 Matchday 17 Dalkurd FF 0–1 Malmö FF Gävle
19:00 Report Rieks  43' Stadium: Gavlevallen
Attendance: 603
Referee: Robert Daradic
18 August 2018 Matchday 18 Malmö FF 3–0 Trelleborgs FF Malmö
16:00 Andersson  2'
Vindheim  26'
Antonsson  35'		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 14,073
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
26 August 2018 Matchday 19 Malmö FF 5–0 IK Sirius Malmö
15:00 Rosenberg  62' (pen.)
Gall  66', 72'
Christiansen  76'
Antonsson  88'		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 11,237
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson
2 September 2018 Matchday 20 IF Brommapojkarna 0–3 Malmö FF Stockholm
15:00 Report Rieks  24'
Larsson  62'
Antonsson  63'		 Stadium: Grimsta IP
Attendance: 1,635
Referee: Bojan Pandžić
15 September 2018 Matchday 21 Östersunds FK 2–3 Malmö FF Östersund
18:00 Fritzson  9'
Aiesh  15'		 Report Rieks  36', 57'
Antonsson  39'		 Stadium: Jämtkraft Arena
Attendance: 5,631
Referee: Johan Hamlin
23 September 2018 Matchday 22 Malmö FF 4–0 Kalmar FF Malmö
17:30 Traustason  16', 42'
Gall  32'
Rosenberg  64'		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 15,584
Referee: Magnus Lindgren
26 September 2018 Matchday 23 IFK Norrköping 3–1 Malmö FF Norrköping
19:00 Holmberg  18', 31' (pen.)
Dagerstål  90+2'		 Report Antonsson  28' (pen.) Stadium: Nya Parken
Attendance: 11,160
Referee: Bojan Pandžić
30 September 2018 Matchday 24 Malmö FF 0–0 GIF Sundsvall Malmö
17:30 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 12,058
Referee: Victor Wolf
7 October 2018 Matchday 25 BK Häcken 1–1 Malmö FF Gothenburg
15:00 Jeremejeff  71' Report Gall  47' Stadium: Bravida Arena
Attendance: 5,004
Referee: Magnus Lindgren
20 October 2018 Matchday 26 Malmö FF 2–1 Hammarby IF Malmö
13:00 Antonsson  47'
Rosenberg  57'		 Report Hamad  28' (pen.) Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 19,125
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson
29 October 2018 Matchday 27 AIK 1–1 Malmö FF Solna
19:00 Larsson  90+6' Report Christiansen  44' Stadium: Friends Arena
Attendance: 31,160
Referee: Bojan Pandžić
1 November 2018 Matchday 28 Malmö FF 4–0 Örebro SK Malmö
19:00 Antonsson  6'
Strandberg  28'
Gall  56'
Larsson  85'		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 11,618
Referee: Patrik Eriksson
4 November 2018 Matchday 29 IFK Göteborg 0–3 Malmö FF Gothenburg
15:00 Report Gall  65'
Rieks  71'
Rosenberg  80' (pen.)		 Stadium: Gamla Ullevi
Attendance: 13,073
Referee: Martin Strömbergsson
11 November 2018 Matchday 30 Malmö FF 2–0 IF Elfsborg Malmö
15:00 Rosenberg  60'
Antonsson  78'		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 13,091
Referee: Magnus Lindgren

2017–18
The tournament continued from the 2017 season.
Main article: 2017–18 Svenska Cupen

After beating FC Trollhättan in August 2017 to qualify for the group stage, Malmö FF was drawn into a group with Allsvenskan newcomers IF Brommapojkarna and Dalkurd FF and Superettan side Gefle IF. A late Markus Rosenberg penalty saw Malmö FF win their first game against Dalkurd. In the second contest Malmö FF traveled to Gefle for a game that was postponed four hours because of a snow storm, but when eventually played MFF won comfortably by a score of 3-0.[12] The result set up a group final between two teams that won their first games, where Malmö FF managed to beat Brommapojkarna 3-1 to qualify for the quarter-final in which they beat rivals IFK Göteborg 1-0. In the semi-final the team traveled to Östersund where a late winner from Arnór Traustason sent Malmö FF to the cup final.

The location for the cup final was decided by a draw that took place at an Allsvenskan kick-off event, which awarded home field advantage to Djurgårdens IF.[13] While the competition to this point had been played during the Allsvenskan pre-season, the final was scheduled for 10 May. During the two months that elapsed between the semi-final and final Malmö FF's Allsvenskan campaign had sent the club into a state of crisis, which reached new heights in the cup final where a lackluster performance handed the club a 3-0 defeat which fueled supporter turmoil in the MFF sections with play temporarily suspended in the final minutes.[14]

Kickoff times are in UTC+1 unless stated otherwise.

Group stage
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Malmö FF 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9 Advance to Knockout stage
2 IF Brommapojkarna 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3 Dalkurd FF 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3 1
4 Gefle IF 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1
Source: Swedish Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head record; 5) Highest ranked team
18 February 2018 Matchday 1 Malmö FF 1–0 Dalkurd FF Malmö
17:00 Rosenberg  87' (pen.) Report Stadium: Malmö IP
Attendance: 4,566
Referee: Magnus Lindgren
25 February 2018 Matchday 2 Gefle IF 0–3 Malmö FF Gävle
19:00 Report Jeremejeff  18'
Bengtsson  24'
Strandberg  89'		 Stadium: Gavlevallen
Attendance: 283
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
4 March 2018 Matchday 3 Malmö FF 3–1 IF Brommapojkarna Malmö
17:00 Jeremejeff  32'
Strandberg  47'
Svanberg  65'		 Report Ajeti  60' Stadium: Malmö IP
Attendance: 3,155
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson
Knockout stage
10 March 2018 Quarter-final Malmö FF 1–0 IFK Göteborg Malmö
13:00 Nielsen  18' Report Stadium: Malmö IP
Attendance: 4,135
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
17 March 2018 Semi-final Östersunds FK 0–1 Malmö FF Östersund
18:15 Report Traustason  79' Stadium: Jämtkraft Arena
Attendance: 3,416
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim
10 May 2018 Final Djurgårdens IF 3–0 Malmö FF Stockholm
15:00 UTC+2 Une Larsson  17'
Mrabti  47'
Ring  81'		 Report Stadium: Tele2 Arena
Attendance: 25,123
Referee: Bojan Pandžić

2018–19
The tournament continued into the 2019 season.
Main article: 2018–19 Svenska Cupen

Malmö FF entered the cup in the second round, where they were drawn against Division 1 club Lunds BK. The game was initially scheduled to be played on 23 August,[15] but was postponed because of Malmö FF's Europa League schedule and eventually rescheduled for 22 November.[16]

Qualification stage
22 November 2018 Round 2 Lunds BK 0–2 Malmö FF Lund
19:00 Report Rosenberg  56'
Molins  90+2'		 Stadium: Klostergårdens IP
Attendance: 3,619
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson

UEFA Champions League
Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Champions League

Qualifying phase and play-off round

Kickoff times are in UTC+2 unless stated otherwise. After changes to the UEFA Champions League qualifying phase, Malmö FF entered in the first round for the first time in 2018. Malmö FF were seeded in the first round, and were drawn against the winners of a preliminary tournament involving the champions of the four lowest ranked associations. The winners ended up being Kosovan champions FC Drita. Since Drita's home stadium did not live up to the standards set by UEFA, the game was played at Olympic Stadium Adem Jashari in Mitrovica, and Malmö FF came away with a decisive 3-0 victory which was followed by 2-0 at home to advance to the second round.

In the second round Malmö FF were once again seeded, but faced a tough draw in Romanian champions CFR Cluj. The first game was played in Cluj-Napoca where Carlos Strandberg scored a crucial away goal in the final minute of the first half which ended up being the only goal of the game. Cluj equalized on aggregate 36 minutes into the return leg in Malmö, but a second half long distance strike from Arnór Traustason sent MFF through to the third round.

The draw for the third round took place before the second round was finalized and the winners between Malmö FF and CFR Cluj were unseeded and drawn against the winners between Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad and Hungarian champions MOL Vidi FC. Against all odds Vidi ended up knocking out the Bulgarians and traveled to Malmö for the first game in the third round. Recently re-acquired Anders Christiansen opened the scoring an hour into the contest, but Vidi scored an equalizer ten minutes later after a defensive error that would end up as the decisive away goal when the return leg finished scoreless in Hungary.

First qualifying round
10 July 2018 First Leg FC Drita 0–3 Malmö FF Mitrovica
20:45 Report Strandberg  13'
Traustason  39'
Rosenberg  82'		 Stadium: Olympic Stadium Adem Jashari
Attendance: 9,780[17]
Referee: Boris Marhefka
17 July 2018 Second Leg Malmö FF 2–0
(5–0 agg.)		 FC Drita Malmö
19:00 Strandberg  55'
Larsson  60'		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 10,623[18]
Referee: Laurent Kopriwa
Second qualifying round
24 July 2018 First Leg CFR Cluj 0–1 Malmö FF Cluj-Napoca
19:00 UTC+3 Report Strandberg  45' Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu
Attendance: 6,950[19]
Referee: Nikola Dabanović
1 August 2018 Second Leg Malmö FF 1–1
(2–1 agg.)		 CFR Cluj Malmö
19:15 Traustason  55' Report Djoković  36' Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 18,153[20]
Referee: Andrew Dallas
Third qualifying round
7 August 2018 First Leg Malmö FF 1–1 MOL Vidi Malmö
19:15 Christiansen  62' Report Nego  71' Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 17,209[21]
Referee: Matej Jug
14 August 2018 Second Leg MOL Vidi 0–0
(a 1–1 agg.)		 Malmö FF Felcsút
20:00 Report Stadium: Pancho Aréna
Attendance: 3,432[22]
Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández

UEFA Europa League
The tournament continued into the 2019 season.
Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Europa League

Play-off round
Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round

After being knocked out by MOL Vidi FC in the third round of the Champions league qualifiers, Malmö FF entered the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League where they were seeded and drawn against Danish champions FC Midtjylland. After seemingly being in control of play and with a 2-0 lead an hour into the first game at home, MFF lost control the last half hour and ended up having to travel to Denmark with a tough a 2-2 result. In the return leg however, goals from Marcus Antonsson and Markus Rosenberg sent Malmö FF into the Europa League group stages.

Kickoff times are in UTC+2.

23 August 2018 First Leg Malmö FF 2–2 FC Midtjylland Malmö
19:15 Rosenberg  12'
Antonsson  25'		 Report Wikheim  60'
Okosun  77'		 Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 11,487[23]
Referee: Srđan Jovanović
30 August 2018 Second Leg FC Midtjylland 0–2
(2–4 agg.)		 Malmö FF Herning
19:15 Report Antonsson  32'
Rosenberg  79'		 Stadium: MCH Arena
Attendance: 9,175[24]
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük

Group stage
Malmö FF's home fixture against Sarpsborg 08.
Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage

Times up to 27 October 2018 (matchdays 1–3) are CEST (UTC+2), thereafter (matchdays 4–6) times are CET (UTC+1).

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GNK MAL BES SRP
1 Genk 6 3 2 1 14 8 +6 11 Advance to knockout phase — 2–0 1–1 4–0
2 Malmö FF 6 2 3 1 7 6 +1 9 2–2 — 2–0 1–1
3 Beşiktaş 6 2 1 3 9 11 −2 7 2–4 0–1 — 3–1
4 Sarpsborg 08 6 1 2 3 8 13 −5 5 3–1 1–1 2–3 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
20 September 2018 Matchday 1 K.R.C. Genk 2–0 Malmö FF Genk
18:55 Trossard  37'
Samatta  71'		 Report Stadium: Luminus Arena
Attendance: 11,590[25]
Referee: Aleksei Eskov
4 October 2018 Matchday 2 Malmö FF 2–0 Beşiktaş J.K. Malmö
21:00  53' (o.g.)
Rosenberg  76' (pen.)		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 17,174[26]
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev
25 October 2018 Matchday 3 Sarpsborg 08 FF 1–1 Malmö FF Sarpsborg
21:00 Halvorsen  87' Report Vindheim  79' Stadium: Sarpsborg Stadion
Attendance: 8,022[27]
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski
8 November 2018 Matchday 4 Malmö FF 1–1 Sarpsborg 08 FF Malmö
18:55 Antonsson  67' Report Mortensen  63' Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 17,601
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka
29 November 2018 Matchday 5 Malmö FF 2–2 K.R.C. Genk Malmö
21:00 Lewicki  65'
Antonsson  67'		 Report Pozuelo  42'
Paintsil  53'		 Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 16,117[28]
Referee: Srđan Jovanović
13 December 2018 Matchday 6 Beşiktaş J.K. 0–1 Malmö FF Istanbul
18:55 Report Antonsson  51' Stadium: Vodafone Park
Attendance: 24,955[29]
Referee: Luca Banti

Non-competitive

Pre-season

Malmö FF kicked of its pre-season with two friendlies at Malmö IP before traveling to Bradenton, Florida for pre-season camp. In Florida, MFF played its final matches before the start of Svenska Cupen against two MLS teams. During the group stage of the cup, Malmö FF scheduled additional friendlies to give players who did not feature heavily in the competition pre-season minutes. The games were played on an artificial practice field near Stadion.

Kickoff times are in UTC+1 unless stated otherwise.

20 January 2018 Malmö FF 1–0 Fremad Amager Malmö
13:00 Bergqvist  83' Report Stadium: Malmö IP
Attendance: 2,771
26 January 2018 Malmö FF 4–0 FC Flora Malmö
18:30  6' (o.g.)
Jeremejeff  8'
Strandberg  16'
Bergqvist  74'		 Report Stadium: Malmö IP
Attendance: 1,527
3 February 2018 New England Revolution 0–1 Malmö FF Bradenton
14:30 UTC−5 Report Strandberg  57' Stadium: IMG Academy
8 February 2018 D.C. United 1–2 Malmö FF Bradenton
14:30 UTC−5 Mattocks  56' Report Strandberg  85', 87' Stadium: IMG Academy
27 February 2018 Malmö FF 2–2 FC Roskilde Malmö
14:30 Hansson  20'
Brorsson  90+1'		 Report Lindberg  30'
Thygesen  40'		 Stadium: Plan 9
6 March 2018 Malmö FF 2–2 FC Nordsjælland Malmö
13:00 Rosenberg  32', 74' Report Sadiq  18'
 42' (o.g.)		 Stadium: Plan 9

Mid-season

Kickoff times are in UTC+2 unless stated otherwise.

20 June 2018 Malmö FF 2–0 Molde FK Malmö
11:00 Jeremejeff  52'
Ssewankambo  79'		 Report Stadium: Stadion
Attendance: 792
29 June 2018 FC Midtjylland 2–1 Malmö FF Herning
15:00 Sanneh  51'
Sparv  73'		 Report Rosenberg  41' (pen.) Stadium: Vildbjerg Sportcenter
3 July 2018 Malmö FF 3–1 Torns IF Malmö
Strandberg
Jeremejeff  (pen.)
Christiansen 		Report Podsiadly Stadium: Stadion
25 November 2018 Malmö FF 4–1 Trelleborgs FF Malmö
Bengtsson
Antonsson 		Report Hörberg
5 December 2018 Real Balompédica Linense 0–1 Malmö FF Marbella
12:30 UTC+1 Report Rieks Stadium: Estadio Municipal La Línea

Footnotes
  1. "Värvar stjärnan – för åtta miljoner". expressen.se (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  2. "Klart: Bachirou till Malmö FF". aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. "Köps loss av MFF för miljonsumma". expressen.se (in Swedish). Expressen. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  4. "Svanberg in på topplistan över största försäljningarna – får miljonlön i Serie A". fotbollskanalen.se (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  5. "Officiellt: Malmö FF-backen lämnar – klar för rysk klubb". expressen.se (in Swedish). Kvällsposten. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  6. "Avslöjar: Anfallaren lämnar Malmö för Häcken". aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. ""Det har tagit för stora proportioner"". aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. "Brorsson skämdes efter tungviktsmötet: "Dum"". svd.se (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  9. "Daniel Andersson ny huvudtränare i Malmö FF". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  10. "MFF sparkar tränaren – sportchefen tar över". svd.se (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  11. "Välkommen till Malmö FF, Uwe Rösler!". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  12. "Störst dramatik utanför planen för MFF". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  13. "Cupfinalen spelas på Tele2 Arena". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  14. "MFF föll tungt i cupfinalen – matchen avbruten i slutminuterna". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  15. "MFF möter Lunds BK i Svenska Cupen". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 7 July 2018. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  16. "Fastställd tid för cupmatchen mot Lunds BK". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 27 October 2018. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  17. "Drita vs. Malmö FF 0-3". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  18. "Malmö FF-Drita FC 2-0". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 17 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  19. "CFR Cluj vs. Malmö FF 0-1". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  20. "Malmö FF – CFR Cluj 1–1". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 1 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  21. "Malmö FF – Vidi FC 1–1". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 7 August 2018. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  22. "VIDI VS. MALMÖ FF 0 - 0". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  23. "MFF – FC Midtjylland 2–2". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  24. "Midtjylland vs. Malmö FF 0-2". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  25. "Genk vs. Malmö FF". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  26. "MFF – Besiktas JK 2–0". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  27. "Sarpsborg 08 vs. Malmö FF". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  28. "Malmö FF – KRC Genk 2–2". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 29 November 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  29. "Beşiktaş vs. Malmö FF". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
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