2021 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages

The 2021 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages were played from 23 February to 15 April 2021. ^[1] A total of 19 teams competed in the qualifying stages to decide four of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2021 Copa Libertadores. ^[2]

The qualifying stages had been originally scheduled to be played from 16 February to 8 April 2021. ^[3]

Draw

The draw for the qualifying stages was held on 5 February 2021, 12:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay. ^{[4] [5]}

Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL Clubs ranking as of 1 February 2021 (shown in parentheses), ^{[6] [7]} taking into account the following three factors: ^[8]

1. Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 2011–2020.
2. Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 1960–2010 and 2002-2010 respectively.
3. Local tournament champion, with bonus points awarded to domestic league champions of the last 10 years

For the first stage, the six teams were drawn into three ties (E1–E3), with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg.

First stage draw

Pot 1	Pot 2
Guaraní (34) Caracas (58) Universidad Católica (112)	Universidad César Vallejo (130) Royal Pari (164) Liverpool [URU] (165)

Notes

1. ^
   ^URU The identity of the team Uruguay 4 was not known at the time of the draw, and was seeded in Pot 2.

For the second stage, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties (C1–C8), with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same tie, excluding the three winners of the first stage, which were seeded in Pot 2 and whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, and could be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.

Second stage draw

Pot 1	Pot 2
Atlético Nacional (7) Libertad (14) San Lorenzo (15) Independiente del Valle (20) Junior (27) Bolívar (29) Deportivo Lara (75) Ayacucho (222)	Grêmio [BRA] (3) Santos [BRA] (9) Universidad de Chile [CHI] (41) Unión Española [CHI] (61) Montevideo Wanderers [URU] (76) First stage winner E1 First stage winner E2 First stage winner E3

Notes

1. ^
   ^BRA The identity of the teams Brazil 7 and Brazil 8 was not known at the time of the draw, and were seeded in Pot 2.
2. ^
   ^CHI The identity of the teams Chile 3 and Chile 4 was not known at the time of the draw, and were seeded in Pot 2.
3. ^
   ^URU The identity of the team Uruguay 3 was not known at the time of the draw, and was seeded in Pot 2.

For the third stage, the eight winners of the second stage were allocated without any draw into the following four ties (G1–G4), with the team in each tie with the higher CONMEBOL ranking hosting the second leg. As their identity was not known at the time of the draw, they could be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.

• Second stage winner C1 vs. Second stage winner C8
• Second stage winner C2 vs. Second stage winner C7
• Second stage winner C3 vs. Second stage winner C6
• Second stage winner C4 vs. Second stage winner C5

Format

In the qualifying stages, each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule will be used. If still tied, extra time will not be played, and a penalty shoot-out will be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 2.4.3). ^[2]

Bracket

The qualifying stages are structured as follows:

• First stage (6 teams): The three winners of the first stage advance to the second stage to join the 13 teams which are given byes to the second stage.
• Second stage (16 teams): The eight winners of the second stage advance to the third stage.
• Third stage (8 teams): The four winners of the third stage advance to the group stage to join the 28 direct entrants. The four teams eliminated in the third stage enter the Copa Sudamericana group stage.

The bracket was decided based on the first stage draw and second stage draw, which was held on 5 February 2021.

Winner G1

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Liverpool	2	0	2
	Universidad Católica	1	3	4
							Universidad Católica	0	2	2
							Libertad	1	2	3
	Libertad			Bye
													Libertad	1	1	2
													Atlético Nacional	0	4	4
	Royal Pari	1	1	2
	Guaraní	4	1	5
							Guaraní	0	0	0
							Atlético Nacional	2	3	5
	Atlético Nacional			Bye

Winner G2

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Unión Española			Bye
							Unión Española	1	2	3
							Independiente del Valle	0	6	6
	Independiente del Valle			Bye
													Independiente del Valle	2	2	4
													Grêmio	1	1	2
	Grêmio			Bye
							Grêmio	6	2	8
							Ayacucho	1	1	2
	Ayacucho			Bye

Winner G3

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Montevideo Wanderers			Bye
							Montevideo Wanderers	1	0	1
							Bolívar	0	5	5
	Bolívar			Bye
													Bolívar	2	0	2
													Junior	1	3	4
	Universidad César Vallejo	0	0	0
	Caracas	0	2	2
							Caracas	1	1	2
							Junior	2	3	5
	Junior			Bye

Winner G4

	First stage						Second stage						Third stage
	Universidad de Chile			Bye
							Universidad de Chile	1	0	1
							San Lorenzo	1	2	3
	San Lorenzo			Bye
													San Lorenzo	1	2	3
													Santos	3	2	5
	Santos			Bye
							Santos	2	1	3
							Deportivo Lara	1	1	2
	Deportivo Lara			Bye

First stage

The first legs were played on 23 and 24 February, and the second legs were played on 2 and 3 March 2021. ^{[5] [9]}

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Liverpool	2–4	Universidad Católica	2–1	0–3
Universidad César Vallejo	0–2	Caracas	0–0	0–2
Royal Pari	2–5	Guaraní	1–4	1–1

Match E1

23 February 2021 (2021-2-23)

21:30  UTC−3

Liverpool	2–1	Universidad Católica
Dávila 68' Correa 90+1'	Report	Tévez 27'

Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera, Montevideo ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Nicolás Lamolina (Argentina)

---

2 March 2021 (2021-3-2)

19:30  UTC−5

Universidad Católica	3–0	Liverpool
Tévez 37' Chalá 44' De los Santos 74'	Report

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito

Attendance: 0

Referee: Alexis Herrera (Venezuela)

Universidad Católica won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C1).

Match E2

24 February 2021 (2021-2-24)

17:15  UTC−5

Universidad César Vallejo	0–0	Caracas
	Report

Estadio Monumental, Lima ^{[note 2]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Marlon Vera (Ecuador)

---

3 March 2021 (2021-3-3)

18:15  UTC−4

Caracas	2–0	Universidad César Vallejo
Echeverría 20' (pen.) R. Celis 90+5'	Report

Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas

Attendance: 0

Referee: Gery Vargas (Bolivia)

Caracas won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C6).

Match E3

24 February 2021 (2021-2-24)

20:30  UTC−4

Royal Pari	1–4	Guaraní
Castillo 72'	Report	Marín 3', 45' Florentín 19' F. Fernández 74'

Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Attendance: 0

Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru)

---

3 March 2021 (2021-3-3)

21:30  UTC−3

Guaraní	1–1	Royal Pari
Benítez 58'	Report	Florentín 74' (o.g.)

Estadio Luis Alfonso Giagni, Villa Elisa ^{[note 3]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Rafael Traci (Brazil) ^{[note 4]}

Guaraní won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second stage (Match C8).

Second stage

The first legs were played on 9–11 March, and the second legs were played on 16–18 March 2021. ^{[5] [9]}

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Universidad Católica	2–3	Libertad	0–1	2–2
Grêmio	8–2	Ayacucho	6–1	2–1
Montevideo Wanderers	1–5	Bolívar	1–0	0–5
Universidad de Chile	1–3	San Lorenzo	1–1	0–2
Santos	3–2	Deportivo Lara	2–1	1–1
Caracas	2–5	Junior	1–2	1–3
Unión Española	3–6	Independiente del Valle	1–0	2–6
Guaraní	0–5	Atlético Nacional	0–2	0–3

Match C1

10 March 2021 (2021-3-10)

17:15  UTC−5

Universidad Católica	0–1	Libertad
	Report	Bogarín 38'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito

Attendance: 0

Referee: Bruno Arleu (Brazil)

---

17 March 2021 (2021-3-17)

19:15  UTC−3

Libertad	2–2	Universidad Católica
Ferreira 32', 64'	Report	Chalá 61' Tévez 82' (pen.)

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción ^{[note 5]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

Libertad won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).

Match C2

10 March 2021 (2021-3-10) ^{[note 6]}

21:30  UTC−3

Grêmio	6–1	Ayacucho
Braz 4' Ferreira 28' Diego Souza 33' (pen.), 41', 86' Azevedo 79'	Report	Quina 73'

Arena do Grêmio, Porto Alegre

Attendance: 0

Referee: Augusto Aragón (Ecuador)

---

16 March 2021 (2021-3-16)

19:30  UTC−5

Ayacucho	1–2	Grêmio
Sosa 40'	Report	Ferreira 41' Ricardinho 87'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito (Ecuador) ^{[note 7]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Esteban Ostojich (Uruguay)

Grêmio won 8–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).

Match C3

9 March 2021 (2021-3-9)

19:15  UTC−3

Montevideo Wanderers	1–0	Bolívar
Rolón 55'	Report

Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera, Montevideo

Attendance: 0

Referee: Cristian Garay (Chile)

---

16 March 2021 (2021-3-16)

18:15  UTC−4

Bolívar	5–0	Montevideo Wanderers
Ramos 4', 52' Miranda 40' Macaluso 57' (o.g.) Ábrego 90+4'	Report

Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz

Attendance: 0

Referee: Guillermo Guerrero (Ecuador)

Bolívar won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).

Match C4

10 March 2021 (2021-3-10)

21:30  UTC−3

Universidad de Chile	1–1	San Lorenzo
Henríquez 76'	Report	Di Santo 78'

Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago

Attendance: 0

Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

---

17 March 2021 (2021-3-17)

21:30  UTC−3

San Lorenzo	2–0	Universidad de Chile
Di Santo 13' Á. Romero 59'	Report

Estadio Pedro Bidegain, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 0

Referee: Leodán González (Uruguay)

San Lorenzo won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G4).

Match C5

9 March 2021 (2021-3-9)

19:15  UTC−3

Santos	2–1	Deportivo Lara
Vinicius 50' Kaiky 70'	Report	Anzola 52'

Estádio Urbano Caldeira, Santos

Attendance: 0

Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

---

16 March 2021 (2021-3-16)

18:15  UTC−4

Deportivo Lara	1–1	Santos
Anzola 62'	Report	Soteldo 37'

Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas ^{[note 8]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Víctor Carrillo (Peru)

Santos won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G4).

Match C6

10 March 2021 (2021-3-10)

20:30  UTC−4

Caracas	1–2	Junior
Akinyoola 35'	Report	Borja 69' Ditta 90+1'

Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas

Attendance: 0

Referee: Roberto Tobar (Chile)

---

17 March 2021 (2021-3-17)

19:30  UTC−5

Junior	3–1	Caracas
Borja 41' Gutiérrez 75' Pajoy 90+1'	Report	Akinyoola 86' (pen.)

Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)

Junior won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G3).

Match C7

9 March 2021 (2021-3-9)

21:30  UTC−3

Unión Española	1–0	Independiente del Valle
Caicedo 56' (o.g.)	Report

Estadio Santa Laura, Santiago

Attendance: 0

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

---

16 March 2021 (2021-3-16)

19:30  UTC−5

Independiente del Valle	6–2	Unión Española
Vite 3' Montenegro 15', 39', 90+9' Faravelli 30' (pen.), 57'	Report	Méndez 56' Rubio 61'

Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito ^{[note 9]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

Independiente del Valle won 6–3 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G2).

Match C8

11 March 2021 (2021-3-11)

21:30  UTC−3

Guaraní	0–2	Atlético Nacional
	Report	Barrera 22' Rovira 90+8'

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción ^{[note 3]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)

---

18 March 2021 (2021-3-18)

19:30  UTC−5

Atlético Nacional	3–0	Guaraní
Andrade 24', 52' Barrera 39'	Report

Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín

Attendance: 0

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Atlético Nacional won 5–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third stage (Match G1).

Third stage

The first legs were played on 6–9 April, and the second legs were played on 13–15 April 2021. ^{[18] [19]}

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Libertad	2–4	Atlético Nacional	1–0	1–4
Independiente del Valle	4–2	Grêmio	2–1	2–1
Bolívar	2–4	Junior	2–1	0–3
San Lorenzo	3–5	Santos	1–3	2–2

Match G1

7 April 2021 (2021-4-7)

20:30  UTC−4

Libertad	1–0	Atlético Nacional
Báez 78'	Report

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción ^{[note 5]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

---

14 April 2021 (2021-4-14)

19:30  UTC−5

Atlético Nacional	4–1	Libertad
Barrera 16' Perlaza 51' Álvez 58' Duque 74'	Report	Enciso 2'

Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín

Attendance: 0

Referee: Roberto Tobar (Chile)

Atlético Nacional won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group F).

Match G2

9 April 2021 (2021-4-9) ^{[note 10]}

18:15  UTC−4

Independiente del Valle	2–1	Grêmio
Faravelli 53', 61' (pen.)	Report	Diego Souza 9'

Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción (Paraguay) ^{[note 10]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

---

14 April 2021 (2021-4-14)

19:15  UTC−3

Grêmio	1–2	Independiente del Valle
Jean Pyerre 22'	Report	Ortiz 45+3', 66'

Arena do Grêmio, Porto Alegre

Attendance: 0

Referee: Patricio Loustau (Argentina)

Independiente del Valle won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group A).

Match G3

8 April 2021 (2021-4-8)

20:30  UTC−4

Bolívar	2–1	Junior
Ramos 4' Bejarano 48'	Report	Mera 10'

Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz

Attendance: 0

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

---

15 April 2021 (2021-4-15)

19:30  UTC−5

Junior	3–0	Bolívar
Borja 12' Pajoy 81' Hinestroza 90+6'	Report

Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla

Attendance: 0

Referee: Eber Aquino (Paraguay)

Junior won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group D).

Match G4

6 April 2021 (2021-4-6)

21:30  UTC−3

San Lorenzo	1–3	Santos
Á. Romero 72'	Report	Lucas Braga 7' Marinho 45+1' (pen.) Ângelo 90+4'

Estadio Pedro Bidegain, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 0

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

---

13 April 2021 (2021-4-13)

21:30  UTC−3

Santos	2–2	San Lorenzo
Marcos Leonardo 22' Pará 57'	Report	Di Santo 59' Á. Romero 78'

Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília ^{[note 11]}

Attendance: 0

Referee: Esteban Ostojich (Uruguay)

Santos won 5–3 on aggregate and advanced to the group stage (Group C).

Notes

1. Liverpool played their first stage home match at Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera, Montevideo instead of their regular stadium Estadio Belvedere, Montevideo, which does not meet CONMEBOL requirements.
2. Universidad César Vallejo played their first stage home match at Estadio Monumental, Lima instead of their regular stadium Estadio Mansiche, Trujillo, which did not meet CONMEBOL requirements. ^[10]
3. Guaraní played their first stage home match at Estadio Luis Alfonso Giagni, Villa Elisa, and played their second stage home match at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción instead of their regular stadium Estadio Rogelio Livieres, Asunción, which does not meet CONMEBOL requirements. ^[11]
4. Referee Rodolpho Toski from Brazil, who was originally assigned to the Guarani v Royal Pari match, ^[12] was replaced by his countryman Rafael Traci. ^[13]
5. Libertad played their home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción instead of their regular stadium Estadio Dr. Nicolás Leoz, Asunción.
6. The Grêmio v Ayacucho match was originally scheduled on 9 March 2021, 21:30 local time, but was re-scheduled to 10 March 2021, 21:30 local time. ^[14]
7. The Ayacucho v Grêmio second stage match, originally scheduled to be played at Estadio Garcilaso, Cusco, was played at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito (Ecuador) due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic between Peru and Brazil. ^{[15] [16]}
8. Deportivo Lara played their second stage home match at Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas instead of their regular stadium Estadio Metropolitano de Cabudare, Cabudare. ^[17]
9. Independiente del Valle played their second stage home match at Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito instead of their regular stadium Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito.
10. The Independiente del Valle v Grêmio match, originally scheduled on 7 April 2021, 17:15 local time at Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, was suspended by the Ecuadorian authorities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was eventually re-scheduled to 9 April 2021, 18:15 local time at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción (Paraguay). ^[20]
11. Santos played their third stage home match at Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília instead of their regular stadium Estádio Urbano Caldeira, Santos. ^[21]

References

1. "Fechas actualizadas de las competiciones de clubes 2021" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 4 February 2021.
2. "Manual de Clubes / Reglamento CONMEBOL Libertadores 2021" (PDF). CONMEBOL.com.
3. "CALENDÁRIO 2021: CONMEBOL Libertadores - CONMEBOL Sudamericana - RECOPA" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com.
4. "Este viernes se sortea el camino para las competiciones de clubes 2021" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 2 February 2021.
5. "La suerte está echada en la CONMEBOL Libertadores" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 5 February 2021.
6. "Se lanza el Ranking de Clubes CONMEBOL 2021" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 2 February 2021.
7. "RANKING DE CLUBES DE LA CONMEBOL 2021" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com.
8. "RANKING DE CLUBES DE LA CONMEBOL 2021 SISTEMA DE PUNTAJE" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com.
9. "CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2021 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS - Departamento de Competiciones Versión de 05/02/2021" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 5 February 2021.
10. "Cambio de estadio en partido Universidad Cesar Vallejo vs Caracas" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 15 February 2021.
11. "Cambio de escenario en juego entre Guarani vs. Atletico Nacional" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 4 March 2021.
12. "Jueces designados para la Fase 1 – Vuelta" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 15 February 2021.
13. "Guaraní vs. Royal Pari: sustitución de árbitro principal" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 2 March 2021.
14. "Bra 7 vs. Ayacucho: Cambio de fecha en juego de ida y vuelta" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 3 March 2021.
15. "Cambio de escenario en juego entre Ayacucho vs. Gremio" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 8 March 2021.
16. "Ya tiene sede: Ayacucho FC jugará de local en Quito ante Gremio por la Copa Libertadores" (in Spanish). RPP Noticias. 8 March 2021.
17. "Deportivo Lara vs. Santos: cambio de estadio" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 3 March 2021.
18. "Programación de la Fase 3 de la CONMEBOL Libertadores" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 19 March 2021.
19. "CONMEBOL LIBERTADORES 2021 PROGRAMA DE PARTIDOS - FASE 3" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 19 March 2021.
20. "Suspensión del partido Independiente del Valle vs. Gremio por la Fase 3" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 6 April 2021.
21. "Cambio de estadio para el partido Santos vs San Lorenzo" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 31 March 2021.

External links

• CONMEBOL Libertadores 2021, CONMEBOL.com