The 2018–19 season was Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening's 38th consecutive season in top-division of the Danish football league, the 29th consecutive in Danish Superliga, and the 53rd as a football club. In addition to the Superliga, Brøndby participated in the Danish Cup and the UEFA Europa League. This marked the third season under head coach Alexander Zorniger, who was dismissed halfway through the season.

A disappointing Danish Superliga campaign saw the club finish in fourth place. Brøndby were also eliminated early in the UEFA Europa League, losing 9–4 on aggregate in the qualifying round to Belgian club Genk. They fared better in the domestic cup, but ultimately lost on penalties in the final to Midtjylland. Brøndby qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League after Randers in the play-off for Europe.

On 18 February 2019, after questions about his management style and a series of disappointing results, head coach Alexander Zorniger was sacked. His last game, the previous day, ended in a 2–1 defeat to Esbjerg fB. The following day, former Brøndby midfielder and Zorniger's assistant coach, Martin Retov, was appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the season, assisted by fellow former assistant Matthias Jaissle. Brøndby's chairman Jan Bech Andersen later said about Zorniger's dismissal, "If you can no longer change yourself and feel that you are compromising too much on your own way of leading people, it will end up in a bad place anyway."

Pre-season and friendlies Brøndby played a series of friendlies to prepare for the new season, defeating Herstedøster IC and Ledøje-Smørum Fodbold 6–0 and 6–1, respectively, in mid-June. The team then traveled to Austria for a training camp, where they lost 3–2 to Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk on 26 June and drew 3–3 against CSKA Sofia a week later. After returning to Denmark, Brøndby won their final pre-season friendly against 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli 3–0.

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendance17 June 2018Herstedøster ICA6–0Uhre (2) 30', 37', Nørgaard '45, Bruus (2) '52, '69', Crone 63'2,00022 June 2018Ledøje-SmørumA6–1Erceg 12', Nørgaard '35, Fisker '45, Wilczek (2) 71', 76', Vigen '851,30026 June 2018Shakhtar DonetskA2–3Fisker 50', Frendrup '6502 July 2019CSKA SofiaA3–3Erceg '28, Frendrup '4608 July 2018FC St. PauliH3–0Erceg '18, Kaiser '42, Wilczek 90+1'6,106

Competitions Overall record

Results summary

Danish Superliga

August–December The 2018–19 Danish Superliga fixtures were released on 4 June 2018. Brøndby played 26 matches during the regular season from 16 July 2018 to 17 March 2019.

Brøndby's first Danish Superliga game of the season was away at Randers on 16 July; Schwäbe, Kaiser, Erceg, Uhre, and Kopplin all made their debuts. Brøndby won the game 2–0 after goals from Erceg and substitute Kamil Wilczek. The team started the season strongly, securing 10 points from their first four matches. However, their momentum was halted by a 3–1 defeat in the Copenhagen Derby against Copenhagen in the fifth fixture of the season, which ended Brøndby's unbeaten streak against their rivals from the previous season.

Following the derby loss, Brøndby entered a difficult phase in the league. Over the next ten matches, the team struggled, managing only two wins, two draws, and six losses. This poor run of form saw Brøndby drop to a disappointing eighth place in the standings, with a seven-point gap to third-placed Esbjerg fB.

Despite these challenges, Brøndby managed to turn their season around just before the winter break. The team secured four consecutive victories, which significantly improved their position in the league. After a 2–1 win over Vejle in matchday 19, Brøndby climbed to third place, three points ahead of OB. Although their final match before the winter break resulted in a disappointing home defeat to Vendsyssel, Brøndby entered the break in a much stronger position than earlier in the autumn.

January–March In September 2018, director of football Troels Bech had announced he would be stepping down from his position Brøndby. The club appointed former player Ebbe Sand as his replacement, bringing experience from football management in Germany.

During the winter transfer window, Uffe Bech, Larsson, and Kopplin left the club, while Simon Hedlund joined from Union Berlin. Youth players Mads Hermansen, Jesper Lindstrøm, Anton Skipper, and Peter Bjur were promoted to the first team.

After a slow start to the spring season, with a draw against Nordsjælland and a loss to Esbjerg, popular head coach Alexander Zorniger departed. Assistant coach Martin Retov was promoted to lead the team, with Matthias Jaissle as his assistant. Their goal was to secure European qualification, through first and foremost securing top-six and a place in the championship round. Brøndby, in fourth place, needed results to stay ahead of AGF and OB. After mixed results in three matches, their place in the top six depended on the final game against Horsens. Despite falling behind early, Brøndby won 3–1, securing their spot in the championship round and a chance to compete for a top-three finish.

Upon securing their spot in top-six, Retov commented, "We've reached our first goal of making the top six, and now we aim for a top-three finish. We also look forward to the Danish Cup semifinal against AaB."

Match details

WinDrawLoss MatchdayDateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceLeagueposition116 July 2018RandersA2–0Erceg 30', Wilczek 63'6,4372nd222 July 2018VejleH1–1Wilczek 45'18,7854th329 July 2018HobroA2–1Larsson 59', Uhre 90+4'4,1681st45 August 2018NordsjællandH2–0Wilczek 38', Erceg, 90'19,2251st512 August 2018CopenhagenA1–3Erceg, 51'27,2484th619 August 2018EsbjergH0–113,7434th726 August 2018VendsysselA2–1Wilczek (2) 42', 68' 5,1613rd82 September 2018MidtjyllandH2–2Mukhtar 19', Laursen 59'14,2113rd916 September 2018SønderjyskEH2–4Wilczek 14', Mukhtar 21'16,5014th1023 September 2018AGFA2–3Wilczek (2) 29', 57'15,4185th1130 September 2018HorsensH1–2Wilczek 15'11,6268th127 October 2018AaBA3–1Wilczek 45+2', Mukhtar 48', Vigen 67'8,6296th1322 October 2018OBH1–1Mukhtar 82'12,1857th1429 October 2018MidtjyllandA2–3Bech 4', Larsson 31'10,1067th154 November 2018CopenhagenH0–120,7318th169 November 2018AGFH2–0Kaiser 68', Wilczek '87 (pen.)12,4526th1725 November 2018SønderjyskEA2–0Mukhtar 7', Wilczek 78'6,2355th182 December 2018HobroH1–0Tibbling '448,5124th199 December 2018VejleA2–1Wilczek 48', Uhre 59'6,9943rd2016 December 2018VendsysselH2–3Bech '41, Tibbling '5311,7813rd2110 February 2019NordsjællandA3–3Halimi '29 (pen.), Uhre '55, Radošević '85 (pen.)6,6583rd2217 February 2019EsbjergA1–2Röcker '867,0164th2324 February 2019RandersH2–1Mukhtar '38, Wilczek '85 (pen.)12,4723rd243 March 2019OBA0–211,1665th2510 March 2019NordsjællandH3–3Wilczek (2) '28 (pen.), 46', Erceg '6014,1524th2617 March 2019HorsensA3–1Radošević '36, Wilczek (2) 40', 72'5,0174th

Partial league table

Championship round The 2019 Danish Superliga championship round began on 29 March and featured the top six teams from the regular season. Points and goals from the regular season were carried over in full. Each team played 10 matches, facing the others both home and away. The team with the most points at the end was crowned champion and qualified for the UEFA Champions League, while the remaining positions determined qualification for other European competitions.

Brøndby had a challenging start to the 2019 championship round, earning just two points from their first four matches. With six games remaining and a four-point deficit to OB in the race for European qualification, their prospects in the league looked uncertain. Brøndby faced Midtjylland away on the 31st matchday, a match seen as a rehearsal for the upcoming Danish Cup final. Despite a strong record against Midtjylland, Brøndby fell behind early but rallied to win 2–1 with goals from Simon Hedlund and Jens Martin Gammelby, ending their four-game winless run, and adding three vital points to their tally. Brøndby then lost another two games, against Esbjerg fB and rivals Copenhagen before bouncing back with a win over Nordsjælland.

By this point, Brøndby was in sixth place, five points behind OB. To secure European qualification, they needed to win their final two league matches—a home game against Midtjylland and an away match against OB—while hoping OB would drop points. OB's draw with Nordsjælland kept Brøndby's hopes alive, and a convincing 4–1 home victory over Midtjylland set up a decisive final match in Odense. Brøndby secured a 2–0 win in a tense encounter, completing their late-season surge. Kamil Wilczek played a crucial role in Brøndby's final push, scoring three goals in the last two games and finishing the season with 21 league goals. With this achievement, he became the first Brøndby player to score more than 20 goals in a season since 2002.

Match details

MatchdayDateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceLeagueposition2729 March 2019OBH2–2Hedlund 42', Tibbling '7311,6794th288 April 2019NordsjællandA1–1Uhre 90+1'5,8864th2914 April 2019CopenhagenH1–2Hedlund 9'19,0865th3018 April 2019EsbjergA0–19,5115th3122 April 2019MidtjyllandA2–1Hedlund 12', Gammelby '7510,1245th3228 April 2019EsbjergH0–113,1775th335 May 2019CopenhagenA2–3Tibbling 6', Vavro 53' (o.g.)33,1345th3413 May 2019NordsjællandH2–0Uhre 30', Kaiser 35'9,2914th3520 May 2019MidtjyllandH4–1Wilczek (2) 38', 79', Hedlund '45, Tibbling '647,4685th3625 May 2019OBA2–0Wilczek 38', Uhre 73'14,2464th

Partial league table

European play-off match The 4th-placed team of the championship round advances to a play-off match against the winning team of the qualification round (no. 7) in a single-leg tie, with the team from the championship round as hosts. The winner earns a place in the Europa League second qualifying round.

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendance31 May 2019RandersH4–2Wilczek 55', Kaiser '67, Halimi '72, Riis Jakobsen 53' (o.g.)16,773

Danish Cup

UEFA Europa League

Having finished in second place in the 2017–18 Danish Superliga and having won the 2017–18 Danish Cup, Brøndby entered the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, where they faced off against Serbian club Spartak Subotica. In the first match at the Rajko Mitić Stadium, Brøndby secured a 2-0 victory, with Dominik Kaiser netting his first goal for the club just before halftime and Hany Mukhtar doubling the lead shortly after the break. Although Brøndby dominated with their high press, they struggled to convert possession into clear chances, yet they managed the game effectively to secure the win. In the return leg at Brøndby Stadium, Brøndby advanced in the Europa League qualification by defeating Subotica 2-1. Despite being reduced to ten men after Joel Kabongo's early red card, Dominik Kaiser put Brøndby ahead in the 68th minute. Subotica equalised ten minutes before the end through Dejan Đenić, but Kamil Wilczek secured the victory with a stoppage-time goal.