At the end of the first half, Católica approached with good shots that complicated the visiting defense, but their attackers’ shots lacked precision. This type of action took the game out of the monotony with which a large part of the first half was played, full of fouls and interruptions.
The first option for the goal of the game was lost by Óscar Cortés who, after taking advantage of a coverage error by the local central defenders, before the departure of goalkeeper Darwin Cuero, his shot escaped through the goalkeeper’s right side, with which he finished crashing
After the collision with the attacker, the goalkeeper was injured and the Brazilian referee Braulio Machado suspended the actions for 7 minutes, so that he could be attended to. Cuero reappeared, but with several patches that covered the wounds on his face.
The local midfielder Williams Cevallos tried the first shot against the opposite goal, at minute 41, but the ball escaped next to the right upright.
Católica prepared a quick counterattack between their attackers Cristian Colman and Ismael Díaz that left Aron Rodríguez in the possibility of a shot, whose shot went off the side of the goal.
Finally, the goalkeeper Cuero was replaced at the beginning of the second half due to the injury suffered and the Venezuelan Rafael Romo entered in his position.
Católica created another great goal opportunity, but the shot with a header from Panamanian Díaz crashed into Álvaro Montero’s goal, at minute 61.
Possession and control of the game was owned by the Ecuadorian team, but they needed to better harmonize their game and decide to finish off the opposite goal, while Millonarios showed signs that the tie ended up being a good result.
The Católica coach, the Spanish Igor Oca, directed from the stands because he did not comply with the documentation to be endorsed by the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), so in the technical area was his assistant, the Argentine Daniel Neculman.