- The 2008 champions won Group G, eliminated Mirassol on penalties and fell in the quarterfinals to Palmeiras in a shootout, after losing 1-0 in São Paulo and winning 3-2 in Quito.
- Gonzalo Valle was the standout of the campaign and Estrada finished as the team's top scorer with three goals; the 'Rey de Copas' bowed out of the tournament at the same stage and against the same opponent that had eliminated them in the 2025 Semifinals.
Liga de Quito do not need to discover what it means to compete in the CONMEBOL Libertadores: it is part of their identity. The only Ecuadorian club to have lifted the trophy and semifinalists in the previous edition, the 'Albos' once again settled among the eight best teams on the continent after winning Group G and getting past Mirassol in a tie decided on penalties, with Gonzalo Valle as the protagonist.
The quarterfinals repeated the clash with Palmeiras, the opponent that had eliminated them in the 2025 Semifinals. The first leg, in São Paulo, ended 1-0 to the 'Verdão' with an Agustín Giay header in the 25th minute of the first half, on a night when Valle once again held the team together and left the tie open for Quito.
The return leg at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado was one of the most intense nights of the edition. Marlon Freitas extended the visitors' lead in the 9th minute of the first half and Luis Segovia equalized five minutes later, but a Vitor Roque penalty in the 28th minute of the second half left the aggregate 3-1 to Palmeiras. Liga did not give up: Michael Estrada headed in in the 45th and 45+3rd minutes of the second half, turned the match around and forced a penalty shootout. There, Carlos Miguel saved the kicks of Lucas Rodríguez and Segovia and the 'Verdão' prevailed 4-3.
The farewell left a historic mark: according to Opta, Estrada became the first player to score two goals from the 90th minute onward to turn a match around in the history of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. It was not enough to go through, but it summed up the character of a team that did not lose any of its five home matches in Quito in the edition.
Liga thus close their second consecutive campaign among the eight best in South America, once again with Palmeiras as the full stop. Gustavo Álvarez's side, who had taken over in July, came through their first knockout tie against Mirassol and went toe to toe with one of the top contenders; the Gloria Eterna of 2008 remains the only one in the trophy cabinet, and the 'Rey de Copas' are already thinking about trying again.
Liga de Quito in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Results and Schedule
Group Stage — Group G
Matchday 1: Always Ready 0-1 Liga de Quito
Gabriel Villamil (90+4’, assist by Michael Estrada).
Matchday 2: Liga de Quito 2-0 Mirassol
Yerlin Quiñónez (6’) and José Quintero (34’, assist by Janner Corozo).
Matchday 3: Lanús 1-0 Liga de Quito
Agustín Cardozo (74’, assist by Marcelino Moreno).
Matchday 4: Mirassol 2-0 Liga de Quito
Lucas Oliveira (47’) and Reinaldo (61’, penalty).
Matchday 5: Liga de Quito 2-0 Lanús
Felipe Peña Biafore (74’, own goal, following a corner taken by Leonel Quiñónez) and Fernando Cornejo (90+1’, assist by Jeison Medina).
Matchday 6: Liga de Quito 3-2 Always Ready
Yerlin Quiñónez (6’), Deyverson (76’) and Deyverson (88’) / Enrique Triverio (18’) and Fernando Nava (39’).
Round of 16
First Leg: Mirassol 1-1 Liga de Quito
Eduardo (15’) / Michael Estrada (82’).
Second Leg: Liga de Quito 0-0 Mirassol
Liga de Quito won the penalty shootout 5-4. Gonzalo Valle saved Victor Luis’ spot kick, and Fernando Cornejo converted the decisive penalty to seal qualification.
Quarterfinals
First leg: Palmeiras 1-0 Liga de Quito (25' 1H Agustín Giay)
Second leg: Liga de Quito 3-2 Palmeiras (14' 1H Luis Segovia, 45' 2H and 45+3' 2H Michael Estrada / 9' 1H Marlon Freitas and 28' 2H Vitor Roque, penalty). 3-3 on aggregate; Palmeiras won 4-3 in the penalty shootout.
Liga de Quito Head Coach in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Gustavo Álvarez
The group-stage campaign belongs to Tiago Nunes: the Brazilian coached all six matches and left the team qualified as Group G winners. His departure on July 16 opened the door for Gustavo Álvarez, who took over with less than a month of work before facing his first knockout challenge in the CONMEBOL Libertadores.
The 53-year-old Argentine coach arrived in Quito after winning the Chilean Primera División with Huachipato in 2023, the 2024 Copa Chile and the 2025 Supercopa de Chile with Universidad de Chile. He had previously coached Temperley, Aldosivi, Patronato, Sport Boys, Atlético Grau and San Lorenzo.
His first continental test ended in qualification: Liga drew 1-1 with Mirassol in Brazil, drew 0-0 in Quito and won 5-4 on penalties. The second left him one kick away from another feat. Against Palmeiras, after losing 1-0 in São Paulo and falling 3-1 behind on aggregate in Quito, his team turned the match around with two goals in stoppage time and took the tie to a shootout, where they lost 4-3. Álvarez leaves the edition with an unbeaten home record and the feeling of having come very close to repeating the 2025 Semifinals.
Full Liga de Quito Squad for the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores
Goalkeepers: 1. Gonzalo Valle - 12. Alexis Villa - 22. Alexander Domínguez - 34. Jostin García - 35. Argenis Preciado.
Defenders: 3. Richard Mina - 4. Ricardo Adé - 14. José Quintero - 23. Yerlin Quiñónez - 28. Josué Cuero - 30. Gian Allala - 33. Leonel Quiñónez - 44. Luis Segovia - 67. José Carabalí.
Midfielders: 5. Sebastián González - 8. Jesús Pretell - 13. Janner Corozo - 15. Gabriel Villamil - 18. Washington Olvera - 20. Fernando Cornejo - 21. Ederson Castillo - 24. Jandry Calle - 25. Patrick Ortiz - 26. Iván Zambrano - 31. Juan Rodríguez - 32. Edison Gómez - 37. Jordin Mina - 77. Elvis Velasco - 99. Cristian Tobar.
Forwards: 7. Rodney Redes - 10. Alexander Alvarado - 11. Michael Estrada - 16. Deyverson Brum - 27. Ruddy Mina - 36. Kevin Pineda.
Liga de Quito’s Key Player in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Gonzalo Valle
The goalkeeper was Liga de Quito's most consistent pillar in the competition. He played all six group-stage matches, kept three clean sheets and carried his influence into the Round of 16, where he held the team together in Brazil, responded in Quito against Daniel Borges in added time and saved the first kick of the shootout against Mirassol, taken by Victor Luis, to open the way to the 5-4.
The quarterfinals held the unfinished duel for him. A ligament injury had kept him out of the 2025 Semifinals against Palmeiras; a year later, Valle played both legs of the tie and in São Paulo was once again decisive in keeping the defeat to just 1-0. In Quito he could not prevent the goals from Marlon Freitas and Vitor Roque or tip the shootout, but he closed the campaign as one of the main reasons LDU were back among the eight best in South America for the second edition in a row.
Liga de Quito’s Top Scorer in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Michael Estrada
The forward finished the edition as Liga de Quito's top scorer, with three goals, all of them in the knockout ties. He scored the 1-1 in Brazil against Mirassol, in the first leg of the Round of 16, and in the second leg of the quarterfinals against Palmeiras he starred in one of the nights of the year: with the aggregate 3-1 against, he headed in the 2-2 in the 45th minute of the second half and, three minutes later, won the ball in the air again for the 3-2 that forced penalties.
According to Opta, Estrada became the first player to score two goals from the 90th minute onward to turn a match around in the history of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. In the shootout he converted his kick, although the tie ended on Palmeiras's side. Deyverson and Yerlin Quiñónez, with two goals each in the group stage, followed him on the internal chart.
Liga de Quito’s X-Factor in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores: Deyverson
The 35-year-old Brazilian joined Liga in January 2026 after spells at Cuiabá, Atlético Mineiro and Fortaleza, and with a big history in the competition: in 2021 he scored the extra-time goal that decided the CONMEBOL Libertadores Final for Palmeiras against Flamengo. In the group stage he changed the team's fate against Always Ready, coming off the bench with LDU losing 2-1 and momentarily out of the Round of 16, equalizing in the 31st minute of the second half and completing the comeback in the 43rd.
The quarterfinals put him up against his former club. In Quito he came off the bench in the 39th minute of the second half, in the midst of the comeback attempt, and in the shootout he opened proceedings with Liga's first converted kick. It was not enough: Palmeiras, the club with which he wrote his most important page in the competition, was also the one that ended his campaign.
Liga de Quito’s History in the CONMEBOL Libertadores
Liga de Quito hold a unique place in Ecuadorian football: they are the only club in the country to have won the CONMEBOL Libertadores. They did it in 2008, after beating Fluminense 4-2 in the first leg of the Final played in Quito.
The Brazilian side won the return 3-1 at the Maracanã and took the decider to penalties, where José Francisco Cevallos stopped three kicks to give LDU a 3-1 shootout win and the first official international title in the history of Ecuadorian football.
That coronation was the start of a continental collection that continued with the 2009 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, the 2009 and 2010 Recopas and a second Sudamericana in 2023. With five official trophies, they are the most decorated Ecuadorian club beyond their borders.
Recent memory feeds the ambition. In 2025 they eliminated Botafogo and São Paulo, beat Palmeiras 3-0 in the first leg of the Semifinals and were one step from the decider, although the Brazilian side overturned the tie with a 4-0 in São Paulo.
In 2026 they won their group again, got past Mirassol on penalties and reached the quarterfinals for the second edition in a row, where Palmeiras once again ended the journey: 0-1 in São Paulo, 3-2 in Quito with two Michael Estrada goals in stoppage time and 3-4 in the penalty shootout.
