Categoría Primera A 2018

Liga Águila 2018
master	Apertura: Deportes Tolima Finalización: Junior
Copa Libertadores - Group Stage	Deportes Tolima , junior
Copa Libertadores - First Round	Independiente Medellín , Atlético Nacional
Copa Sudamericana	Once Caldas , La Equidad , Rionegro Águilas , Deportivo Cali
Cup winners	Atlético Nacional
Relegated	Boyacá Chicó FC , Leones FC
Teams	20th
Games	408  (of which 408 played)
Gates	882  (ø 2.16 per game)
Top scorer	Apertura: Germán Cano ( Independiente Medellín ) Finalización: Germán Cano ( Independiente Medellín )
← Categoría Primera A 2017 Categoría Primera A 2019 →
Categoría Primera B 2018 ↓

The Categoría Primera A 2018 , named Liga Águila after a sponsor , was a season of the highest Colombian men's football division consisting of Apertura and Finalización , which was organized by the División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano (DIMAYOR). The Apertura was the 87th and the Finalización the 88th edition of the Colombian Championship. The aperture started on February 2nd and ended on June 9th and the finalización started on July 21st and ended on December 16, 2018.

The newcomers were Boyacá Chicó FC from Tunja and Leones FC from Itagüí .

Apertura champion was Deportes Tolima , which prevailed in the final against Atlético Nacional on penalties and was able to win its second Colombian championship title. In the back series Junior was able to prevail against Independiente Medellín and won his eighth league title.

As relegated, the two newly promoted, Boyacá Chicó and Leones FC were determined early on.

mode

The mode remains largely unchanged compared to the previous year. Two champions are determined, one for each half series. In both phases, all 20 teams played against each other in league mode. In contrast to previous years, there is no match day with Clásicos on which games with a derby character are played. The first eight teams qualify for the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals and finals. In the draw for the quarter-finals, the teams in places one to four are in the first lottery pot and a team in places five to eight is drawn. In the final round, the team better placed in the overall table has home rights in the second leg.

Every semi-series champion is automatically qualified for the Copa Libertadores . Another place is awarded to the club that has the highest after adding up all the points and goals in phases 1 and 2 of the first and second semi-series championships. If a club wins both semi-series championships, the second participant in the Libertadores will be selected using the same procedure. A fourth starting place will be awarded to the winner of the Copa Colombia . If the cup winner is already qualified through the league, the starting place goes to the next best club in the overall table. The four participants in the Copa Sudamericana are determined according to the same scheme as the third Libertadores participant: the clubs that stand behind him in the overall annual ranking are qualified. Two direct relegated to the Categoría Primera B are determined by a separate relegation table, which is determined from the average of the past three seasons.

Attendees

The following clubs take part in the two half-series of the 2018 season, Apertura and Finalización .

Medellin Itagüí Envigado Barranquilla (2 stages) Barrancabermeja Tunja Manizales Bogotá (2 stadiums) Ibagué Palmira Cali Pasto Rionegro Montería Sahagún Bucaramanga Neiva

Venues of the Liga Águila 2018

team	city	Department	Stadion
Alianza Petrolera	Barrancabermeja	Santander	Villa Zapata
America de Cali	Cali	Valle del Cauca	Pascual Guerrero
Atlético Bucaramanga	Bucaramanga	Santander	Alfonso López
Atlético Huila	Neiva Ibagué Bogotá	Huila Tolima Bogotá DC	Plazas Alcid 1 Murillo Toro El Campín
Atlético Nacional	Medellin	Antioquia	Atanasio Girardot
Boyacá Chicó FC	Tunja	Boyacá	Independencia
Deportes Tolima	Ibagué	Tolima	Murillo Toro
Deportivo Cali	Cali / Palmira	Valle del Cauca	Deportivo Cali 2
Deportivo Pasto	Pasto	Nariño	Libertad
Envigado FC	Envigado	Antioquia	Polideportivo Sur
Independiente Medellin	Medellin	Antioquia	Atanasio Girardot
Independiente Santa Fe	Bogotá	Bogotá DC	El Campín
Jaguares de Cordoba	Montería Sahagún	Cordoba	Jaraguay 3 Armando Tuirán
Junior	Barranquilla	Atlántico	Metropolitano Romelio Martínez 4
La Equidad	Bogotá	Bogotá DC	Techo
Leones FC	Itagüí	Antioquia	Ciudad de Itagüí
Millonarios	Bogotá	Bogotá DC	El Campín
Once Caldas	Manizales	Caldas	Palogrande
Patriotas	Tunja	Boyacá	Independencia
Rionegro Águilas	Rionegro	Antioquia	Alberto Grisales
1Atlético Huila was not allowed to play in the stadium in Neiva until the end of March 2018 and avoided Ibagué. In addition, the quarter-final first leg of the Apertura was played in Bogotá. 2 Deportivo Cali is based in Cali, but the Estadio Deportivo Cali is in the neighboring municipality of Palmira. 3 Due to renovation work on the stadium in Montería, Jaguares played its home games in Sahagún until March 2018. 4th Due to the poor condition of the grass in the actual home stadium, Junior moved to the recently renovated former home stadium Romelio Martínez for a few home games.

Aperture

League phase

table

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Atlético Nacional	19th	12	5	2	023:100	+13	41
2.	Independiente Medellin	19th	11	2	6th	032:230	+9	35
3.	Deportes Tolima	19th	9	6th	4th	022:140	+8	33
4th	Atlético Huila	19th	9	3	7th	020:120	+8	30th
5.	Junior (P)	19th	8th	6th	5	019:160	+3	30th
6th	Deportivo Cali	19th	9	2	8th	026:170	+9	29
7th	Patriotas Boyacá	19th	8th	5	6th	017:180	−1	29
8th.	Once Caldas	19th	8th	3	8th	026:260	± 0	27
9.	Millonarios FC (M)	19th	7th	5	7th	019:180	+1	26th
10.	Envigado FC	19th	7th	5	7th	019:190	± 0	26th
11.	La Equidad	19th	6th	7th	6th	018:150	+3	25th
12.	Independiente Santa Fe	19th	7th	4th	8th	020:190	+1	25th
13.	Rionegro Águilas	19th	6th	7th	6th	018:220	−4	25th
14th	Jaguares de Cordoba	19th	7th	4th	8th	016:230	−7	25th
15th	Alianza Petrolera	19th	6th	5	8th	024:260	−2	23
16.	Atlético Bucaramanga	19th	6th	5	8th	022:240	−2	23
17th	America de Cali	19th	6th	4th	9	022:310	−9	22nd
18th	Deportivo Pasto	19th	5	5	9	015:190	−4	20th
19th	Boyacá Chicó FC (N)	19th	4th	4th	11	016:320	−16	16
20th	Leones FC (N)	19th	2	7th	10	013:230	−10	13
Stand: End of the league phase

	Participation in the quarter-finals
(M)	Master Finalización 2017 : Millonarios
(P)	Cup winner 2017 : Junior
(N)	Newcomers from the Primera B category: Boyacá Chicó, Leones FC

Final round

Quarter finals

The first legs were played on May 12 and 13 and the second legs on May 19 and 20, 2018.

Team # 1	total	Team # 2	First leg	Return leg
Deportivo Cali	1: 2	Atlético Nacional	1-0	0: 2
Junior	2: 3	Independiente Medellin	0: 1	2: 2
Once Caldas	1: 3	Deportes Tolima	1-0	0: 3
Patriotas Boyacá	1: 1 (1: 3 i.E.)	Atlético Huila	1: 1	0-0

Team # 1 played their first game at home.

Semifinals

The first legs were played on May 29 and 30 and the second legs on June 2 and 3, 2018.

Team # 1	total	Team # 2	First leg	Return leg
Atlético Huila	0: 0 (2: 4 on perk)	Atlético Nacional	0-0	0-0
Deportes Tolima	1: 1 (5: 3 i.E.)	Independiente Medellin	1-0	0: 1

Team # 1 played their first game at home.

final

The first leg was played on June 6 and the second leg on June 9, 2018. Deportes Tolima was able to prevail despite a first leg defeat at home and won the club's second championship title on penalties in Medellín.

Team # 1	total	Team # 2	First leg	Return leg
Deportes Tolima	2: 2 (4: 2 i.E.)	Atlético Nacional	0: 1	2: 1

Team # 1 played their first game at home.

First leg

pairing	Deportes Tolima - Atlético Nacional
Result	0: 1 (1: 0)
date	June 6, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. ( UTC − 5 )
Stadion	Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro , Ibagué
spectator	25,000
referee	André Rojas ( Bogotá )
Gates	0: 1 Dayro Moreno (57.)
Deportes Tolima	Álvaro Montero , Juan Guillermo Arboleda , Luis Payares , Fainer Torijano , Danobis Banguero , Rafael Robayo (from 76. Rafael Carrascal ), Carlos Rentería , Sebastián Villa , Yohandry Orozco , Omar Albornoz (from 76. Robin Ramírez ), Ángelo Rodríguez (from 44 . Marco Pérez ). Trainer: Alberto Gamero
Atlético Nacional	Fernando Monetti , Helibelton Palacios , Felipe Aguilar Mendoza , Alexis Henríquez , Diego Braghieri (from 65. Rafael Marcelo Delgado ), Jorman Campuzano , Aldo Leão Ramírez (from 73. Raúl Loaiza ), Gonzalo Castellani , Jeison Lucumí , Reinaldo Lenis (from 68. Vladimir Hernández ), Dayro Moreno . Coach: Jorge Almirón
yellow cards	none - Jorman Campuzano, Fernando Monetti

Return leg

pairing	Atlético Nacional - Deportes Tolima
Result	1: 2 (0: 0) 2: 4 i. E.
date	June 9, 2018 at 7:15 p.m. ( UTC − 5 )
Stadion	Estadio Atanasio Girardot , Medellín
spectator	44,695
referee	Luis Sánchez ( Valle del Cauca )
Gates	0: 1 Sebastián Villa (47.) 1: 1 Vladimir Hernández (66.) 1: 2 Danobis Banguero (90. + 4) Penalties: 1: 0 Dayro Moreno 1: 1 Sebastián Villa 2: 1 Alexis Henríquez 2: 2 Omar Albornoz Montero holds against Lenis 2: 3 Danovis Banguero Montero holds against Hernández 2: 4 Marco Pérez
Atlético Nacional	Fernando Monetti , Helibelton Palacios , Felipe Aguilar Mendoza , Alexis Henríquez , Diego Braghieri (from 85th Juan Zúñiga ), Jorman Campuzano , Gonzalo Castellani , Macnelly Torres (from 55th Aldo Leão Ramírez ), Vladimir Hernández , Jeison Lucumí (from 71st Reinaldo Lenis ), Dayro Moreno . Coach: Jorge Almirón
Deportes Tolima	Álvaro Montero , Juan Guillermo Arboleda , Julián Quinones , Fainer Torijano , Danobis Banguero , Rafael Robayo , Carlos Rentería (from 75. Robin Ramírez ), Carlos Robles , Sebastián Villa , Yohandry Orozco (from 69. Omar Albornoz ), Ángelo Rodríguez (from 45 . Marco Pérez ). Trainer: Alberto Gamero
yellow cards	none - Carlos Rentería, Ángelo Rodríguez, Marco Pérez
References	Juan Zúñiga - none

List of goalscorers

If the number of hits is the same, the players are sorted alphabetically.

Pl.	player	team	Gates
1.	German Cano	Independiente Medellin	12
2.	Dayro Moreno	Atlético Nacional	9
	Iván Rivas	Patriotas Boyacá
4th	Omar Duarte	Atlético Huila	8th
	Edder Farías	Once Caldas
	Cristian Martínez Borja	America de Cali
	Humberto Osorio	Rionegro Águilas
8th.	Edwar López	Atlético Huila	7th
	Yairo Moreno	Independiente Medellin
	Carlos Peralta	La Equidad
	José Sand	Deportivo Cali

Finalización

League phase

table

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Deportes Tolima (M)	19th	12	3	4th	034:220	+12	39
2.	Once Caldas	19th	10	6th	3	025:160	+9	36
3.	La Equidad	19th	11	3	5	023:150	+8	36
4th	Atlético Bucaramanga	19th	11	2	6th	025:200	+5	35
5.	Independiente Medellin	19th	9	7th	3	029:190	+10	34
6th	Junior (P)	19th	9	5	5	032:170	+15	32
7th	Rionegro Águilas	19th	9	5	5	021:190	+2	32
8th.	Independiente Santa Fe	19th	8th	7th	4th	027:130	+14	31
9.	Atlético Nacional	19th	8th	6th	5	027:200	+7	30th
10.	Deportivo Cali	19th	8th	5	6th	019:150	+4	29
11.	Millonarios FC	19th	6th	7th	6th	023:230	± 0	25th
12.	America de Cali	19th	6th	7th	6th	019:200	−1	25th
13.	Envigado FC	19th	5	5	9	020:280	−8	20th
14th	Boyacá Chicó FC (N)	19th	5	5	9	019:280	−9	20th
15th	Patriotas Boyacá	19th	5	5	9	017:260	−9	20th
16.	Alianza Petrolera	19th	6th	1	12	022:330	−11	19th
17th	Atlético Huila	19th	4th	6th	9	013:220	−9	18th
18th	Deportivo Pasto	19th	3	6th	10	011:210	−10	15th
19th	Jaguares de Cordoba	19th	3	5	11	013:290	−16	14th
20th	Leones FC (N)	19th	1	6th	12	015:280	−13	09
Stand: End of the league phase

	Participation in the quarter-finals
(M)	Master Apertura 2018 : Deportes Tolima
(P)	Cup winner 2017 : Junior
(N)	Newcomers from the Primera B category: Boyacá Chicó, Leones FC

Final round

Quarter finals

The first legs were played on November 14th and 15th and the second legs on November 17th and 18th, 2018.

Team # 1	total	Team # 2	First leg	Return leg
Independiente Santa Fe	2: 2 (3: 4 on behalf)	Deportes Tolima	1: 2	1-0
Rionegro Águilas	2: 1	Once Caldas	1-0	1: 1
Junior	1-0	La Equidad	1-0	0-0
Independiente Medellin	3: 2	Atlético Bucaramanga	3-0	0: 2

Team # 1 played their first game at home.

Semifinals

The first legs were played on November 21st and 22nd and the second legs on November 25th, 2018.

Team # 1	total	Team # 2	First leg	Return leg
Independiente Medellin	4: 2	Deportes Tolima	2: 2	2-0
Rionegro Águilas	3: 4	Junior	2: 3	1: 1

Team # 1 played their first game at home.

final

The first leg was played on December 9th and the second leg on December 16, 2018. Thanks to a clear 4-1 first leg win in Barranquilla , Junior was able to prevail despite the defeat in Medellín and became champions.

Team # 1	total	Team # 2	First leg	Return leg
Junior	5: 4	Independiente Medellin	4: 1	1: 3

Team # 1 played their first game at home.

First leg

pairing	Junior - Independiente Medellín
Result	4: 1 (0: 0)
date	December 9, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. ( UTC − 5 )
Stadion	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez , Barranquilla
spectator	40,072
referee	John Hinestroza ( Chocó )
Gates	1-0 Luis Fernando Díaz (50th) 2-0 James Sánchez (56th) 2-1 Germán Cano (65th) 3-1 Teófilo Gutiérrez (80th) 4-1 Marlon Piedrahita (88th)
Junior	Sebastián Viera , Marlon Piedrahita , Jefferson Gómez , Rafa Pérez , Gabriel Fuentes , Luis Narváez , Víctor Cantillo , James Sánchez , Jarlan Barrera (from 90th + 1 Fabián Sambueza ), Teófilo Gutiérrez (from 83rd Yony ​​González ), Luis Fernando Díaz . Coach: Julio Comesaña
Independiente Medellin	David González , Elvis Perlaza , Hernán Pertuz , Jesús Murillo , Sebastián Macías , William Parra , Larry Angulo (from 86th Yulián Anchico ), Andrés Ricaurte , Brayan Castrillón (from 62nd Leonardo Castro ), Juan Fernando Caicedo , Germán Cano . Coach: Octavio Zambrano
yellow cards	Jarlan Barrera, James Sánchez - William Parra, Leonardo Castro

Return leg

pairing	Independiente Medellín - Junior
Result	3: 1 (1: 0)
date	December 16, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. ( UTC − 5 )
Stadion	Estadio Atanasio Girardot , Medellín
spectator	43,445
referee	Carlos Betancur ( Valle del Cauca )
Gates	1: 0 Leonardo Castro (45.) 2: 0 Leonardo Castro (54.) 2: 1 Yony González (71.) 3: 1 Germán Cano (80.)
Independiente Medellin	David González , Elvis Perlaza , Jesús Murillo , Hernán Pertuz , Sebastián Macías (from 82nd Jean Carlos Blanco ), Larry Angulo , Andrés Ricaurte , Brayan Castrillón (from 74th Ever Valencia ), Leonardo Castro (from 82nd Yulián Anchico ), Juan Fernando Caicedo , Germán Cano . Coach: Octavio Zambrano
Junior	Sebastián Viera , Marlon Piedrahíta , Jefferson Gómez , Rafa Pérez , Gabriel Fuentes , Luis Narváez , Víctor Cantillo , James Sánchez , Jarlan Barrera (from 49. Fabián Sambueza ), Luis Fernando Díaz (from 62. Yony ​​González ), Teófilo Gutiérrez . Coach: Julio Comesaña
yellow cards	Larry Angulo, Juan Fernando Caicedo, Germán Cano, Andrés Ricaurte, Ever Valencia - James Sánchez, Teófilo Gutiérrez, Marlon Piedrahita

List of goalscorers

If the number of hits is the same, the players are sorted alphabetically.

Pl.	player	team	Gates
1.	German Cano	Independiente Medellin	20th
2.	Marco Perez	Deportes Tolima	17th
3.	Michael Rangel	Atlético Bucaramanga	11
4th	Luis Fernando Díaz	Junior	10
	Dayro Moreno	Atlético Nacional
	Carlos Peralta	La Equidad
	Diego Valdés Giraldo	Boyacá Chicó FC
8th.	César Arias	Alianza Petrolera	8th
	David Lemos	Independiente Medellin
10.	Jarlan Barrera	Junior	7th
	Juan Fernando Caicedo	Independiente Medellin
	Wilson Morelo	Independiente Santa Fe

Overall table

For the Reclasificación , all games of the 2018 season, both the league and the final phase, are added up to determine the other participants in addition to the respective champions of the semi-series in the continental competitions. The relegated members are determined by a separate relegation table.

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Independiente Medellin	48	25th	11	12	076:540	+22	86
2.	Deportes Tolima	48	25th	10	13	066:460	+20	85
3.	Atlético Nacional	44	22nd	13	9	054:330	+21	79
4th	Junior	46	20th	14th	12	062:430	+19	74
5.	Once Caldas	42	19th	10	13	053:470	+6	67
6th	La Equidad	40	17th	11	12	041:310	+10	62
7th	Rionegro Águilas	42	16	14th	12	044:460	−2	62
8th.	Deportivo Cali	40	18th	7th	15th	046:340	+12	61
9.	Atlético Bucaramanga	40	18th	7th	15th	049:470	+2	61
10.	Independiente Santa Fe	40	16	11	13	049:350	+14	59
11.	Atlético Huila	42	13	13	16	034:350	−1	52
12.	Millonarios FC	38	13	12	13	042:410	+1	51
13.	Patriotas Boyacá	40	13	12	15th	035:450	−10	51
14th	America de Cali	38	12	11	15th	041:510	−10	47
15th	Envigado FC	38	12	10	16	039:470	−8	46
16.	Alianza Petrolera	38	12	6th	20th	046:590	−13	42
17th	Jaguares de Cordoba	38	10	9	19th	029:520	−23	39
18th	Boyacá Chicó FC	38	9	9	20th	036:590	−23	36
19th	Deportivo Pasto	38	8th	11	19th	026:400	−14	35
20th	Leones FC	38	3	13	22nd	028:510	−23	22nd
Status: end of season

	Participation in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores 2019 : Deportes Tolima (Master Apertura), Junior (Master Finalización)
	Participation in the qualification for the Copa Libertadores 2019 : Independiente Medellín, Atlético Nacional (cup winners)
	Participation in the Copa Sudamericana 2019 : Once Caldas, La Equidad, Rionegro Águilas, Deportivo Cali
	Relegation to the Categoría Primera B 2019 : Boyacá Chicó, Leones FC

Relegation table

For the relegation table, the games of the league phases of the back and forth series in 2016, 2017 and 2018 are added up. Before the start of the season, the respective promoted team receives the number of points of the last team not relegated from the previous year.

Pl.	society	Sp.	T	GT	Diff.	Pt.	Prom.
20th	Leones FC	118	101	152	−51	112	0.949
19th	Boyacá Chicó FC	118	108	161	−53	126	1,068
18th	Alianza Petrolera	118	132	166	−34	135	1,144
17th	Deportivo Pasto	118	120	140	−20	135	1,144
16.	Atlético Huila	118	106	135	−29	138	1,169
15th	Envigado FC	118	120	138	-18	141	1,195
14th	Jaguares de Cordoba	118	104	138	−34	144	1.22
13.	America de Cali	118	118	136	−18	153	1,297
12.	Patriotas	118	115	129	−14	155	1.314
11.	Rionegro Águilas	118	122	139	-17	156	1,322
10.	Once Caldas	118	136	141	0-5	156	1,322
9.	La Equidad	118	125	123	0+2	156	1,322
8th.	Atlético Bucaramanga	118	128	131	0-3	161	1,364
7th	Deportivo Cali	118	157	129	+28	177	1.5
6th	Deportes Tolima	118	155	132	+23	182	1,542
5.	Junior	118	161	121	+40	189	1,602
4th	Millonarios	118	155	112	+43	190	1.61
3.	Independiente Santa Fe	118	134	95	+39	193	1,636
2.	Independiente Medellin	118	183	128	+55	211	1,788
1.	Atlético Nacional	118	182	90	+90	234	1,983

Relegation to the Categoría Primera B : Boyacá Chicó, Leones FC

Web links

• Website of the Dimayor

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Boyacá Chicó y Leones, los nuevos 'inquilinos' de la A en 2018 , accessed on December 12, 2017
2. ↑ ¡Hazaña del Deportes Tolima! Campeón imponiéndose en casa de Nacional , accessed on December 17, 2018
3. ↑ ¡A pesar de la angustia, Junior gritó campeón en final electrizante! , accessed December 17, 2018
4. ↑ Boyacá Chicó acompañará a Leones de Itagüí en el Torneo de la B , accessed on November 2, 2018
5. ↑ Estos son los cambios que tendrá el fútbol colombiano en 2018. elcolombiano.com, December 12, 2017, accessed on December 15, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Dimayor prohibió al Huila jugar en el estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid (Spanish) , accessed on January 19, 2018
7. ↑ Huila regresa hoy al 'Plazas Alcid' para seguir con su buena racha (Spanish) , accessed on March 26, 2018
8. ↑ Jaguares de Córdoba jugará sus partidos de Local en el estadio de Sahagún , accessed on February 14, 2018
9. ↑ Jaguares de Córdoba volverá a jugar en casa , accessed on March 10, 2018
10. ↑ Junior vs. Deportivo Pasto se jugará en el Romelio Martínez , accessed on July 30, 2018
11. ↑ Junior aprovecha la feria del error del DIM y pone la final 4-1 , accessed on December 10, 2018
12. ↑ ¡Se prendió el carnaval: Junior, campeón de la Liga de Colombia! , accessed December 17, 2018
13. ↑ Junior sufrió, pero se coronó campeón de la Liga Aguila 2018- II , accessed on December 17, 2018