Liga BetPlay II round 17: Nacional stay top by a point, América hold out at El Campín and Cali qualify

Atlético Nacional are still top of the Liga BetPlay II, but only by a point: they drew 1–1 in Bucaramanga, and second-placed América de Cali came away from El Campín with a 0–0 draw against a Millonarios side that had 25 shots. The biggest winners were Deportivo Cali: they beat Chicó 2–0 with ten men, made sure of their place in the cuadrangulares and moved to within two points of América, their opponents on Saturday. The round brought 22 goals in ten matches, six home wins, one away win and three draws, and five penalties scored. With two rounds of the regular phase left, Junior, Alianza Valledupar, Deportivo Pereira, Chicó, Deportivo Pasto, Jaguares and Fortaleza can no longer reach the top eight.

The brought-forward match, 4 October

Internacional de Bogotá 1–1 Once Caldas was played a month before the rest of the round, at Techo. J. A. Zapata put Once Caldas ahead on 6 from A. Roa's pass, and D. Duarte, from R. Julio's, equalised for Internacional de Bogotá on 21. Internacional had 18 shots, three on target.

Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November

Llaneros 3–2 Junior was played in Villavicencio with Llaneros always in front: Junior drew level twice but never led. J. Ramírez put Llaneros ahead on 17 from F. Castañeda's pass, Y. Chará equalised on 50 from L. Muriel's, J. Escobar Salcedo made it 2–1 on 55 from Jhon Vásquez's and G. Paiva levelled from the spot on 73. N. Ospina, also from the spot, won it on 80. Junior won the league in the first half of the year, and according to El Tiempo this defeat confirmed that they are mathematically out: on 16 points with two rounds to play, they cannot reach the 25 the eighth-placed side already has. It is Llaneros' first win over Junior in the four meetings between them since March 2025.

Deportivo Cali 2–0 Chicó: C. Bacca opened the scoring on 32 from J. Martínez's pass, his first goal for Cali, according to Deportes RCN. Nicolás Benedetti was sent off on 59 for an elbow, after a VAR review, according to the same outlet, and will miss the derby against América; even so, J. Dinenno, from E. Bello's pass, made it 2–0 on 79. Cali had six shots on target to Chicó's two. The club announced on its website that the win sealed its place in the cuadrangulares. Chicó, according to El Tiempo, are already relegated.

Independiente Medellín 2–1 Alianza Valledupar: an own goal by A. Murillo put Alianza Valledupar ahead on 37, and D. Cataño equalised for Independiente Medellín on 45 from F. Fabra's pass. Medellín were down to ten after Diego Moreno was sent off on 70, and J. Martínez won it on 87; El Tiempo reports that Jackson Martínez's goal was given after a VAR check, the assistant having flagged for a possible offside. Medellín had 11 corners to Alianza's three.

Monday 2 November

Águilas Doradas 1–0 Fortaleza: A. Ricaurte scored on 78 from I. Rojas's pass. Fortaleza did not have a shot on target and are still bottom; Águilas Doradas moved into the top eight.

Bucaramanga 1–1 Atlético Nacional, the match of the round, was settled from the penalty spot. E. Cardona put Nacional ahead on 7 and L. Pons equalised for Bucaramanga from the spot on 75, after a foul on Fabián Sambueza in the area. Nacional had seven shots on target to the home side's four, and the Bucaramanga goalkeeper made six saves. According to El Colombiano, Cardona had to come off in the second half with a muscle complaint in the back of his left leg.

Tuesday 3 November

Deportivo Pereira 1–3 Deportes Tolima was decided in five minutes: L. Sánchez scored on 13 from A. Parra Osorio's pass and on 16 from J. Mosquera's, and E. Valencia, from J. Hurtado's, made it 0–3 on 18. J. Monroy pulled one back from the spot for Deportivo Pereira on 45. Deportes Tolima move to 23 points, two behind eighth place.

Deportivo Pasto 2–0 Jaguares: E. C. Serje Orozco scored on 71 and J. Méndez, from K. Santacruz's pass, sealed it on 90. Deportivo Pasto had 19 shots; Jaguares stay second from bottom.

Wednesday 4 November

Cúcuta 1–0 Santa Fe: L. Berdugo scored on 62 from J. Peralta's pass. Santa Fe had 62 per cent of the ball and six shots on target, all saved. It is Cúcuta's first win over Santa Fe since July 2019; in April they had lost 5–0 in Bogotá. Cúcuta are a point off eighth place.

Millonarios 0–0 América de Cali closed the round at El Campín. Millonarios had 25 shots, seven on target, and América's goalkeeper made seven saves; El País singled out Jan Fernandes's four outstanding saves. América had four shots. Millonarios, sixth on 27 points, are not yet sure of their place.

The table after round 17

Points, all with 17 matches played. The top eight go to the cuadrangulares and the top two are group seeds; the bar marks the cut.

Atlético Nacional 36; América de Cali 35; Deportivo Cali 33; Bucaramanga 29; Santa Fe 28; Millonarios 27; Independiente Medellín 26; Águilas Doradas 25 | Once Caldas 24; Cúcuta 24; Deportes Tolima 23; Internacional de Bogotá 20; Llaneros 20; Alianza Valledupar 18; Deportivo Pereira 17; Junior 16; Chicó 16; Deportivo Pasto 15; Jaguares 13; Fortaleza 12.

At the top, three teams are chasing two seeded places: Nacional are a point ahead of América and three ahead of Cali, who visit América in the next round. The race chart shows how it tightened: Nacional and América took a point each in round 17 and Cali three. The last place in the top eight is contested by Águilas Doradas on 25, Once Caldas and Cúcuta on 24, and Tolima on 23.

Numbers to know

• 22 goals in ten matches: six home wins, one away win and three draws.
• Five penalties scored: Paiva, Ospina, Cardona, Pons and Monroy.
• Two players sent off: Nicolás Benedetti (Cali) and Diego Moreno (Medellín).
• Millonarios had 25 shots against América, seven on target, and did not score.
• Tolima scored three goals in five minutes in Yopal, between the 13th and the 18th minute.

Next up

Round 18 starts on Friday 6 with Chicó v Internacional de Bogotá (18:00 Colombia time) and Fortaleza v Independiente Medellín (20:00 Colombia time). On Saturday 7 it is Once Caldas v Águilas Doradas (16:05 Colombia time), Atlético Nacional v Deportivo Pereira (18:10 Colombia time) and the derby, América de Cali v Deportivo Cali (20:15 Colombia time). On Sunday 8 it is Santa Fe v Deportivo Pasto (14:00 Colombia time), Jaguares v Bucaramanga (16:05 Colombia time), Deportes Tolima v Millonarios (18:10 Colombia time) and Alianza Valledupar v Llaneros (20:15 Colombia time), and the round ends on Monday 9 with Junior v Cúcuta (19:00 Colombia time). The table and kick-off times are on the Liga BetPlay page.

Sources for the context: Deportivo Cali, El Tiempo, El Colombiano, El País, Deportes RCN, Dimayor.