Cruzeiro and Santa Fe celebrated wins on a day of three draws

• Cruzeiro made their debut with a 2-1 win over Liga de Quito and Independiente Santa Fe beat Caracas 3-2 with a stoppage-time goal.
   
• Deportivo Cali rescued a 1-1 draw against Libertad with a strike from 38.4 meters by Jessica Bermeo, and all four Group D teams are level on one point.

A day after the opening day, the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina completed Matchday 1 in Quito with five matches, two wins and three draws. Cruzeiro celebrated their first appearance in the competition with a 2-1 win over Liga de Quito that left them alone at the top of Group C, and Bolívar earned the first point in their history in a 2-2 draw with Olimpia.

In Group D, Deportivo Cali rescued a 1-1 draw against Libertad with a stoppage-time strike from 38.4 meters by captain Jessica Bermeo, after playing almost the entire match with ten players. Nacional and Universidad de Chile played out a goalless draw, leaving all four teams in the group on one point. To close the matchday, Independiente Santa Fe beat Caracas FC 3-2 with a stoppage-time goal from Andrea Pérez and moved level with Corinthians on three points in Group A.

After Saturday’s rest day, Matchday 2 will begin on Sunday with Groups A and B: Belgrano will face Palmeiras, Colo-Colo will take on Independiente Santa Fe, Independiente del Valle will meet Universitario and Corinthians will play Caracas. On Monday, it will be the turn of Deportivo Cali vs. Nacional, Libertad vs. Universidad de Chile, Cruzeiro vs. Bolívar and Liga de Quito vs. Olimpia.

Deportivo Cali 1-1 Libertad

Deportivo Cali played with ten players from 11' into the first half, trailed until stoppage time and still rescued a 1-1 draw against Libertad at the Estadio Banco Guayaquil. The 2025 runners-up and the Paraguayan side opened Group D with the same scoreline as their draw in the previous edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina.

Goalkeeper Maryory Sánchez's sending-off forced an early change: Andrea Vera came on for Melanin Aponzá. Libertad had four shots on target in the first half and did not allow any, but Vera, who finished the match with four saves, kept the score goalless until the break. The Paraguayan side went ahead 24' into the second half, when María Tamay set up Ramona Martínez, who opened the scoring with a shot from outside the box.

Cali kept pushing, with Ingrid Guerra as their main creative force, and were rewarded in stoppage time: 48' into the second half, captain Jessica Bermeo unleashed a shot from 38.4 meters that found the net. Before the final whistle, the Colombians came close to a second goal in a move in which the ball hit the crossbar twice. The point extends Deportivo Cali's unbeaten run in the tournament's Group Stage to 13 matches. On Monday, the 'Azucareras' will face Nacional, while Libertad will take on Universidad de Chile.

The match in numbers:

• Deportivo Cali remain unbeaten in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina Group Stage after 13 matches (11W 2D). Both draws ended with the same scoreline (1-1), and both came against Libertad.
   
• María Tamay (Libertad) provided her first assist in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina. The Paraguayan midfielder already had one direct goal contribution, scoring against the very same opponents as today, Deportivo Cali, in 2025.
   
• The equalizer scored by Jessica Bermeo (Deportivo Cali) against Libertad is the longest-range goal (38.4m) in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina since Tifani Molina's strike for Alianza Lima against Ferroviária in 2025 (47.6m).
   
• Ramona Martínez (Libertad) scored her third goal in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, counting the last five editions. It is the second time in that span that she has scored in her team's opening match, after doing so for Limpeño against Always Ready in 2023.
   
• Ingrid Guerra created two chances in this match and is the Deportivo Cali player with the most key passes in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina since 2022, with 18. She is also the Azucareras player with the most shots in that span, with 29.
   
• Libertad had four shots on target and allowed none in the first half, leaving Deportivo Cali with their lowest number of shots on target in a first half across their last four CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina campaigns (level with last year's match against Nacional).
   
• Andrea Vera (Deportivo Cali) made four saves despite coming off the bench in this match. It is the third-highest tally for a goalkeeper who started a CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina match as a substitute in the last five years, behind Paula Valencia's five (Always Ready vs. Deportivo Cali) and Katherine Oñate's nine (Deportivo Lara vs. Santiago Morning), both in 2022.

Bolívar 2-2 Olimpia

Bolívar marked their debut in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina with a 2-2 draw against Olimpia at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, in the opening match of Group C. The 'Academia', who arrived in Quito after winning their country's league for the first time, took the lead, fell behind and equalized in the second half to earn the first point in their history in the tournament.

It was a frantic start. Brazilian Clenilda scored Bolívar's first goal in the competition 5' into the first half, assisted by goalkeeper Enyuli López, and a minute later Pamela Villalba equalized for Olimpia. The Paraguayan side turned the game around 2' into the second half with a goal from Erika Cartaman, but Carla Méndez struck 26' into that same half to make it 2-2.

Bolívar, who scored their two goals from just three shots on target, will face Cruzeiro on Monday, while Olimpia will take on Liga de Quito. Bolívar's debut also produced a record: Itziar Camacho, who came on in the second half, became, at 17 years and 56 days, the youngest player to feature for a Bolivian club in the last five editions of the tournament.

The match in numbers:

• Bolívar recorded 1.1 xG (expected goals) in this match against Olimpia. It is the second-highest figure for a Bolivian team in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, behind Always Ready's 1.4 against the same opponents in 2022.
   
• Bolívar scored two goals from just three shots on target today against Olimpia. It is the first time in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina that a Bolivian team has scored twice with three or fewer shots on target.
   
• Enyuli López (Bolívar) became the first goalkeeper in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina to provide an assist, which set up the opening goal against Olimpia.
   
• Clenilda (Bolívar) is the only non-Bolivian player to have scored for a Bolivian team in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina. The Brazilian had previously scored against Deportivo Cali for Always Ready, and today against Olimpia.
   
• Olimpia fell behind early, but equalized six minutes into the match through Pamela Villalba. It is the first time in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina that a team has drawn level within the first 10 minutes after conceding first.
   
• Itziar Camacho, of Bolívar, came on in the second half against Olimpia and, at 17 years and 56 days, is the youngest player to feature in a CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina match for a Bolivian team, counting the last five editions.

Nacional 0-0 Universidad de Chile

Nacional and Universidad de Chile repeated the 0-0 draw from their 2025 meeting and completed Matchday 1 of Group D at the Estadio Banco Guayaquil. With this result, all four teams in the group will head into Matchday 2 on Monday level on one point.

Universidad de Chile took the initiative from start to finish: they ended the match with 66% possession, 20 shots and 26 crosses, and allowed Nacional just one shot on target. Valentina Díaz was one of their most active players, with three key passes and three shots. Rebeca Fernández tried her luck from outside the box 11' into the first half, and Gabriela García came close to opening the scoring in first-half stoppage time with an effort that narrowly missed the target.

In the second half, the 'U' turned to their bench. Llanka Groff, who came on 19' into the half, fired a long-range shot at 30' that the Nacional goalkeeper pushed out for a corner. The 'Bolso', who featured South African Sinoxolo Cesane, kept a clean sheet until the end and took a point against the side that pushed harder.

The match in numbers:

• Universidad de Chile remain unbeaten and have yet to concede against Uruguayan opposition in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina. In addition to today's 0-0, they beat Peñarol 1-0 in the 2020 edition and had already drawn 0-0 with the Bolso in 2025.
   
• Universidad de Chile had 66% possession against Nacional. It is their second-highest possession figure in a match in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, surpassed only by the 68% they recorded against Libertad last year.
   
• Sinoxolo Cesane (Nacional), from South Africa, is the second African player to feature in a match in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, after Cape Verde's Diana Borges (Alianza Lima) in 2025.
   
• Universidad de Chile allowed Nacional just one shot on target in this match, the lowest figure in this regard for the U in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina.
   
• Universidad de Chile recorded 20 shots and 26 crosses today against Nacional. It is the second time they have reached those figures in both categories in a match in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, after their game against IDV in 2022, with 20 shots and 24 crosses.
   
• Valentina Díaz (Universidad de Chile) created three chances and had three shots, becoming the first U player to create 3+ chances and register 3+ shots in the same match in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina.

Cruzeiro 2-1 Liga de Quito

Cruzeiro celebrated their debut in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina with a 2-1 win over Liga de Quito at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, the Ecuadorian club's home ground. The 'Cabulosas' earned the first three points in their history in the tournament and moved clear at the top of Group C, ahead of Bolívar and Olimpia.

Gisseli opened the scoring 9' into the first half, netting the club's first goal in the competition. Liga de Quito responded by taking control of the ball, finishing with 59% possession, and equalized 35' into the first half: defender Justine Cuadra pounced on a rebound inside the box to make it 1-1, the score at the break.

The winner came 19' into the second half, when Marília played in Byanca Brasil, who advanced and finished past the onrushing goalkeeper. Liga de Quito pushed until the end, outshooting Cruzeiro 23 to 15, but came up against Camila Rodrigues, who made several saves and won a one-on-one in stoppage time. Cruzeiro, who created the clearer chances (2.0 expected goals to 1.4), will look to repeat the feat against Bolívar on Monday.

The match in numbers:

• LDU Quito had more possession than Cruzeiro in this match (59% to 41%) and also had more total shots (23 to 15). However, the Cabulosas accumulated more expected goals (xG): 2.0 xG to 1.4 xG.
   
• It is the third time in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina that an Ecuadorian team has outshot a Brazilian one: Club Ñañas against Ferroviária (13 to 12) in 2022, IDV against the same opponents (19 to 11) in 2024 and Liga de Quito against Cruzeiro (23 to 15) today.
   
• Counting from 2022, Byanca Brasil (Cruzeiro) scored her fourth goal in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, after finding the net three times in 2022. She had already scored against an Ecuadorian team: playing for Palmeiras against IDV.
   
• Brazilian teams have won seven of their last nine meetings with Ecuadorian opponents in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina (2D). It is the first time in this run that the win has gone to a team from outside the state of São Paulo.
   
• Justine Cuadra (Liga de Quito) is the third Ecuadorian defender to score in a match in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina. Analiz Zambrano against Ferroviária and Karen Litardo against Peñarol did so previously, both for IDV in 2024.
   
• This match between Cruzeiro and LDU Quito saw three efforts hit the woodwork, making it already the second game in this 2026 edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina with at least that many, along with Deportivo Cali vs. Libertad (4).
   
• Justine Cuadra (Liga de Quito) completed 91% of her passes (37 of 41), the fifth-best accuracy rate for an Ecuadorian player in the last five editions of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina, among those who attempted 40 or more passes.

Caracas FC 2-3 Independiente Santa Fe

Independiente Santa Fe beat Caracas FC 3-2 with a stoppage-time goal from Andrea Pérez in the rescheduled match that completed Matchday 1 of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado. The Colombian side, the tournament’s runners-up in 2021 and 2024, moved level with Corinthians on three points in Group A.

Caracas took the lead 26' into the first half: after a VAR review for a foul on María Maza inside the box, Emaiver Mota converted the penalty. Independiente Santa Fe had a goal ruled out at 39', equalized at 44' with a header from Katherine Valbuena and, in stoppage time, went into the break ahead thanks to a Mariana Zamorano penalty.

Both teams made two changes at half-time, and Caracas quickly drew level: 2' into the second half, Fabiola Solórzano finished to make it 2-2. Independiente Santa Fe made two more changes 20' into the second half, bringing on Brenda Cardona and Gabriela Huertas, and later introduced Isabella Díaz. With the match heading for a draw, Andrea Pérez scored the winner for the Colombian side 47' into the second half. On Sunday, Caracas will face Corinthians, while Independiente Santa Fe will take on Colo-Colo.

The match in numbers

• This is the first time since 2023 that Santa Fe have come from behind to win a CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina match after conceding the opening goal. They had previously recorded two draws and three defeats in such circumstances.
   
• Andrea Pérez and Mariana Zamorano became the fourth and fifth Santa Fe players to both score and provide an assist in a single CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina match since 2023. The other three achieved the feat in the same game: the 7-0 victory over Always Ready in 2025 (Karla Vianchá, Ysaura Viso and Mariana Muñoz).
   
• With this result, Colombian teams have now recorded four consecutive victories against Venezuelan opposition in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina. However, this was the first time during that winning streak that they conceded a goal against a Venezuelan side.
   
• Despite holding only a slight advantage in possession against Caracas (53% to 47%), Santa Fe registered almost three times as many shots as their Venezuelan opponents (20 to 6) and recorded a higher expected goals tally (2.5 xG to 1.2 xG).
   
• Manuela González (Santa Fe) registered seven shots against Caracas, the most by a player from the Colombian side in a single CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina match since 2023.
   
• Adrianny Luna (Caracas) led the Venezuelan side in touches (48), total passes (40), ball recoveries (9) and clearances (3, level with Emaiver Mota) against Santa Fe.