Barcelona reaches the last meeting of the Pro League with more options than Emelec to win the second stage and reach the final against the League of Quito, winner of the first half of the Ecuadorian football championship. A gap of 3 points and five goals difference It separates the yellows from the mass blues, but nothing has been said and everything could change on the last day of this 2020 which will be played on Sunday.
The focus will not only be on Barcelona, but on what the Catholic University does, which has a very rare paradox seen in football: not leaving your rival will bring you benefits.
In the final, in which the Liga de Quito awaits a rival, it will be defined which team will be Ecuador 1 (champion) and which will be Ecuador 2 (second) for the draw for the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.
The other two places in Ecuador, for the previous stages of this international tournament, will be allocated to the next two best placed teams in the accumulated table after taking into account representatives 1 and 2.
In general, Católica will be the fourth Ecuadorian representative, after the Liga de Quito, Barcelona and Independiente del Valle.
But if Emelec, who receives Olmedo, fulfills his mission to reach the final (for which he needs a victory for Católica over Barcelona), he will automatically get a direct share in the maximum competition of Conmebol and that would change the representations. from Ecuador as dominoes: Barcelona, second in the accumulated table, and Independiente del Valle, third, would be Ecuador 3 and Ecuador 4, respectively, leaving Catholics (fourth in the accumulated) outside this distribution, with a quota for South American as a consolation prize.
For this reason, although in Quito the Catholic University will face Barcelona, his real rival last time will be Emelec, who in Guayaquil will receive an Olmedo who no longer plays anything, has no chance to access an international tournament or relegation it is not in danger.
What must happen for Barcelona to reach the final against Liga de Quito?
There are a number of results that could give Barcelona access to the LigaPro final:
- Wins in Quito at U. Católica, regardless of Emelec’s result against Olmedo
- Draw in Quito with U. Católica, regardless of Emelec’s result against Olmedo
- The loss in Quito to U. Católica with the smallest possible difference and that Emelec does not beat Olmedo with a landslide, so that the blues do not reverse the five goals in favor of the yellows.
What must happen for Emelec to reach the final against the Quito League?
- Emelec must defeat Olmedo and hope that Barcelona will lose to U. Católica in Quito. In addition, in this combination of results, Emelec must overcome the advantage of five balance goals in favor of the Canaries.