FC Utrecht finished the regular season on the 5th spot on the Eredivisie league table. They were able to participate in the play-offs for a place in the preliminary round of the Europa League as a result. However, after having progressed the final by eliminating Heerenveen, FC Utrecht suffered two defeats in the final against Vitesse.
FC Utrecht had to start the season really early in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League, after having become the winner of the play-offs at the end of last season. This early beginning affected the start of the Eredivisie a little bit, as the results were not that good early on in the campaign. However, FC Utrecht improved as the first half of the season went on, especially after having beaten Ajax in Amsterdam.
Coach Erik ten Hag was taken over by Ajax during the winter break and his former assistant Jean-Paul de Jong became the new FC Utrecht coach for the second half of the season. His start was really good, as the Utrecht side remained unbeaten in the first ten games of 2018. For example, three straight draws were recorded against AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord and Ajax. The results deteriorated a little bit towards the end of the campaign, but participation in the play-offs was already ensured at that point, but FC Utrecht lost in the final against Vitesse.
Several players stood out this season, but Mark van der Maarel was the most decent player of them all. He scored several important goals, despite being a defender, and played very solid at the back as well. Zakaria Labyad and Yassine Ayoub have also played well this season by taking care of several assists and scoring quite some goals. Labyad will play for Ajax next season, while Ayoub will make a transfer to Feyenoord. Joris van Overeem (from AZ Alkmaar) and Simon Gustafson (who played for Roda JC on loan from Feyenoord this season) have already been signed to replace them.
