2022–23 Liga I

Liga I 2022–23
Season information
Dates	16 July 2022–1 June 2023
Winners	Farul Constanța
Relegated	Mioveni Chindia Târgoviște Argeș Pitești
Continental cup qualifiers
Champions League	Farul Constanța
Europa Conference League	FCSB Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe CFR Cluj
Season statistics
Matches played	317
Goals scored	758
Top goalscorer	Marko Dugandžić (22 goals)
Biggest home win	Farul Constanța 8–0 Botoșani (4 December 2022)
Biggest away win	Argeș Pitești 0–5 Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe (5 November 2022)
Highest scoring	Farul Constanța 7-2 Rapid București (6 May 2023)
← 2021–22	2023–24 →

The 2022–23 Liga I (also known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons) was the 105th season of the SuperLiga, the top professional league for Romanian association football clubs. The season started on 16 July 2022 and will end in May 2023. It was the eighth season to take place since the play-off/play-out format has been introduced. Farul Constanța claimed the title, ending the five season domination of the Transylvanian side CFR Cluj.

After the conclusion of the regular season, teams will be divided according to their place to enter either the championship play-offs or the relegation play-outs.

The teams ranked 15th and 16th at the end of the play-out tournament will be directly relegated, while the 13th and 14th places played a promotion/relegation play-off against 3rd and 4th places from Liga II.

Teams

The league consisted of 16 teams: 12 from the 2021–22 Liga I, two teams from the 2021–22 Liga II, and the winners of the 2021–22 promotion/relegation play-off.

Teams promoted to the Superliga

The first club to be promoted was Petrolul Ploiești, following their 2–0 win against Concordia Chiajna on 9 May 2022. Petrolul Ploiești returned in the Superliga after 6 years of absence.

The second club to be promoted was Hermannstadt, following their 0–0 draw against CSA Steaua București on 15 May 2022. Hermannstadt returned in the Liga I after only 1 year of absence.

The third club to be promoted was Universitatea Cluj, following their 1–1 draw against Dinamo București on 29 May 2022, in the promotion/relegation play-offs. Universitatea Cluj returned in the Liga I after 7 years of absence.

Teams relegated to the Liga II

The first club to be relegated was Gaz Metan Mediaș, which were relegated on 2 April 2022 following a 0–4 defeat against UTA Arad, ending their 6-year stay in the top flight. Gaz Metan had severe financial problems and was repeatedly penalized, finally ending the season only with financial support from the Romanian Football Federation and the Romanian Professional Football League.

The second club to be relegated was Academica Clinceni, which were relegated on 8 April 2022 following their 0–3 defeat against Chindia Târgoviște, ending their 3-year stay in the top flight. Academica had also severe financial problems and was repeatedly penalized, also being denied a license for the new season since March 2022.

The third club to be relegated was Dinamo București, which were relegated on 29 May 2022 following their 1–1 draw against Universitatea Cluj in the promotion/relegation play-offs, thus ending their 74-year stay in the top flight. Dinamo is the second most titled club in Romania and relegated for the first time in their history.

Venues

FCSB	Universitatea Craiova	FC U Craiova	Universitatea Cluj
Arena Națională	Ion Oblemenco	Ion Oblemenco	Cluj Arena
Capacity: 55,634	Capacity: 30,929	Capacity: 30,929	Capacity: 30,201
CFR Cluj	Petrolul Ploiești	Chindia Târgoviște	Argeș Pitești
Dr. Constantin Rădulescu	Ilie Oană	Ilie Oană	Nicolae Dobrin
Capacity: 23,500	Capacity: 15,073	Capacity: 15,073	Capacity: 15,000
Rapid București			UTA Arad
Rapid			Francisc von Neuman
Capacity: 14,047			Capacity: 12,700
Mioveni			Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
Orășenesc			Sepsi Arena
Capacity: 10,000			Capacity: 8,400
Hermannstadt	Botoșani	Voluntari	Farul Constanța
Gaz Metan	Municipal	Anghel Iordănescu	Viitorul
Capacity: 7,814	Capacity: 7,782	Capacity: 4,600	Capacity: 4,554

Personnel and kits

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

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Argeș Pitești	Prepeliță, AndreiAndrei Prepeliță	Ionuț Șerban	Macron	Getica 95, MozzartBet
Botoșani	Teja, MihaiMihai Teja	Alin Șeroni	Adidas	Trutzi, Elsaco
CFR Cluj	Petrescu, DanDan Petrescu	Mário Camora	Nike	eToro
Chindia Târgoviște	Mihalcea, AdrianAdrian Mihalcea	Cristian Neguț	Joma	Gias Grafit XPS
Farul Constanța	Hagi, GheorgheGheorghe Hagi	Ionuț Larie	Nike	OMV Petrom
FCSB	Nicolae Dică	Florinel Coman	Nike	Betano
FC U Craiova	Croitoru, MariusMarius Croitoru	William Baeten	Adidas	Justice for Craiova
Hermannstadt	Măldărășanu, MariusMarius Măldărășanu	Ionuț Stoica	Nike	Unibet
Mioveni	Stoican, FlaviusFlavius Stoican	Ionuț Burnea	Macron	Mioveni
Petrolul Ploiești	Constantin, NicolaeNicolae Constantin	Valentin Țicu	Adidas	MRS Residence
Rapid București	Mutu, AdrianAdrian Mutu	Cristian Săpunaru	Nike	Superbet, Mobexpert
Sepsi OSK	Bergodi, CristianoCristiano Bergodi	Bogdan Mitrea	Adidas	Diószegi, Gyermelyi
Universitatea Cluj	Neagoe, EugenEugen Neagoe	Romário Pires	Adidas	Superbet, IRUM, De'Longhi
Universitatea Craiova	Radoi, MirelMirel Radoi	Nicușor Bancu	Puma	Betano
UTA Arad	Poenaru, IlieIlie Poenaru	Florin Iacob	Saller	Efbet, International Alexander Holding
Voluntari	Ciobotariu, LiviuLiviu Ciobotariu	Igor Armaș	Nike	Metropola TV

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
UTA Arad	Badea, IonuțIonuț Badea	End of contract	31 May 2022	Pre-season	Poenaru, IlieIlie Poenaru	2 June 2022
Chindia	Săndoi, EmilEmil Săndoi	Mutual agreement	31 May 2022	Pre-season	Mihalcea, AdrianAdrian Mihalcea	7 June 2022
FC U Craiova	Napoli, NicolòNicolò Napoli	End of contract	31 May 2022	Pre-season	Croitoru, MariusMarius Croitoru	23 June 2022
Botoșani	Croitoru, MariusMarius Croitoru	Mutual agreement	7 June 2022	Pre-season	Teja, MihaiMihai Teja	9 June 2022
Universitatea Craiova	Reghecampf, LaurențiuLaurențiu Reghecampf	Mutual agreement	12 June 2022	Pre-season	Balint, LászlóLászló Balint	13 June 2022
FCSB	Anton Petrea	Resigned	25 July 2022	12	Nicolae Dică	26 July 2022
Universitatea Craiova	Laszlo Balint	Sacked	9 August 2022	9	Mirel Rădoi	9 August 2022
Mioveni	Alexandru Pelici	Sacked	23 August 2022	16	Flavius Stoican	23 August 2022
Universitatea Cluj	Erik Lincar	Resigned	25 August 2022	15th	Eugen Neagoe	25 August 2022
Chindia Targoviste	Adrian Mihalcea		20 September 2022	16th	Anton Petrea	21 September 2022
FC U Craiova 1948	Marius Croitoru	Sacked	10 October 2022	11th	Nicolo Napoli	9 November 2022
Arges Pitesti	Andrei Prepelita		24 October 2022	11th	Marius Croitoru	26 October 2022
UTA Arad	Ilie Poenaru		1 November 2022	15th	László Balint	1 November 2022
FCSB	Nicolae Dica	Resigned	1 November 2022	7th	Leonard Strizu	30 November 2022
CS Mioveni	Flavius Stoican	Sacked	1 November 2022	16th	Nicolae Dica	14 January 2023
FC Botosani	Mihai Teja	Resigned	10 November 2022	12th	Flavius Stoican	10 December 2023
Universitatea Craiova	Mirel Rădoi		7 December 2022	5th	Eugen Neagoe	1 January 2023
Universitatea Cluj	Eugen Neagoe		1 January 2023	14th	Ioan Ovidiu Sabau	2 January 2023
FC Petrolul Ploiesti	Nicolae Constantin		6 February 2023	7th	Florin Parvu	7 February 2023
Arges Pitesti	Marius Croitoru		7 March 2023	15th	Bogdan Vintila	15 March 2023
FCSB	Leonard Strizu		3 March 2023	3rd	Elias Charalambous	30 March 2023
UTA Arad	László Balint	Sacked	25 April 2022	14th	Mircea Rednic	25 April 2023

Regular season

In the regular season the 16 teams will meet twice for a total of 30 matches per team, with the top 6 advancing to the Championship play-offs and the bottom 10 qualifying for the relegation play-outs.

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Farul Constanța	30	19	7	4	54	28	+26	64	Qualification for the Play-off round
2	CFR Cluj	30	20	3	7	54	28	+26	63
3	FCSB	30	17	6	7	51	35	+16	57
4	Universitatea Craiova	30	16	6	8	37	27	+10	54
5	Rapid București	30	15	7	8	40	26	+14	52
6	Sepsi OSK	30	11	9	10	47	30	+17	42
7	FC U Craiova 1948	30	11	7	12	34	33	+1	40	Qualification for the Play-out round
8	Petrolul Ploiești	30	11	3	16	28	44	−16	36
9	Universitatea Cluj	30	8	10	12	25	37	−12	34
10	Voluntari	30	8	10	12	28	32	−4	34
11	Botoșani	30	7	11	12	29	44	−15	32
12	Chindia Târgoviște	30	7	11	12	32	42	−10	32
13	Hermannstadt	30	11	8	11	30	29	+1	32
14	Argeș Pitești	30	6	9	15	21	41	−20	27
15	UTA Arad	30	6	9	15	29	41	−12	27
16	Mioveni	30	4	10	16	23	45	−22	22

Source: LPF, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Play-off.

Results

Home \ Away	ARG	BOT	CFR	CHI	FAR	FCS	FCU	HER	MIO	PET	RAP	SPS	UCJ	UCV	UTA	VOL
Argeș Pitești		0–2	0–1	2–1	0–0	1–2	0–2	0–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	0–5	3–1	1–0	2–0	0–0
Botoșani	0–0		1–1	3–2	1–1	2–3	1–0	0–0	1–1	5–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–1
CFR Cluj	3–1	0–1		2–0	1–3	0–1	3–1	0–1	4–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	4–0
Chindia Târgoviște	1–1	2–2	0–2		1–1	0–2	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–3	2–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–1	1–1
Farul Constanța	3–0	8–0	0–3	0–0		3–1	2–1	0–0	2–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–1
FCSB	3–2	1–0	0–1	3–2	2–3		1–1	2–2	5–1	4–1	3–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1
FC U Craiova 1948	1–0	1–0	3–1	0–1	1–2	0–2		1–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	5–0	1–2	1–1	2–1
Hermannstadt	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–1	4–0	0–1	1–0		3–0	2–1	0–2	1–2	0–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Mioveni	0–1	0–0	0–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2		1–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–3
Petrolul Ploiești	2–0	2–1	2–5	1–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–0		1–0	1–1	2–0	0–1	2–1	0–1
Rapid București	2–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–2	0–1	2–1	3–1		3–0	1–0	2–2	1–0	4–1
Sepsi OSK	4–0	7–0	2–2	2–2	0–1	0–1	4–0	2–1	0–1	2–0	1–2		2–1	0–1	0–0	1–1
Universitatea Cluj	1–1	2–0	1–2	1–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	2–2	0–1	0–0	0–1		1–1	0–0	2–1
Universitatea Craiova	1–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	4–3	2–1	0–2	2–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–2	1–0		2–1	1–1
UTA Arad	0–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	3–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–4	2–1	1–2		1–1
Voluntari	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–3	1–1	1–2	1–0	3–0	3–1	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–0

Source: LPF
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-off round

The top six teams from the regular season will meet twice (10 matches per team) for places in 2023–24 UEFA Champions League and 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League as well as deciding the league champion. Teams start the championship round with their points from the regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the regular season.

Play-off table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		FAR	FCS	CFR	CRA	RAP	SPS
1	Farul Constanța (C)	10	6	3	1	22	13	+9	53	Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round			3–2	1–0	3–2	7–2	2–1
2	FCSB	10	5	2	3	15	15	0	46	Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round		2–1		1–0	1–1	1–5	3–1
3	CFR Cluj (O)	10	2	4	4	11	14	−3	42	Qualification to European competition play-offs		1–2	1–1		1–1	2–2	2–1
4	Universitatea Craiova	10	3	4	3	15	14	+1	40			1–1	1–2	1–1		3–1	0–1
5	Rapid București	10	3	3	4	17	20	−3	38			1–1	1–0	3–1	2–3		0–0
6	Sepsi OSK	10	2	2	6	10	14	−4	29	Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round		1–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	2–0

Source: Soccerway, FRF, LPF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without rounding; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off (only if needed to decide champion or teams for UEFA competitions). (Note: only criteria 6 and 7 are applied to establish the classification during the competition.)
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner

Play-out round

The bottom ten teams from the regular season meet once to contest against relegation. Teams started the play-out round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season. The winner of the Relegation round finish 7th in the overall season standings, the second placed team – 8th, and so on, with the last placed team in the Relegation round being 16th.

Play-out table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation		FCU	PET	VOL	UCJ	HER	BOT	UTA	ARG	CHI	MIO
7	FC U Craiova 1948	9	4	4	1	13	7	+6	36	Qualification to European competition play-offs			0–1	3–3					2–1	1–0	3–0
8	Petrolul Ploiești	9	5	1	3	9	9	0	34	ineligible for european competitions					0–2	0–1	1–0	1–0			2–0
9	Voluntari	9	4	5	0	17	11	+6	34	Qualification to European competition play-offs			2–2			1–1	2–0	1–1			1–0
10	Universitatea Cluj	9	5	1	3	12	9	+3	33			1–3		2–3					2–0	2–0	1–0
11	Hermannstadt	9	4	3	2	10	7	+3	31			0–0			1–2		1–1		2–1
12	Botoșani	9	4	3	2	10	5	+5	31			0–0			0–0				1–0	1–0	5–1
13	UTA Arad (O)	9	3	3	3	10	9	+1	26	Qualification for the relegation play-offs		1–1			2–0	1–0	0–2
14	Argeș Pitești (R)	9	3	1	5	10	11	−1	24				3–0	0–2				2–2		1–0
15	Chindia Târgoviște (R)	9	2	1	6	7	12	−5	23	Relegation to 2023–24 Liga II			1–2	2–2		1–2		2–1
16	Mioveni (R)	9	0	0	9	1	19	−18	11							0–2		0–2	0–2	0–1

Source: Soccerway, FRF, LPF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without rounding; 3) Points in the regular season; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Play-off (only if needed to decide teams for relegation). (Note: only criteria 4 and 5 are applied to establish the classification during the competition.)
(O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated

European play-offs

In the semi-final, the 7th and 8th-placed teams of the Liga I typically play a one-legged match on the ground of the better placed team (7th place). In the final, the winner of the play-out semi-final will play the highest ranked team of the play-off tournament, that did not already qualify for European competitions. The winner of the final will enter the second qualifying round of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League.

European play-off semi-final

26 May 2023	FC U Craiova 1948	3–3 (5–4 pen)	Voluntari	Craiova
20:00 EEST (UTC+3)	Chițu  36', 63' Baeten  60'		Aliji  78' Sigurjonsson  85' (pen.) Dumiter  90+7'	Stadium: Stadionul Ion Oblemenco Referee: Horațiu Feșnic
		Penalties
	Duarte Baeten Asamoah Sidibe Zanfir Ganea		Sigurjonsson Răduț Armaș Matricardi Dumiter Paz

European play-off final

1 June 2023	CFR Cluj	1–0 (a.e.t.)	FC U Craiova 1948	Cluj-Napoca
20:30 EEST (UTC+3)	Kolinger  97'			Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Referee: István Kovács

Promotion/relegation play-offs

The 13th and 14th-placed teams of the Liga I faces the 3rd and 4th-placed team of the Liga II.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Gloria Buzău	1–5	UTA Arad	0–0	1–5
Dinamo București	8–5	FC Argeș	6–1	2–4

First leg

28 May 2023	Gloria Buzău	0–0	UTA Arad	Buzău
14:00 EEST (UTC+3)		Report		Stadium: Municipal Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Andrei Chivulete (București)

29 May 2023	Dinamo București	6–1	FC Argeș	București
20:00 EEST (UTC+3)	Quentin Bena  15' Gorka Larrucea  24' Alexandru Pop  28' Lamine Ghezali  40' Dani Iglesias  56' Lamine Ghezali  62'	Report	Mario Zebić  55'	Stadium: Arena Națională Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Horațiu Feșnic (Cluj-Napoca)

Second leg

4 June 2023	UTA Arad	5–1	Gloria Buzău	Arad
21:00 EEST (UTC+3)	Virgiliu Postolachi  16' Andrei Chindriș  49' Andrei Chindriș  65' Virgiliu Postolachi  80' Philip Otele  89'	Report	Valentin Alexandru  68'	Stadium: Francisc von Neuman Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Radu Petrescu (București)

3 June 2023	FC Argeș	4–2	Dinamo București	Mioveni
21:00 EEST (UTC+3)	Costinel Tofan  14' Antonio Jakoliš  15' Arnold Garita  47' Arnold Garita  51'	Report	Lamine Ghezali  40' Alexandru Pop  60'	Stadium: Orășenesc Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Sebastian Colțescu (Craiova)

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 1 June 2023

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Marko Dugandžić	Rapid București	22
2	Andrea Compagno	FCSB / U Craiova 1948	20
3	Sebastian Mailat	Botoșani	16
4	Denis Alibec	Farul Constanța	14
	Andrei Ivan	Universitatea Craiova
	Daniel Paraschiv	Hermannstadt
7	Paul-Arnold Garita	Argeș Pitești	12
8	Vitalie Damașcan	Voluntari	11
	Rangelo Janga	CFR Cluj
	Alexandru Tudorie	Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Doru Popadiuc	Chindia Târgoviște	Voluntari	3–0 (A)	22 October 2022
Denis Alibec	Farul Constanța	Botoșani	8–0 (H)	4 December 2022
Marko Dugandžić	Rapid București	Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe	3–0 (H)	20 January 2023
Marko Dugandžić	Rapid București	Voluntari	4–1 (H)	4 February 2023
Aurelian Chițu	U Craiova 1948	Universitatea Cluj	3–1 (A)	8 April 2023
Denis Alibec	Farul Constanța	Rapid București	7–2 (H)	6 May 2023

Top assists

As of 1 June 2023

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Ciprian Deac	CFR Cluj	11
2	Alexandru Ioniță	Rapid București	10
3	Florinel Coman	FCSB	9
4	Cristian Neguț	Chindia Târgoviște	8
	Denis Alibec	Farul Constanța
6	Adnan Aganović	Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe	7
	Darius Olaru	FCSB
	Yassine Bahassa	U Craiova 1948
9	Octavian Popescu	FCSB	6
	Marius Ștefănescu	Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
	Juan Bauza	U Craiova 1948
	Cristian Manea	CFR Cluj
	Constantin Budescu	Petrolul Ploiești

Clean sheets

As of 1 June 2023

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Mihai Popa	Voluntari	13
	Mihai Aioani	Farul Constanța
3	Horațiu Moldovan	Rapid București	12
4	Andrei Gorcea	Universitatea Cluj	11
	Roland Niczuly	Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
6	Octavian Vâlceanu	Petrolul Ploiești	10
	Karlo Letica	AFC Hermannstadt
8	Eduard Pap	Botoșani	9
	Ionuț Gurău	U Craiova 1948
	Simone Scuffet	CFR Cluj

Gazeta Sporturilor Monthly Football Awards

Player of the Month

Year	Month	Player	Nationality	Pos.	Team
2022	July	Marius Ștefănescu	Romania	FW	Sepsi OSK
	August	Andrea Compagno	Italy	FW	FC U Craiova/FCSB
	September	Baba Alhassan	Ghana	MF	FC Hermannstadt
	October	Doru Popadiuc	Romania	MF	Chindia Târgoviște
2023	February	Malcom Edjouma	France	MF	FCSB
	March	Adrian Mazilu	Romania	FW	Farul Constanța
	April	Florinel Coman	Romania	FW	FCSB
	May	Tudor Băluță	Romania	MF	Farul Constanta

Manager of the Month

Year	Month	Manager	Nationality	Team
2022	July	Cristiano Bergodi	Italy	Sepsi OSK
	August	Gheorghe Hagi	Romania	Farul Constanța
	September	Marius Măldărășanu	Romania	FC Hermannstadt
	October	Gheorghe Hagi (2)	Romania	Farul Constanța
2023	February	Gheorghe Hagi (3)	Romania	Farul Constanța
	March	Dan Petrescu	Romania	CFR Cluj
	April	Gheorghe Hagi (4)	Romania	Farul Constanța
	May	Gheorghe Hagi (5)	Romania	Farul Constanța

Awards

Annual awards

Award	Winner	Club
Superliga Manager of the Season	Gheorghe Hagi	Farul Constanța
Superliga Player of the Season	Denis Alibec

External links

• Official website

Template:2022–23 in Romanian football