2021 Categoría Primera A season

The 2021 Categoría Primera A season (officially known as the 2021 Liga BetPlay Dimayor season for sponsorship reasons) was the 74th season of the Categoría Primera A, Colombia's top-flight football league. The season began on 16 January and ended on 22 December 2021. América de Cali entered the season as defending champions having won back-to-back titles in the 2019 Finalización and 2020 tournaments.^[1]

Liga BetPlay Dimayor

Season	2021
Dates	16 January – 22 December 2021
Champions	Apertura: Deportes Tolima (3rd title) Finalización: Deportivo Cali (10th title)
Relegated	Boyacá Chicó Deportes Quindío Atlético Huila
Copa Libertadores	Deportes Tolima Deportivo Cali Millonarios Atlético Nacional (via 2021 Copa Colombia)
Copa Sudamericana	Junior América de Cali La Equidad Independiente Medellín (via 2020 Copa Colombia)
Matches played	411
Goals scored	928 (2.26 per match)
Top goalscorer	Apertura: Three players (11 goals each) Finalización: Harold Preciado (13 goals)
Biggest home win	Atlético Nacional 7–1 Patriotas (18 April)
Biggest away win	A. Petrolera 0–5 Dep. Tolima (25 February) Atlético Huila 0–5 Deportivo Cali (1 November)
Highest scoring	Atlético Nacional 7–1 Patriotas (18 April)
← 2020 2022 →

The Torneo Apertura was won by Deportes Tolima, who claimed their third league title on 20 June after beating Millonarios by a 2–1 score in the second leg of the finals and a 3–2 score on aggregate,^[2] whilst the Torneo Finalización was won by Deportivo Cali, who beat the defending champions Deportes Tolima by a 3–2 aggregate score in the finals to claim their tenth league title.^[3]

Format

The competition format for this season was approved by the General Assembly of DIMAYOR on 17 December 2020:^[4][5]

• Two tournaments with three stages each were played in the season. The Torneo Apertura was contested by 19 teams, while the Torneo Finalización was played by 20 teams.
• The first stage of both tournaments was contested on a single round-robin basis, with each team playing the other teams once for a total of 18 or 19 games. The additional match against a regional rival would not be played in this season. The top eight teams after the 19 rounds of each tournament qualified for the next stage.
• The second stage of each tournament had a knockout round contested by the top eight teams at the end of the first stage, with the top four teams being seeded for the quarter-finals and paired against a rival decided by draw. The quarter-finals were played under a format of double-legged series with the winners advancing to the semi-finals, which were also played over two legs.
• The finals in both tournaments were contested by the winners of each semi-final tie, playing a double-legged series for the championship.
• One team was relegated to Categoría Primera B at the end of the Torneo Apertura, being replaced in the Torneo Finalización by two teams promoted from the Primera B in order to return to 20 teams for the second half of the year. This was due to the decision of DIMAYOR's General Assembly to postpone relegation from the 2020 season to the end of the first semester of 2021, in order to ensure teams could be able to play the same amount of matches as originally scheduled before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary suspension of the previous season.^[6] At the end of the Torneo Finalización and the season, two teams were relegated to the second tier.

On 12 July 2021, DIMAYOR announced changes to the format of the Torneo Finalización, including the extra match against a regional rival for a total of 20 first stage games and replacing the knockout stage for a semi-final stage in which the eight qualified teams were split into two groups of four where they will play each other team in their group twice. The group winners advanced to the double-legged final series.^[7]

Teams

21 teams took part in the season, 19 of them returning from last season plus Atlético Huila and Deportes Quindío, who were promoted from the 2021 Primera B. Cúcuta Deportivo, who also competed in the top flight in 2020, did not take part in the competition this season as they entered liquidation, were forced to forfeit their final two games of the previous tournament, and were ultimately disaffiliated from DIMAYOR on 25 November 2020.^[8][9][10]

Aburrá Valley Metro Area

Águilas Doradas

Alianza Petrolera

Atlético Bucaramanga

Atlético Huila

Bogotá

Cali

Deportes Quindío

Deportes Tolima

Deportivo Pasto

Deportivo Pereira

Jaguares

Junior

Once Caldas

Tunja

Aburrá Valley Metro Area teams:
Atlético Nacional
Envigado
Independiente Medellín
Tunja teams:
Boyacá Chicó
Patriotas
Bogotá teams:
La Equidad
Millonarios
Santa Fe
Cali teams:
América de Cali
Deportivo Cali

Locations of the 2021 Categoría Primera A teams

Stadia and locations

Team	Manager	City	Stadium	Capacity
Águilas Doradas	Johan Fano (caretaker)	Rionegro	Alberto Grisales	14,000
Alianza Petrolera	Hubert Bodhert	Barrancabermeja	Daniel Villa Zapata	10,400
América de Cali	Juan Carlos Osorio	Cali	Pascual Guerrero	33,130
Atlético Bucaramanga	Néstor Craviotto	Bucaramanga	Alfonso López	28,000
Atlético Nacional	Alejandro Restrepo	Medellín	Atanasio Girardot	40,043
Boyacá Chicó	Mario García	Tunja	La Independencia	20,630
Deportes Tolima	Hernán Torres	Ibagué	Manuel Murillo Toro	28,100
Deportivo Cali	Rafael Dudamel	Palmira	Deportivo Cali	44,000
Deportivo Pasto	Flabio Torres	Pasto	Departamental Libertad	20,665
Deportivo Pereira	Alexis Márquez	Pereira	Hernán Ramírez Villegas	30,297
Envigado	Alberto Suárez	Envigado	Polideportivo Sur	11,000
Independiente Medellín	Julio Comesaña	Medellín	Atanasio Girardot	40,043
Jaguares	César Torres	Montería	Jaraguay	12,000
Junior	Arturo Reyes	Barranquilla	Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez	49,692
La Equidad	Alexis García	Bogotá	Metropolitano de Techo	8,000
Millonarios	Alberto Gamero	Bogotá	Nemesio Camacho El Campín	36,343
Once Caldas	Diego Corredor	Manizales	Palogrande	28,678
Patriotas	Juan David Niño	Tunja	La Independencia	20,630
Santa Fe	Grigori Méndez	Bogotá	Nemesio Camacho El Campín	36,343

The following two teams competed in the 2021 Finalización tournament, replacing Boyacá Chicó who were relegated to Primera B at the end of the Apertura tournament:

Team	Manager	City	Stadium	Capacity
Atlético Huila	Carlos Abella (caretaker)	Neiva	Guillermo Plazas Alcid	22,000
Deportes Quindío	Óscar Quintabani	Armenia	Centenario	20,716

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Torneo Apertura
Atlético Nacional	Alejandro Restrepo	End of caretaker spell	28 November 2020	Pre-season	Alexandre Guimarães	30 November 2020[11]
Alianza Petrolera	Dayron Montesino		9 December 2020		Wilson Gutiérrez	23 November 2020[12]
Independiente Medellín	Humberto Sierra		10 December 2020[13]		Hernán Darío Gómez	11 December 2020[14]
Águilas Doradas	Francesco Stifano	End of contract	12 December 2020[15]		Hubert Bodhert	4 January 2021[16]
Deportivo Pereira	Alexis Márquez	End of caretaker spell	22 December 2020		Jorge Artigas	30 December 2020[17]
Once Caldas	Hubert Bodhert	Resigned	1 January 2021[18]		Eduardo Lara	3 January 2021[19]
Boyacá Chicó	Belmer Aguilar	Sacked	14 January 2021[20]		Mario García	14 January 2021[20]
Atlético Bucaramanga	Guillermo Sanguinetti	Mutual consent	15 February 2021[21]	14th	Sergio Novoa (caretaker)	15 February 2021[21]
	Sergio Novoa	End of caretaker spell	23 February 2021	10th	Luis Fernando Suárez	23 February 2021[22]
Alianza Petrolera	Wilson Gutiérrez	Mutual consent	26 February 2021[23]	19th	Dayron Montesino (caretaker)	26 February 2021[23]
Deportivo Pereira	Jorge Artigas		26 February 2021[24]	18th	Alexis Márquez[i]	26 February 2021[24]
Águilas Doradas	Hubert Bodhert	Resigned	2 March 2021[26]	15th	Francesco Stifano	3 March 2021[27]
Alianza Petrolera	Dayron Montesino	End of caretaker spell	7 March 2021	19th	Hubert Bodhert	7 March 2021[28]
Envigado	José Arastey	Sacked	24 March 2021[29]	13th	Andrés Orozco (caretaker)	25 March 2021[29]
Deportivo Pasto	Diego Corredor		9 April 2021[30]	11th	Giovanny Ruiz[ii]	9 April 2021[30]
Envigado	Andrés Orozco	End of caretaker spell	16 April 2021	15th	Alberto Suárez	18 May 2021[32]
Patriotas	Abel Segovia	Sacked	27 April 2021[33]	17th	Jhon Mario Ramírez	10 May 2021[34]
América de Cali	Juan Cruz Real	Mutual consent	28 April 2021[35]	8th, quarter-finals	Jersson González (caretaker)	28 April 2021[35]
Jaguares	Alberto Suárez	Signed by Envigado	11 May 2021[36]	10th	César Torres	25 May 2021[37]
Atlético Nacional	Alexandre Guimarães	Mutual consent	5 June 2021[38]	1st, quarter-finals	Alejandro Restrepo	9 June 2021[39]
América de Cali	Jersson González	End of caretaker spell	16 June 2021	8th, quarter-finals	Juan Carlos Osorio	16 June 2021[40]
Torneo Finalización
Atlético Bucaramanga	Luis Fernando Suárez	Signed by Costa Rica	21 June 2021[41]	Pre-tournament	Óscar Upegui	8 July 2021[42]
Patriotas	Jhon Mario Ramírez	Deceased	26 June 2021[43]		Jorge Luis Bernal[iii]	22 June 2021[44]
Deportivo Pasto	Giovanny Ruiz	Demoted	10 August 2021[45]	20th	Flabio Torres	10 August 2021[45]
Once Caldas	Eduardo Lara	Sacked	15 August 2021[46]	15th	Fernando Dortti (caretaker)	15 August 2021[46]
Atlético Huila	Dayron Pérez	Resigned	17 August 2021[47]	19th	Alberto Rujana	18 August 2021[48]
Junior	Luis Amaranto Perea	Mutual consent	17 August 2021[49]	12th	Arturo Reyes	17 August 2021[50]
Patriotas	Jorge Luis Bernal	Change of role	17 August 2021[51]	17th	Juan David Niño	17 August 2021[52]
Santa Fe	Harold Rivera	Mutual consent	22 August 2021[53]	17th	Grigori Méndez	22 August 2021[54]
Once Caldas	Fernando Dortti	End of caretaker spell	27 August 2021	18th	Diego Corredor	26 August 2021[55]
Atlético Bucaramanga	Óscar Upegui	Sacked	30 August 2021[56]	5th	Sergio Novoa (caretaker)	1 September 2021[57]
Deportivo Cali	Alfredo Arias	Mutual consent	6 September 2021[58]	13th	Rafael Dudamel[iv]	8 September 2021[59]
Independiente Medellín	Hernán Darío Gómez	Resigned	6 September 2021[60]	14th	Julio Comesaña[v]	7 September 2021[61]
Atlético Bucaramanga	Sergio Novoa	End of caretaker spell	13 September 2021	5th	Néstor Craviotto	13 September 2021[62]
Atlético Huila	Alberto Rujana	Resigned	25 October 2021[63]	20th	Carlos Abella[vi]	25 October 2021[63]
Águilas Doradas	Francesco Stifano	Sacked	16 November 2021[64]	14th	Johan Fano[vi]	16 November 2021[64]

Notes

1. Originally as caretaker manager, appointed on a permanent basis on 22 April 2021.^[25]
2. Originally as caretaker manager, appointed on a permanent basis on 22 June 2021.^[31]
3. Originally appointed as caretaker manager due to John Mario Ramírez's health issues.
4. Ítalo Cervino was the caretaker manager for the 2021 Copa Colombia quarter-final first leg against América de Cali.^[58]
5. David Montoya was the caretaker manager for the Torneo Finalización 9th round match against Jaguares.^[60]
6. Caretaker manager until the end of the tournament.

Torneo Apertura

First stage

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Atlético Nacional	18	10	4	4	37	15	+22	34	Advance to the knockout stage
2	Santa Fe	18	9	6	3	25	14	+11	33
3	Millonarios	18	10	3	5	25	18	+7	33
4	Deportivo Cali	18	8	7	3	19	14	+5	31
5	Deportes Tolima	18	8	6	4	22	14	+8	30
6	La Equidad	18	8	6	4	21	18	+3	30
7	Junior	18	8	5	5	21	13	+8	29
8	América de Cali	18	7	8	3	19	12	+7	29
9	Independiente Medellín	18	6	8	4	17	15	+2	26
10	Jaguares	18	7	4	7	21	21	0	25
11	Atlético Bucaramanga	18	6	6	6	20	16	+4	24
12	Deportivo Pasto	18	4	11	3	19	20	−1	23
13	Boyacá Chicó	18	5	4	9	17	20	−3	19
14	Deportivo Pereira	18	4	6	8	16	24	−8	18
15	Once Caldas	18	3	8	7	20	23	−3	17
16	Envigado	18	3	8	7	15	23	−8	17
17	Patriotas	18	5	2	11	17	31	−14	17
18	Águilas Doradas	18	2	8	8	13	24	−11	14
19	Alianza Petrolera	18	0	6	12	10	39	−29	6

Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Effective time of play, 7) Drawing of lots.

Results

Home \ Away	AGU	APE	AME	BUC	NAC	BOY	TOL	CAL	PAS	PER	ENV	DIM	JAG	JUN	EQU	MIL	ONC	PAT	SFE
Águilas Doradas	—	—	—	—	1–1	0–3[a]	—	—	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	—	—	1–2	0–0	2–2	—	0–2
Alianza Petrolera	1–2	—	0–2	1–3	—	—	0–5	—	—	2–2	1–1	—	—	—	—	0–2	0–0	—	0–3
América de Cali	1–1	—	—	0–0	—	—	2–0	—	—	1–0	0–0	1–2	—	—	0–1	2–1	—	—	0–0
Atlético Bucaramanga	4–1	—	—	—	3–2	2–0	—	1–0	—	2–0	—	0–1	—	—	0–0	—	1–1	0–1	—
Atlético Nacional	—	5–0	2–2	—	—	2–0	—	—	—	5–2	3–0	—	3–1	1–0	—	—	—	7–1	2–0
Boyacá Chicó	—	2–0	1–2	—	—	—	2–1	0–1	0–0	—	3–0	—	0–0	2–1	—	0–1	—	—	—
Deportes Tolima	1–0	—	—	0–0	2–1	—	—	—	—	—	—	2–1	3–2	0–1	1–0	—	1–1	3–1	—
Deportivo Cali	1–0	1–1	0–2	—	1–0	—	0–0	—	1–1	—	1–1	—	1–0	—	—	—	—	—	1–1
Deportivo Pasto	—	1–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	—	0–1	—	—	—	—	—	2–2	0–0	2–2	—	—	1–0	—
Deportivo Pereira	0–0	—	—	—	—	0–0	0–0	0–1	4–2	—	—	1–0	—	—	0–0	—	2–0	1–2	—
Envigado	—	—	—	1–0	—	—	0–0	—	0–1	0–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	—	—	3–0	2–1
Independiente Medellín	—	2–2	—	—	0–0	1–0	—	1–1	2–2	—	—	—	1–0	—	1–1	0–0	—	2–1	—
Jaguares	0–2	2–0	0–0	2–1	—	—	—	—	—	2–0	—	—	—	0–2	2–1	—	—	3–2	0–1
Junior	0–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	—	—	—	1–2	—	3–0	—	1–0	—	—	—	2–0	—	—	1–1
La Equidad	—	1–1	—	—	1–0	2–1	—	2–5	—	—	3–1	—	—	1–0	—	1–0	0–0	—	1–2
Millonarios	—	—	—	2–1	1–2	—	0–0	3–1	3–1	3–2	1–0	—	0–2	—	—	—	4–3	—	—
Once Caldas	—	—	1–1	—	0–1	4–2	—	0–0	0–1	—	3–1	2–0	1–2	1–2	—	—	—	—	—
Patriotas	2–1	3–1	0–1	—	—	1–1	—	0–1	—	—	—	—	—	1–0	1–2	0–2	1–1	—	—
Santa Fe	—	—	—	2–0	—	2–0	3–2	—	2–2	1–1	—	0–0	—	—	—	1–2	2–0	1–0	—

Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

1. Match ended after 79 minutes of play due to the withdrawal of Águilas Doradas player Giovanny Martínez by injury, leaving the team below the minimum number of players required per tournament regulations (seven). The score at the time of suspension was 0–3.^[65]

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Finals
		Deportes Tolima	3	0	3
	4	Deportivo Cali	0	2	2
								Deportes Tolima		1	2	3
								La Equidad		1	1	2
		La Equidad	1	2	3
	1	Atlético Nacional	0	2	2
															Deportes Tolima		1	2	3
															Millonarios		1	1	2
		Junior	3	0	3
	2	Santa Fe	1	0	1
								Junior		3	0	3
								Millonarios		2	2	4
		América de Cali	1	0	1
	3	Millonarios	2	0	2

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
La Equidad	3–2	Atlético Nacional	1–0	2–2
Junior	3–1	Santa Fe	3–1	0–0
América de Cali	1–2	Millonarios	1–2	0–0
Deportes Tolima	3–2	Deportivo Cali	3–0	0–2

First leg

América de Cali v Millonarios

24 April 2021 (2021-04-24)	América de Cali	1–2	Millonarios	Cali
15:30	Cabrera 53'	Report	Uribe 13' Arango 80'	Stadium: Pascual Guerrero Attendance: 0 Referee: Carlos Ortega

Junior v Santa Fe

25 April 2021 (2021-04-25)	Junior	3–1	Santa Fe	Barranquilla
15:30	González 30' Borja 48', 54'	Report	Palacios 56'	Stadium: Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez Attendance: 0 Referee: Wilmar Roldán

Deportes Tolima v Deportivo Cali

25 April 2021 (2021-04-25)	Deportes Tolima	3–0	Deportivo Cali	Ibagué
17:40	Estupiñán 39' Albornoz 84' Campaz 87'	Report		Stadium: Manuel Murillo Toro Attendance: 0 Referee: Jorge Tabares

La Equidad v Atlético Nacional

25 April 2021 (2021-04-25)	La Equidad	1–0	Atlético Nacional	Bogotá
20:00	Zapata 66'	Report		Stadium: Metropolitano de Techo Attendance: 0 Referee: John Hinestroza

Second leg

Millonarios v América de Cali

1 May 2021 (2021-05-01)	Millonarios	0–0 (2–1 agg.)	América de Cali	Ibagué
18:00		Report		Stadium: Manuel Murillo Toro Attendance: 0 Referee: Wilmar Roldán

Santa Fe v Junior

2 May 2021 (2021-05-02)	Santa Fe	0–0 (1–3 agg.)	Junior	Armenia
13:00		Report		Stadium: Centenario Attendance: 0 Referee: Carlos Ortega

Atlético Nacional v La Equidad

2 May 2021 (2021-05-02)	Atlético Nacional	2–2 (2–3 agg.)	La Equidad	Medellín
15:30	Andrade 64' Perlaza 68'	Report	Mahecha 56' Herazo 78' (pen.)	Stadium: Atanasio Girardot Attendance: 0 Referee: Carlos Betancur

Deportivo Cali v Deportes Tolima

4 June 2021 (2021-06-04)	Deportivo Cali	2–0 (2–3 agg.)	Deportes Tolima	Valledupar
15:30	G. Rodríguez 22' (pen.) Á. Rodríguez 33'	Report		Stadium: Armando Maestre Pavajeau Attendance: 0 Referee: John Hinestroza
Note: Match originally scheduled for 1 May 2021, 20:00 local time but suspended due to public order disturbances in the Valle del Cauca Department.[66]

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Deportes Tolima	3–2	La Equidad	1–1	2–1
Junior	3–4	Millonarios	3–2	0–2

First leg

Junior v Millonarios

10 June 2021 (2021-06-10)	Junior	3–2	Millonarios	Barranquilla
16:00	Valencia 10', 39' Sambueza 44'	Report	Uribe 19' Arango 56'	Stadium: Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez Attendance: 0 Referee: Carlos Betancur

Deportes Tolima v La Equidad

10 June 2021 (2021-06-10)	Deportes Tolima	1–1	La Equidad	Ibagué
18:05	Orozco 6'	Report	Mahecha 37'	Stadium: Manuel Murillo Toro Attendance: 0 Referee: Carlos Ortega

Second leg

Millonarios v Junior

13 June 2021 (2021-06-13)	Millonarios	2–0 (4–3 agg.)	Junior	Bogotá
13:30	Uribe 3' (pen.), 12'	Report		Stadium: El Campín Attendance: 0 Referee: Jorge Tabares

La Equidad v Deportes Tolima

14 June 2021 (2021-06-14)	La Equidad	1–2 (2–3 agg.)	Deportes Tolima	Bogotá
19:00	Herazo 63' (pen.)	Report	Estupiñán 16' Mosquera 51' (pen.)	Stadium: Metropolitano de Techo Attendance: 0 Referee: John Hinestroza

Finals

17 June 2021 (2021-06-17)

20:00 UTC−5

Deportes Tolima	1–1	Millonarios
Caicedo 36'	Report	Pereira 90+7' (pen.)

Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro, Ibagué

Attendance: 0

Referee: Carlos Betancur

---

20 June 2021 (2021-06-20)

15:00 UTC−5

Millonarios	1–2	Deportes Tolima
Ruiz 23'	Report	Caicedo 61', 69'

Estadio El Campín, Bogotá

Attendance: 0

Referee: Carlos Ortega

Deportes Tolima won 3–2 on aggregate.

Liga Betplay Dimayor 2021–I champions
Deportes Tolima 3rd title

Top scorers

Rank	Name	Club	Goals
1	Jefferson Duque	Atlético Nacional	11
	Diego Herazo	La Equidad
	Fernando Uribe	Millonarios
4	Cristian Arango	Millonarios	9
5	Miguel Borja	Junior	8
6	Agustín Vuletich	Independiente Medellín	7
7	Jarlan Barrera	Atlético Nacional	6
	David Lemos	Once Caldas
	Brayan Moreno	Boyacá Chicó
	Kelvin Osorio	Santa Fe
	Pablo Rojas	Jaguares

Source: Soccerway

Relegation

A separate table is kept to determine the teams that are relegated to the Categoría Primera B for the next season. This table is elaborated from a sum of all first stage games played for the current season and the previous two seasons (six tournaments). For purposes of elaborating the table, promoted teams are given the same point and goal tallies as the team in the 18th position at the start of the season.

Due to the postponement of promotion and relegation from the previous season to the end of the first semester of 2021 and the disaffiliation of Cúcuta Deportivo, one team was relegated to Primera B at the end of the Torneo Apertura.

Pos	Team	2018 Pts	2019 Pts	2020 Pts	2021 Pts	Total Pld	Total GF	Total GA	Total GD	Total Pts	Relegation
1	Atlético Nacional	71	66	35	34	116	180	112	67	206
2	Deportes Tolima	72	64	37	30	116	159	98	61	203
3	Deportivo Cali	58	67	34	31	116	152	111	41	190
4	Junior	62	63	33	29	116	139	90	49	187
5	Millonarios	51	67	30	33	116	150	122	28	181
6	América de Cali	47	67	33	29	116	146	131	15	176
7	Santa Fe	56	46	40	33	116	145	99	46	175
8	Independiente Medellín	69	59	20	26	116	162	135	27	174
9	Once Caldas	63	56	29	17	116	140	121	19	165
10	La Equidad	61	42	32	30	116	132	117	15	165
11	Atlético Bucaramanga	58	46	21	24	116	123	135	–12	149
12	Deportivo Pasto	35	54	34	23	116	115	118	–3	146
13	Águilas Doradas	57	40	31	14	116	121	143	–22	142
14	Envigado	46	47	23	17	116	121	143	–22	133
15	Patriotas	49	50	17	16	116	100	147	–47	132
16	Alianza Petrolera	42	55	19	6	116	112	166	–54	122
17	Jaguares	39	38	17	25	116	102	164	–62	119
18	Deportivo Pereira	39	38	18	18	116	93	161	–68	113
19	Boyacá Chicó (R)	39	38	15	19	116	90	166	–76	111	Relegation to Categoría Primera B

Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th away goals scored.

Torneo Finalización

First stage

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Atlético Nacional	20	12	6	2	32	13	+19	42	Advance to the semi-finals
2	Millonarios	20	11	3	6	36	23	+13	36
3	Deportes Tolima	20	9	9	2	25	13	+12	36
4	Junior	20	8	9	3	25	21	+4	33
5	Deportivo Pereira	20	9	6	5	24	21	+3	33
6	Alianza Petrolera	20	8	7	5	27	18	+9	31
7	Deportivo Cali	20	8	7	5	27	21	+6	31
8	América de Cali	20	8	5	7	25	19	+6	29
9	Envigado	20	7	6	7	24	23	+1	27
10	Atlético Bucaramanga	20	7	6	7	26	29	−3	27
11	Jaguares	20	7	6	7	23	26	−3	27
12	Independiente Medellín	20	5	11	4	14	15	−1	26
13	Águilas Doradas	20	7	4	9	24	25	−1	25
14	Santa Fe	20	6	7	7	21	22	−1	25
15	La Equidad	20	6	7	7	20	21	−1	25
16	Deportes Quindío	20	6	4	10	18	24	−6	22
17	Once Caldas	20	5	5	10	18	30	−12	20
18	Patriotas	20	4	6	10	14	21	−7	18
19	Deportivo Pasto	20	4	4	12	13	28	−15	16
20	Atlético Huila	20	2	4	14	12	35	−23	10

Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Effective time of play, 7) Drawing of lots.

Results

Home \ Away	AGU	APE	AME	BUC	HUI	NAC	QUI	TOL	CAL	PAS	PER	ENV	DIM	JAG	JUN	EQU	MIL	ONC	PAT	SFE
Águilas Doradas	—	1–0	1–3	3–0	—	—	—	1–1	1–2	—	0–1	1–1	—	1–2	1–2	—	—	—	1–0	—
Alianza Petrolera	—	—	—	2–0	1–0	1–3	—	—	2–3	2–0	—	—	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	—	—	3–0	—
América de Cali	—	1–1	—	—	1–0	0–2	0–1	—	1–1	3–0	—	—	—	2–3	3–1	—	—	1–0	0–0	—
Atlético Bucaramanga	—	1–2	2–1	—	1–1	—	—	1–1	—	2–1	—	2–1	—	0–1	1–1	—	3–4	—	—	4–3
Atlético Huila	0–2	—	—	—	—	1–4	0–0	1–2	0–5	—	0–2	—	3–1	—	—	1–1	—	—	2–2	1–2
Atlético Nacional	1–0	—	—	0–0	—	—	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	—	—	1–1	—	—	2–0	1–3	2–0	—	—
Deportes Quindío	2–1	1–0	—	2–3	—	—	—	—	—	1–2	2–3	—	1–0	2–0	—	—	—	2–1	0–3	1–1
Deportes Tolima	—	1–1	0–1	—	1–0	—	3–1	—	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	—	—	—	—	3–2	—	—	0–0
Deportivo Cali	—	—	0–1	1–2	—	—	1–0	—	—	—	2–1	—	0–0	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–0	2–0	—
Deportivo Pasto	0–2	—	—	—	1–0	—	1–0	—	2–0	—	1–2	0–2	1–1	—	—	—	1–3	0–1	—	0–1
Deportivo Pereira	—	0–2	1–5	1–1	—	3–2	—	—	—	—	—	0–1	—	0–0	1–1	—	1–0	3–0	—	1–1
Envigado	4–1	2–1	1–0	—	0–1	2–2	1–1	—	1–2	—	—	—	—	—	—	3–2	2–1	1–2	—	—
Independiente Medellín	1–1	—	2–0	1–0	—	0–0	—	2–2	—	—	0–0	0–0	—	—	0–0	—	—	3–1	—	0–0
Jaguares	—	—	—	—	2–0	0–0	—	0–3	1–0	4–1	—	1–1	0–1	—	1–1	—	4–3	1–1	—	—
Junior	—	—	—	—	3–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	—	2–1	—	1–0	—	2–1	—	1–0	—	4–2	1–0	—
La Equidad	2–2	—	2–1	1–0	—	—	1–0	1–1	—	0–0	1–1	—	0–0	1–0	—	—	—	—	1–3	—
Millonarios	1–0	1–1	0–0	—	3–1	—	2–1	—	—	—	—	—	2–0	—	4–1	0–1	—	—	1–0	0–1
Once Caldas	2–3	1–1	—	1–1	1–0	—	—	0–2	—	—	0–1	—	—	—	—	2–1	0–2	—	1–1	2–1
Patriotas	—	—	—	0–2	—	0–3	—	0–0	—	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	3–0	—	1–0	—	—	—	0–1
Santa Fe	0–1	1–1	1–1	—	—	0–1	—	—	1–2	—	—	3–1	—	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	—	—

Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Semi-finals

The eight teams that advanced to the semi-finals were drawn into two groups of four teams, with the top two teams of the first stage being seeded in each group. The group winners advanced to the finals.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		CAL	JUN	NAC	PER
1	Deportivo Cali	6	4	1	1	11	6	+5	13	Advance to the Finals		—	2–0	3–1	2–1
2	Junior	6	1	4	1	9	8	+1	7			2–2	—	1–1	3–0
3	Atlético Nacional	6	1	3	2	10	9	+1	6			1–2	1–1	—	5–1
4	Deportivo Pereira	6	1	2	3	6	13	−7	5			1–0	2–2	1–1	—

Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Yellow cards, 7) Red cards, 8) Drawing of lots.

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TOL	MIL	AME	APE
1	Deportes Tolima	6	3	3	0	11	5	+6	12	Advance to the Finals		—	1–1	2–0	2–2
2	Millonarios	6	3	2	1	9	5	+4	11			1–1	—	2–1	3–0
3	América de Cali	6	2	0	4	6	9	−3	6			0–1	2–1	—	2–1
4	Alianza Petrolera	6	1	1	4	6	13	−7	4			1–4	0–1	2–1	—

Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Yellow cards, 7) Red cards, 8) Drawing of lots.

Finals

19 December 2021 (2021-12-19)

18:00 UTC−5

Deportivo Cali	1–1	Deportes Tolima
Preciado 42'	Report	Ramírez 60'

Estadio Deportivo Cali, Palmira

Referee: Wilmar Roldán

---

22 December 2021 (2021-12-22)

19:30 UTC−5

Deportes Tolima	1–2	Deportivo Cali
Quiñónes 14'	Report	Vásquez 59' Preciado 75' (pen.)

Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro, Ibagué

Referee: Alexander Ospina

Deportivo Cali won 3–2 on aggregate.

Liga Betplay Dimayor 2021–II champions
Deportivo Cali 10th title

Top scorers

Rank	Name	Club	Goals
1	Harold Preciado	Deportivo Cali	13
2	Fernando Uribe	Millonarios	12
3	Jefferson Duque	Atlético Nacional	10
4	Bayron Garcés	Alianza Petrolera	9
5	Juan Fernando Caicedo	Deportes Tolima	7
	Luis González	Junior
	Adrián Ramos	América de Cali
8	Larry Angulo	América de Cali	6
	Edwuin Cetré	Junior
	Wilfrido de La Rosa	Deportivo Pereira
	Teófilo Gutiérrez	Deportivo Cali
	Pablo Lima	La Equidad
	Juan David Pérez	Once Caldas
	Gustavo Ramírez	Deportes Tolima
	Andrés Rentería	Jaguares

Source: Soccerway

Relegation

The bottom two teams of the relegation table were relegated to Categoría Primera B for the 2022 season at the end of the Torneo Finalización, with this table taking into consideration the six most recent tournaments (2018–II, 2019–I, 2019–II, 2020, 2021–I and 2021–II). For purposes of elaborating the table, Atlético Huila and Deportes Quindío, who were promoted from Primera B at the end of the first half of the season, were given the same point and goal tallies as the team in the 18th position at the start of the Finalización tournament (Deportivo Pereira).

Pos	Team	2018–II Pts	2019 Pts	2020 Pts	2021 Pts	Total Pld	Total GF	Total GA	Total GD	Total Pts	Relegation
1	Atlético Nacional	30	66	35	76	117	189	115	74	207
2	Deportes Tolima	39	64	37	66	117	162	97	65	206
3	Deportivo Cali	29	67	34	62	117	153	115	38	192
4	Millonarios	25	67	30	69	117	167	127	40	191
5	Junior	32	63	33	62	117	145	95	50	190
6	América de Cali	25	67	33	58	117	149	119	30	183
7	Santa Fe	31	46	40	58	117	146	102	44	175
8	Independiente Medellín	34	59	20	52	117	144	127	17	165
9	La Equidad	36	42	32	55	117	133	122	11	165
10	Once Caldas	36	56	29	37	117	132	125	7	158
11	Atlético Bucaramanga	35	46	21	51	117	127	140	–13	153
12	Deportivo Pasto	15	54	34	39	117	113	127	–14	142
13	Águilas Doradas	32	40	31	39	117	127	146	–19	142
14	Envigado	20	47	23	44	117	126	147	–21	134
15	Alianza Petrolera	19	55	19	37	117	115	158	–43	127
16	Patriotas	20	50	17	35	117	97	150	–53	122
17	Jaguares	14	38	17	53	117	109	167	–58	121
18	Deportivo Pereira	14	38	18	51	117	101	159	–58	121
19	Deportes Quindío (R)	14	38	18	40	117	95	162	–67	110	Relegation to Categoría Primera B
20	Atlético Huila (R)	14	38	18	28	117	89	172	–83	98

Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th away goals scored.

Aggregate table

The aggregate table includes the results of teams in all stages in the Torneo Apertura and Torneo Finalización, and awards one berth to the Copa Libertadores and three berths to the Copa Sudamericana. As an exceptional measure for this season, and due to promotion and relegation being implemented halfway into the season, the two teams promoted for the Torneo Finalización (Atlético Huila and Deportes Quindío) entered with the same matches, points, and goals as the team in 19th place in this table at the end of the Apertura tournament (Alianza Petrolera).^[67]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Deportes Tolima (C)	52	23	21	8	69	41	+28	90	Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage
2	Millonarios	50	26	10	14	78	53	+25	88	Qualification for Copa Libertadores second stage[a]
3	Atlético Nacional	46	23	14	9	81	40	+41	83
4	Deportivo Cali (C)	48	22	16	10	62	46	+16	82	Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage
5	Junior	48	19	19	10	61	47	+14	76	Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage
6	América de Cali	46	17	14	15	51	42	+9	65
7	La Equidad	42	15	15	12	46	44	+2	60
8	Santa Fe	40	15	14	11	47	39	+8	59
9	Deportivo Pereira	44	14	14	16	46	58	−12	56
10	Independiente Medellín	38	11	19	8	31	30	+1	52	Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage[b]
11	Jaguares	38	14	10	14	44	47	−3	52
12	Atlético Bucaramanga	38	13	12	13	46	45	+1	51
13	Envigado	38	10	14	14	39	46	−7	44
14	Alianza Petrolera	44	9	14	21	43	70	−27	41
15	Águilas Doradas	38	9	12	17	37	49	−12	39
16	Deportivo Pasto	38	8	15	15	32	48	−16	39
17	Once Caldas	38	8	13	17	38	53	−15	37
18	Patriotas	38	9	8	21	31	52	−21	35
19	Deportes Quindío	38	6	10	22	28	63	−35	28
20	Boyacá Chicó	18	5	4	9	17	20	−3	19
21	Atlético Huila	38	2	10	26	22	74	−52	16

Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Effective time of play, 7) Drawing of lots.
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Atlético Nacional qualified for the 2022 Copa Libertadores second stage by winning the 2021 Copa Colombia.
2. Independiente Medellín qualified for the 2022 Copa Sudamericana first stage by winning the 2020 Copa Colombia.

See also

• 2021 Categoría Primera B season
• 2021 Copa Colombia