A late goal in a Bogotá rainy night gave Millonarios an important victory over Independiente Santa Fe, but it wasn’t enough to overhaul Deportes Tolima’s lead at the top. Nevertheless, three teams have now qualified for the quadrangular tournament and can begin to rest players over the next week or so. Here’s the action from matchday 17 of the Liga Dimayor.
Millonarios win El Clásico Capitalino
Millonarios defeated city rivals Santa Fe 2-1 in the ‘Clásico Capitalino’, registering their 7th home victory in a row. Despite numerous chances from both sides, the opening goal came from Diego Herazo in the 21st minute to put Millonarios ahead and seal the first half.
Neyder Moreno equalized for the Cardenales in the 64th minute with a shot inside the box, having entered as a substitute just 7 minutes before. With 3 minutes to go, Santa Fe defender Meza was unlucky to put the ball in the back of his own net, handing Millonarios a 2-1 victory.
Millonarios have conceded just 10 goals this season, the lowest tally of any team in the Dimayor.
90’ ¡BOGOTÁ ES AZUL Y BLANCA! ¡VAMOS MILLONARIOS! 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/9J2x6qGAxB
— Millonarios FC (@MillosFCoficial) April 25, 2022
Adrián Ramos: the ‘Soul’ of América de Cali
Elsewhere, Jaguares de Córdoda and América de Cali played out a 1-1 draw in Montería. Adrián Ramos, the man of the moment, has scored 7 of América’s last 12 goals. Ramos’s strike just before half time was cancelled out by a Viveros equalizer on the 70th minute. Neither team could push to find a winner.
The result leaves both teams mathematically still capable of making the top 8, but the reality is that they need results elsewhere to also go in their favour if they are to qualify for the next round.
¡GRAN PARTIDO JAGUARES!
Lo dimos todo en el terreno de juego. El partido finalizó 1-1 frente a América de Cali en nuestra casa.
¡Gracias a todo el público que nos acompañó!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/pDHoO3LDAL
— Jaguares de Córdoba (@JaguaresdeCord) April 24, 2022
Deportes Tolima remain solid at the top
Last night, Tolima went away to Alianza Petrolera and returned with a 2-0 victory – their 5th win in a row. Due to Copa Libertadores commitments, Tolima played with 7 players from the academy, making their performance even more impressive. Their winning goals came in the final 5 minutes, with Caicedo and Orozco sealing the victory. Tolima sit at the top with 35 points.
Triunfo de oro, triunfo especial 💪🏽 Con goles de Juan Fernando Caicedo y Yohandry Orozco, Deportes Tolima le ganó el duelo a Alianza Petrolera. pic.twitter.com/Fz7zhVRSJp
— Club Deportes Tolima S.A ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@cdtolima) April 25, 2022
Best of the rest…
Reigning champions Deportivo Cali have had a season to forget, and will be glad when this one is finally over. They suffered their 12th defeat of the season at the weekend, losing at home to Aguilas de Rio Negro 1-0. Aguilas have won their last 2 matches, taking them up to 14th in the table, but it looks a stretch too far to be able to qualify for the quadrangular.
Independiente de Medellín gained a triumphant 3-2 win over Atlético Bucaramanga. Luciano Pons’ equalizer at 2-2 and 8th goal of the season looked like the decisive moment of the game. But a late penalty for Independiente’s Cadavid gave them an important 3-2 win.
[Marcador final 🔴🔵]
Con fuerza, garra y corazón el #Poderoso logró remontar el marcador en el Alfonso López.
⚽ 32′ Víctor Moreno #3
⚽ 59′ Luciano Pons #9
⚽ 90′ Andrés Cadavid (P) #5🔴 🔵#VamosPoderoso#MásFuertesJuntos pic.twitter.com/LNSJheWD9t
— DIM (@DIM_Oficial) April 23, 2022
The Countdown
With just two matches remaining for each team (besides Junior, who have three), there is still so much to play for. There are three teams that can begin to prepare for the quadrangular, with around 10 teams still in with a shot of making the final eight places.
