2021 Copa de la Liga Profesional

The 2021 Copa de la Liga Profesional was the second edition of the Copa de la Liga Profesional, an Argentine domestic cup. It began on 12 February and ended on 4 June 2021.

2021 Copa de la Liga Profesional
Tournament details
CountryArgentina
Dates12 February – 4 June 2021
Teams26
Final positions
ChampionsColón (1st title)
2022 Copa LibertadoresColón
Tournament statistics
Matches played176
Goals scored431 (2.45 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Rafael Santos Borré
Luis Miguel Rodríguez
(8 goals each)
← 2020
2022 →

Due to the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, the President of Argentina suspended all the activities, including the Copa de la Liga Profesional, between 22 and 30 May 2021.[1] Therefore, the semi-finals and final of the tournament were rescheduled for 31 May and 4 June 2021, respectively.[2]

The competition was contested by the 26 teams that will take part in the Primera División during the 2021 season, including the two promoted teams from the 2020 Primera Nacional (Sarmiento (J) and Platense).[3] Boca Juniors were the defending champions but they were eliminated in the semi-finals.

Colón won their first top-flight professional title after they defeated Racing 3–0 in the final. As champions, Colón qualified for the 2022 Copa Libertadores.[4]

Vélez Sarsfield, top team of the Zone B, were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Format

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For the group stage, the 26 teams were drawn into two groups of thirteen teams each, playing on a single round-robin basis. Additionally, each team played one interzonal match against its rival team in the other zone. In each group, the top four teams advanced to the quarter-finals. The final stages (quarter-finals, semi-finals and final) were played on a single-legged basis.[5]

Draw

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The draw for the group stage was held on 3 February 2021, 19:00, at Hilton Hotel in Buenos Aires.[6] The 26 teams were drawn into two groups of thirteen containing one team from each of the interzonal matches.

Interzonal matches
Team 1 Team 2

Group stage

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In the group stage, each group was played on a single round-robin basis. Additionally, each team played one interzonal match against its rival team in the other zone. Teams were ranked according to the following criteria: 1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss); 2. Goal difference; 3. Goals scored; 4. Head-to-head points; 5. Head-to-head goal difference; 6. Head-to-head goals scored; 7. Play off match; 8. Draw.[5][7]

The top four teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.

Zone A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Colón 13 7 4 2 23 10 +13 25 Advance to Quarter-finals
2 Estudiantes (LP) 13 6 4 3 16 10 +6 22
3 River Plate 13 6 3 4 25 11 +14 21
4 Racing 13 6 3 4 14 12 +2 21
5 San Lorenzo 13 6 3 4 16 16 0 21
6 Banfield 13 5 5 3 14 12 +2 20
7 Argentinos Juniors 13 5 4 4 14 11 +3 19
8 Rosario Central 13 5 3 5 16 18 −2 18
9 Central Córdoba (SdE) 13 4 5 4 14 17 −3 17
10 Godoy Cruz 13 4 3 6 18 24 −6 15
11 Platense 13 4 2 7 12 19 −7 14
12 Arsenal 13 3 3 7 11 23 −12 12
13 Aldosivi 13 3 2 8 15 21 −6 11
Source: AFA

Zone B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Vélez Sarsfield 13 10 1 2 23 13 +10 31 Advance to Quarter-finals
2 Boca Juniors 13 6 4 3 22 12 +10 22
3 Independiente 13 6 2 5 16 10 +6 20
4 Talleres (C) 13 5 5 3 19 16 +3 20
5 Lanús 13 6 1 6 18 18 0 19
6 Unión 13 4 7 2 12 14 −2 19
7 Atlético Tucumán 13 5 3 5 24 20 +4 18
8 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 13 3 6 4 15 20 −5 15
9 Huracán 13 2 7 4 14 17 −3 13
10 Patronato 13 4 0 9 12 17 −5 12
11 Defensa y Justicia 13 3 3 7 15 21 −6 12
12 Sarmiento (J) 13 2 6 5 10 19 −9 12
13 Newell's Old Boys 13 2 5 6 14 21 −7 11
Source: AFA

Results

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Zone A

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Home \ Away ALD ARG ARS BAN CCO COL EST GOD PLA RAC RIV ROS SLO
Aldosivi 1–3 3–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 0–1
Argentinos Juniors 3–2 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 0–1
Arsenal 0–2 1–1 0–5 0–0 2–1 0–0
Banfield 0–3 2–2 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–0
Central Córdoba (SdE) 1–1 0–3 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–5
Colón 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–0
Estudiantes (LP) 1–0 0–2 2–0 0–0 2–1 0–2
Godoy Cruz 2–3 0–1 1–0 0–2 3–1 1–6
Platense 0–2 1–3 0–2 0–1 4–1 2–4
Racing 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–4 1–0 2–0
River Plate 4–1 0–1 3–2 0–0 3–0 1–2
Rosario Central 2–1 2–1 3–1 2–2 0–1 2–2
San Lorenzo 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–4 1–0 2–0
Source: AFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Zone B

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Home \ Away ATU BOC DYJ GLP HUR IND LAN NOB PAT SAR TAL UNI VEL
Atlético Tucumán 5–0 1–1 2–2 4–2 2–3 2–0
Boca Juniors 3–1 2–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–2
Defensa y Justicia 3–2 4–0 1–0 2–2 0–1 1–1
Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 2–0 1–1 2–4 2–1 3–0 0–5
Huracán 0–2 1–1 1–3 0–0 3–0 1–1
Independiente 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 6–0
Lanús 2–1 2–1 1–3 4–2 1–0 1–2
Newell's Old Boys 0–1 2–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–0
Patronato 1–0 4–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–1
Sarmiento (J) 1–2 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–2
Talleres (C) 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–0 3–0 0–1
Unión 2–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–2 0–0
Vélez Sarsfield 1–7 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 4–1
Source: AFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Interzonal matches

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Round Home Score Away
1 Platense 1–1 Sarmiento (J)
2 Atlético Tucumán 1–2 Central Córdoba (SdE)
3 Argentinos Juniors 0–2 Vélez Sarsfield
4 San Lorenzo 1–1 Huracán
5 Boca Juniors 1–1 River Plate
6 Banfield 2–0 Lanús
7 Talleres (C) 1–1 Godoy Cruz
8 Patronato 2–0 Aldosivi
9 Racing 1–0 Independiente
10 Estudiantes (LP) 0–0 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)
11 Defensa y Justicia 0–1 Arsenal
12 Rosario Central 3–0 Newell's Old Boys
13 Colón 1–1 Unión

Source:AFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final stages

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Starting from the quarter-finals, the teams played a single-elimination tournament on a single-leg basis with the following rules:[5][7]

  • In the quarter-finals the higher-seeded team hosted the leg, while the semi-finals were played at a neutral venue.
  • The Final was played at a neutral venue.
    • If tied, extra time would be played. If the score was still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the champions.

Bracket

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
      
Estudiantes (LP) 0 (1)
Independiente (p) 0 (4)
Independiente 0
Colón 2
Colón (p) 1 (5)
Talleres (C) 1 (3)
Colón 3
Racing 0
Vélez Sarsfield 0 (2)
Racing (p) 0 (4)
Racing (p) 0 (4)
Boca Juniors 0 (2)
Boca Juniors (p) 1 (4)
River Plate 1 (2)

Quarter-finals

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Team 1  Score  Team 2
Colón 1–1 (5–3 p) Talleres (C)
Vélez Sarsfield 0–0 (2–4 p) Racing
Estudiantes (LP) 0–0 (1–4 p) Independiente
Boca Juniors 1–1 (4–2 p) River Plate

Matches

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Colón1–1Talleres (C)
Castro   13' Report Fragapane   24'
Penalties
Castro  
Aliendro  
Piovi  
Lértora  
Rodríguez  
5–3   Fragapane
  Retegui
  Pérez
  Soñora
Attendance: 0
Referee: Hernán Mastrángelo


Estudiantes (LP)0–0Independiente
Report
Penalties
Cauteruccio  
Noguera  
L. Rodríguez  
1–4   S. Romero
  Rodríguez
  Blanco
  Martínez
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pablo Echavarría

Boca Juniors1–1River Plate
Tevez   10' Report Álvarez   67'
Penalties
Tevez  
Villa  
Cardona  
Izquierdoz  
Buffarini  
4–2   Montiel
  Angileri
  Álvarez
  Ponzio
Attendance: 0
Referee: Facundo Tello

Semi-finals

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Team 1  Score  Team 2
Independiente 0–2 Colón
Racing 0–0 (4–2 p) Boca Juniors

Matches

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Independiente0–2Colón
Report Rodríguez   20' (pen.)
Pierotti   66'

Racing0–0Boca Juniors
Report
Penalties
Rojas  
Melgarejo  
Chancalay  
F. Domínguez  
Copetti  
4–2   Tevez
  Villa
  González
  Pavón
Attendance: 0
Referee: Darío Herrera

Notes
  1. ^ The match originally scheduled for 22 May 2021 was rescheduled.
  2. ^ The match originally scheduled for 23 May 2021 was rescheduled.

Final

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Team 1  Score  Team 2
Colón 3–0 Racing

Match

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Colón3–0Racing
Aliendro   57'
Bernardi   71'
Castro   85'
Report

Statistics

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Top goalscorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Luis Miguel Rodríguez Colón 8
  Rafael Santos Borré River Plate
3   Augusto Lotti Atlético Tucumán 7
4   Federico Andrada Aldosivi 6
  José Sand Lanús
6   Milton Giménez Central Córdoba (SdE) 5
  Alexis Castro Colón
  Walter Bou Defensa y Justicia
  Tomás Chancalay Racing
  Jonathan Torres Sarmiento (J)

Source: AFA

References

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  1. ^ "Definición suspendida" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 21 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Días y horarios de las semifinales y la final" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 26 May 2021. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  3. ^ "¡Bienvenidos a la Liga Profesional!" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 1 February 2021.
  4. ^ "¡Colón es campeón!" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 4 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Reglamento de torneos de la temporada 2021 de la Liga Profesional de Fútbol de AFA" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. February 2021.
  6. ^ "Se viene la Copa de la Liga" (in Spanish). Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 3 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b "ASOCIACION DEL FUTBOL ARGENTINO REGLAMENTO GENERAL" (PDF) (in Spanish). AFA. January 2011.
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