| Competition: | Liga I |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Dates: | 21 August 2020 – 27 May 2021 |
| Relegated: | Hermannstadt Astra Giurgiu Politehnica Iași |
| Winners: | CFR Cluj |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | CFR Cluj |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa Conference League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | FCSB Universitatea Craiova Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe |
| League Topscorer: | Florin Tănase (24 goals) |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Mirko Pigliacelli (16 clean sheets) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (26 October 2020) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (21 December 2020) |
| Highest Scoring: | (27 September 2020) Academica Clinceni 4-3 Botoșani (14 May 2021) |
| Matches: | 256 |
| Total Goals: | 570 |
| Longest Wins: | 7 matches FCSB Universitatea Craiova |
| Longest Losses: | 5 matches Politehnica Iași Dinamo București Gaz Metan Mediaș |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 11 matches Argeș Pitești |
| Longest Winless: | 13 matches Dinamo București |
| Highest Attendance: | 0 (behind closed doors) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 0 (behind closed doors) |
| Attendance: | 0 (behind closed doors) |
| Average Attendance: | 0 (behind closed doors) |
| Prevseason: | 2019–20 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 |
| Updated: | 19 May 2021 |
The 2020–21 Liga I (also known as Casa Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons) was the 103rd season of the Liga I, the top professional league for Romanian association football clubs. The season started on 21 August 2020 and ended on 19 May 2021.[1] CFR Cluj were winners and three-time defending champions. It was the sixth season to take place in the play-off/play-out format, and the first since the 2005–06 season to feature 16 teams.
The play-off/play-out rule was also altered, with the first six teams at the regular season qualified for the play-off tournament and the last ten for the play-out. The first six teams played two matches against each other as before, but in the play-out the teams only played once against each other. At the end of the play-out, the first two places (or the 7th and 8th overall) played a single match on the ground of the lower ranked team, and the subsequent winner played the last team ranked on a UEFA Europa Conference League spot in the play-off. The winner of the latter encounter qualified for the Europa Conference League.[2]
The teams ranked 15th and 16th at the end of the play-out tournament were directly relegated, while the 13th and 14th places played a promotion/relegation play-off against 3rd and 4th places from Liga II.[2]
The league consists of 16 teams: 13 from the 2019–20 Liga I, two teams from the 2019–20 Liga II, and the winner of the 2019–20 promotion/relegation play-off.
Teams promoted to the Liga I
The first club to be promoted was UTA Arad, following their 1–1 draw against FC Argeș on 2 August 2020. UTA returned in the Liga I after 12 years of absence.[3]
The second club to be promoted was FC Argeș, following their 1–1 draw against UTA Arad on 2 August 2020. FC Argeș returned in the Liga I after 11 years of absence.[4]
Teams relegated to the Liga II
No teams were relegated from the 2019–20 Liga I.
Initially, two clubs would have been relegated at the end of the 2019–20 Liga I season, with a third playing a relegation play-off with the 3rd-placed team from the 2019–20 Liga II. The first club to have been relegated would have been Chindia Târgoviște, following a 0–1 defeat on 2 August 2020 against Politehnica Iași, ending their 1-year stay in the top flight.[5] However, owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the previous season, the league table was frozen on 6 August 2020[6] and no teams were directly relegated. Instead, Chindia Târgoviște played a promotion/relegation play-off against CS Mioveni and kept their Liga I spot after a 3–1 aggregate result.
| FCSB | Universitatea Craiova | CFR Cluj | Dinamo București | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Națională | Ion Oblemenco | Dr. Constantin Rădulescu | Dinamo | |
| Capacity: 55,634 | Capacity: 30,929 | Capacity: 23,500 | Capacity: 15,032 | |
| FC Argeș | UTA Arad | Chindia Târgoviște | Politehnica Iași | |
| Nicolae Dobrin | Francisc von Neuman | Municipal | Emil Alexandrescu | |
| Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 12,700 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 11,390 | |
| Astra Giurgiu | Gaz Metan Mediaș | |||
| Marin Anastasovici | Gaz Metan | |||
| Capacity: 8,500 | Capacity: 7,814 | |||
| FC Botoșani | Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe | |||
| Municipal | Municipal | |||
| Capacity: 7,782 | Capacity: 5,200 | |||
| Hermannstadt Sibiu | Voluntari | Viitorul Constanța | Academica Clinceni | |
| Gaz Metan | Anghel Iordănescu | Viitorul | Clinceni | |
| Capacity: 7,814 | Capacity: 4,600 | Capacity: 4,554 | Capacity: 4,500 | |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academica Clinceni |  | Răzvan Patriche | Joma | Nicmar Prima Service | |
| Argeș Pitești | | Ionuț Șerban | Macron | Primăria Pitești, Getica 95 | |
| Astra Giurgiu | | Valerică Găman | Joma | Tinmar Energy | |
| Botoșani | |  Jonathan Rodríguez | Erreà | Elsaco | |
| CFR Cluj | | Mário Camora | Nike | NTT Data | |
| Chindia Târgoviște | | Daniel Florea | Joma | Consiliul Județean Dâmbovița | |
| Dinamo București |  | Ante Puljić | Macron | Unibet | |
| FCSB | | Florin Tănase | Nike | City Insurance | |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | | Răzvan Pleșca | Joma | Romgaz | |
| Hermannstadt | | Răzvan Dâlbea | Joma | , Natur House | |
| Politehnica Iași |  | Andrei Cristea | Joma | Superbet | |
| Sepsi OSK | Leontin Grozavu | Rachid Bouhenna | Adidas | Diószegi, Gyermelyi | |
| Universitatea Craiova | Nicușor Bancu | Puma | Betano | ||
| UTA Arad | | Ciprian Rus | Saller | Efbet, International Alexander Holding | |
| Viitorul Constanța | | Romario Benzar | Nike | OMV Petrom | |
| Voluntari | | Cosmin Achim | Macron | - |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Politehnica Iași | | End of contract | 7 August 2020[7] | Pre-season | Daniel Pancu | 11 August 2020[8] | |
| Viitorul Constanța | | Mutual agreement | 7 August 2020 | Pre-season |  Rubén de la Barrera | 7 August 2020[9] | |
| Dinamo București | | Mutual agreement | 26 August 2020[10] | 7 | Cosmin Contra | 26 August 2020[11] | |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | | Sacked | 24 September 2020[12] | 6 | Jorge Costa | 30 September 2020[13] | |
| Universitatea Craiova | Cristiano Bergodi | Sacked | 7 November 2020 | 1 | Corneliu Papură | 13 November 2020 | |
| Viitorul Constanța | Rubén de la Barrera | Sacked | 30 November 2020 | 7 | Mircea Rednic | 2 December 2020 | |
| CFR Cluj | Dan Petrescu | Sacked | 30 November 2020 | 3 | Edward Iordănescu | 3 December 2020 | |
| Dinamo București | Cosmin Contra | Mutual Agreement | 3 December 2020 | 12 | Ionel Gane | 4 December 2020 | |
| Argeș Pitești | Ionuț Moșteanu | Sacked | 12 December 2020 | 16 | Andrei Prepeliță | 13 December 2020 | |
| Voluntari | Mihai Teja | Sacked | 28 December 2020 | 13 | Bogdan Andone | 29 December 2020 | |
| Hermannstadt | Rubén Albés | Sacked | 14 January 2021 | 14 | Liviu Ciobotariu | 15 January 2021 | |
| Politehnica Iași | Daniel Pancu | Sacked | 28 January 2021 | 16 | Andrei Cristea | 29 January 2021 | |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | Jorge Costa | Sacked | 1 February 2021 | 10 | Mihai Teja | 1 February 2021 | |
| Universitatea Craiova | Corneliu Papură | Sacked | 1 February 2021 | 3 | Marinos Ouzounidis | 5 February 2021 | |
| Viitorul Constanța | Mircea Rednic | Sacked | 8 April 2021 | 13 | Cătălin Anghel | 11 April 2021 | |
| Voluntari | Bogdan Andone | Sacked | 8 May 2021 | 14 | Liviu Ciobotariu | 8 May 2021 | |
| Astra Giurgiu | Eugen Neagoe | Sacked | 8 May 2021 | 13 | Ionuț Badea | 9 May 2021 |
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.
The top six teams from Regular season will meet twice (10 matches per team) for places in 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, and 2021–22 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.[14]
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.[14]
In the semi-final, the 7th and 8th-placed teams of the Liga I plays a one-legged match on the ground of the better placed team (7th place). In the final, the winner of the semi-final will encounter the team ranked on the last UEFA Europa Conference League spot in the play-off tournament. The winner of the final will enter the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The 13th and 14th-placed teams of the Liga I faces the 3rd and 4th-placed team of the Liga II.
As of games played on 20 May 2021[15] [16] [17]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florin Tănase | FCSB | 24 |
| 2 | Cephas Malele | FC Argeș | 18 |
| 3 | Dennis Man | FCSB | 14 |
 Hamidou Keyta | Botoșani | ||
| 4 | Ciprian Deac | CFR Cluj | 13 |
| 5 | Alexandru Cicâldău | Universitatea Craiova | 11 |
| 6 | Kevin Luckassen | Viitorul Constanța | 9 |
| Ronaldo Deaconu | Gaz Metan | ||
| 7 | Constantin Budescu | Astra Giurgiu | 8 |
| Gabriel Debeljuh | CFR Cluj | ||
| Olimpiu Morutan | FCSB |
As of games played on 23 April 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olimpiu Moruțan | FCSB | 15 |
| 2 | Constantin Budescu | Astra Giurgiu | 8 |
| 3 | Deian Sorescu | Dinamo București | 7 |
| Ronaldo Deaconu | Gaz Metan Medias | ||
| 5 | Petrișor Petrescu | Hermannstadt | 6 |
| 6 | Florinel Coman | FCSB | 5 |
| Dan Nistor | Universitatea Craiova | ||
| Juan Pablo Passaglia | Politehnica Iași | ||
| Ciprian Deac | CFR Cluj | ||
| Adrian Păun | CFR Cluj |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Man | FCSB | FC Argeș | 3–0 (H) | 20 September 2020 |
| Andrei Cristea | Politehnica Iași | FCSB | 5–2 (H) | 27 September 2020 |
| Constantin Budescu | Astra Giurgiu | UTA Arad | 6–0 (A) | 21 December 2020 |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marko Dugandžić | Botoșani | Politehnica Iași | 4–0 (H) | 30 August 2020 |
| Valentin Gheorghe | Astra Giurgiu | Sepsi OSK | 2–2 (H) | 13 September 2020 |
 Elvir Koljić | Universitatea Craiova | Viitorul Constanța | 4–1 (A) | 14 September 2020 |
| Gabriel Iancu | Viitorul Constanța | Astra Giurgiu | 4–1 (H) | 26 September 2020 |
| Jefté Betancor | Voluntari | Astra Giurgiu | 3–2 (A) | 3 October 2020 |
| Florin Tănase | FCSB | Dinamo București | 3–2 (H) | 3 October 2020 |
| Cephas Malele | FC Argeș | Viitorul Constanța | 2–2 (A) | 25 October 2020 |
| Vlad Morar | UTA Arad | Botoșani | 2–3 (A) | 31 October 2020 |
| Cosmin Achim | Voluntari | Politehnica Iași | 4–0 (H) | 7 November 2020 |
| Dennis Man | FCSB | Botoșani | 4–1 (H) | 7 November 2020 |
| Florin Tănase (2) | FCSB | Botoșani | 4–1 (H) | 7 November 2020 |
 Mario Rondón | CFR Cluj | FC Argeș | 2–0 (H) | 8 November 2020 |
| Nicolao Dumitru | Gaz Metan Mediaș | UTA Arad | 3–1 (A) | 9 November 2020 |
| Borja Valle | Dinamo București | Voluntari | 3–0 (H) | 20 November 2020 |
| Darius Olaru | FCSB | Gaz Metan Mediaș | 3–2 (A) | 23 November 2020 |
| Ciprian Deac | CFR Cluj | Politehnica Iași | 2–0 (A) | 6 December 2020 |
| Hamidou Keyta | Botoșani | Viitorul Constanța | 2–1 (A) | 15 December 2020 |
| Cephas Malele (2) | FC Argeș | Hermannstadt | 2–2 (H) | 16 December 2020 |
 Pavol Šafranko | Sepsi OSK | UTA Arad | 3–0 (H) | 17 December 2020 |
| Dennis Man (2) | FCSB | Universitatea Craiova | 2–0 (A) | 18 December 2020 |
 Shlomi Azulay | Astra Giurgiu | UTA Arad | 6–0 (A) | 21 December 2020 |
| Ze Manuel | Gaz Metan Mediaș | FC Voluntari | 2–0 (H) | 12 January 2021 |
| Florin Tănase (3) | FCSB | Astra Giurgiu | 3–0 (H) | 14 January 2021 |
| Hamidou Keyta (2) | FC Botoșani | Dinamo București | 4–0 (H) | 24 January 2021 |
| Kevin Luckassen | FC Viitorul | Sepsi OSK | 3–3 (H) | 26 January 2021 |
| Andrei Ciobanu | FC Viitorul | Dinamo Bucuresti | 5–0 (A) | 26 February 2021 |
| Antoni Ivanov | FC Voluntari | Politehnica Iași | 2–0 (A) | 1 March 2021 |
| Ciprian Deac (2) | CFR Cluj | FC Arges | 5–0 (H) | 1 March 2021 |
| Cephas Malele (3) | FC Argeș | Politehnica Iași | 2–1 (H) | 8 March 2021 |
| Ciprian Deac (3) | CFR Cluj | Politehnica Iași | 4–0 (H) | 14 March 2021 |
| FC Hermannstadt | FC Arges | 4–1 (H) | 3 April 2021 | |
| Cephas Malele (4) | FC Arges | Chindia | 3–1 (H) | 9 April 2021 |
| Florin Tanase (4) | FCSB | Academica Clinceni | 2–0 (A) | 22 April 2021 |
As of games played on 23 April 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirko Pigliacelli | Universitatea Craiova | 19 |
| 2 | Andrei Vlad | FCSB | 17 |
| 3 | Cristian Bălgrădean | CFR Cluj | 16 |
| 4 | Octavian Vâlceanu | Academica Clinceni | 14 |
| 5 | Mihai Aioani | Chindia Târgovişte | 13 |
| 6 | Florin Iacob | UTA Arad | 10 |
| 7 | Roland Niczuly | Sepsi OSK | 9 |
| David Lazar | Astra Giurgiu | ||
| 9 | Victor Rîmniceanu | Voluntari | 8 |
| 10 | Valentin Cojocaru | Viitorul Constanta | 6 |
| Alexandru Greab | Argeș Pitești |
As of games played on 16 February 2021
Ousmane Viera (Hermannstadt) Ondřej Bačo (Gaz Metan Mediaș) Alexandru Benga (UTA Arad) Valentin Gheorghe (Astra Giurgiu) Gabriel Matei (FC Argeș)