| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 February – 12 December 2021 |
| Champions | Independiente del Valle (1st title) |
| Relegated | Manta Olmedo |
| Copa Libertadores | Independiente del Valle Emelec Universidad Católica Barcelona |
| Copa Sudamericana | 9 de Octubre LDU Quito Mushuc Runa Delfín |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 654 (2.73 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jonatan Bauman (26 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Mushuc Runa 6–1Delfín (17 July) Dep. Cuenca 5–0Olmedo (26 September) Ind. del Valle 5–0Olmedo (31 October) |
| Biggest away win | Mushuc Runa 2–6U. Católica (9 May) Manta 0–4Emelec (18 July) |
| Highest scoring | Mushuc Runa 2–6U. Católica (9 May) |
←2020 2022 → | |
The2021 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A, known as theLigaPro Betcris 2021 for sponsorship purposes,[1] was the 63rd season of theSerie A, Ecuador's top tierfootball league, and the third under the management of theLiga Profesional de Fútbol del Ecuador (or LigaPro). The season began on 19 February and ended on 12 December 2021.[2]
Independiente del Valle were the champions, winning their first league title by defeatingEmelec in the finals by a 4–2 aggregate score.[3]Barcelona were the defending champions, having won theprevious season.
On 1 January 2021, LigaPro president Miguel Ángel Loor confirmed that the 2021 season would be contested by 16 teams and the competition would be played under the same format as the previous season.[4] Three stages were played, with the first and second ones to be played as single round-robin tournaments with all teams playing each other once for a total of 15 matches per stage. The first stage fixture was reversed for the second stage, and the top teams at the end of each stage qualified for the final stage as well as theCopa Libertadores group stage. The finals were a double-legged series between the winners of both stages with a penalty shoot-out deciding the champion in case of a tie in points and goals scored. In case a team won both stages of the season, the finals would not be played and that team would win the championship.
An aggregate table including the matches of both the first and second stages was used to decide international qualification and relegation, with the best two teams (other than the stage winners) qualifying for the Copa Libertadores, the next best three teams qualifying for theCopa Sudamericana, while the remaining Copa Sudamericana berth would be awarded to the champions of the 2021Copa Ecuador, which was eventually cancelled.[5] The bottom two teams of the aggregate table at the end of the season will be relegated to Serie B.
16 teams competed in the season.LDU Portoviejo andEl Nacional were relegated after finishing in the bottom two places of the aggregate table of the previous season, being replaced by2020 Serie B champions9 de Octubre and runners-upManta.
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 de Octubre |  Juan Carlos León | Jasa Evolution | GolTV Play |
| Aucas |  Héctor Bidoglio | Umbro | Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. |
| Barcelona |  Fabián Bustos | Marathon | Pilsener |
| Delfín | Horacio Montemurro | Baldo's | Banco del Pacífico |
| Deportivo Cuenca |  Guillermo Sanguinetti | Lotto | Chubb Seguros |
| Emelec |  Ismael Rescalvo | Adidas | Tubos Pacífico |
| Guayaquil City | Pool Gavilánez | Astro | Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. |
| Independiente del Valle |  Renato Paiva | Marathon | Chery Banco Guayaquil |
| LDU Quito | Pablo Marini | Puma | Banco Pichincha |
| Macará | Paúl Vélez | Boman | Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. |
| Manta | Fabián Frías | Astro | Atún Isabel |
| Mushuc Runa | Geovanny Cumbicus | Boman | Cooperativa Mushuc Runa |
| Olmedo | Héctor González | Boman | Cooperativa Daquilema |
| Orense | Andrés García | Elohim | Banco de Machala |
| Técnico Universitario |  José Eugenio Hernández | Boman | Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. |
| Universidad Católica | Miguel RondelliOmar Andrade (caretakers) | Umbro | Banco Pichincha |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First stage | ||||||
| Delfín | Horacio Montemurro | End of caretaker spell | 19 December 2020 | Pre-season | Paúl Vélez | 27 December 2020[6] |
| Mushuc Runa | Ricardo Dillon | End of contract | 19 December 2020 | Geovanny Cumbicus | 24 December 2020[7] | |
| Independiente del Valle | Miguel Ángel Ramírez | Resigned | 20 December 2020[8] | Renato Paiva | 25 December 2020[9] | |
| Olmedo | Geovanny Cumbicus | End of contract | 20 December 2020 | Pablo Trobbiani | 27 December 2020[10] | |
| Macará | Paúl Vélez | 21 December 2020[11] | Eduardo Favaro | 25 December 2020[12] | ||
| Aucas | Darío Tempesta | Sacked | 14 March 2021[13] | 10th | Héctor Bidoglio | 16 March 2021[14] |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Guillermo Duró | Promoted to sporting director | 18 May 2021[15] | 12th | Guillermo Sanguinetti | 18 May 2021[15] |
| Orense | Patricio Lara | Sacked | 31 May 2021[16] | 14th | Andrés García | 6 June 2021[17] |
| LDU Quito | Pablo Repetto | Mutual consent | 16 June 2021[18] | 7th | Pablo Marini[i] | 25 June 2021[20] |
| Olmedo | Pablo Trobbiani | Resigned | 13 July 2021[21] | 16th | César Ramos (caretaker) | 14 July 2021[22] |
| Second stage | ||||||
| Delfín | Paúl Vélez | Mutual consent | 31 July 2021[23] | 8th | Horacio Montemurro | 4 August 2021[24] |
| Macará | Eduardo Favaro | Sacked | 3 August 2021[25] | 15th | Paúl Vélez | 5 August 2021[26] |
| Olmedo | César Ramos | End of caretaker spell | 5 August 2021 | 16th | Luis Espinel | 5 August 2021[27] |
| Luis Espinel | Resigned | 28 September 2021[28] | Nelson Brito | 28 September 2021[28] | ||
| Universidad Católica | Santiago Escobar | 25 October 2021[29] | 4th | Miguel RondelliOmar Andrade[ii] | 25 October 2021[29] | |
| Olmedo | Nelson Brito | Mutual consent | 1 November 2021[30] | 16th | Héctor González | 1 November 2021[31] |
The first stage began on 19 February and ended on 19 July 2021.[32]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emelec | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 14 | +15 | 34 | Advance toFinals and qualification forCopa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Barcelona | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 13 | +18 | 31 | |
| 3 | Independiente del Valle | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 18 | +9 | 27 | |
| 4 | Universidad Católica | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 25 | |
| 5 | Mushuc Runa | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 25 | |
| 6 | LDU Quito | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 25 | |
| 7 | Macará | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 23 | |
| 8 | 9 de Octubre | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 21 | +1 | 20 | |
| 9 | Aucas | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 19 | |
| 10 | Delfín | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 25 | −6 | 18 | |
| 11 | Deportivo Cuenca | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 16 | |
| 12 | Manta | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 25 | −7 | 16 | |
| 13 | Técnico Universitario | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 17 | −6 | 13 | |
| 14 | Orense | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 24 | −10 | 12 | |
| 15 | Guayaquil City | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 30 | −19 | 10 | |
| 16 | Olmedo[a] | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 27 | −14 | 9 |
| Home \ Away | 9OC | AUC | BSC | DEL | CUE | EME | GUA | IDV | LDQ | MAC | MAN | MUS | OLM | ORE | TEC | CAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 de Octubre | — | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | — | 4–0 | — | — | — | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | — | 1–0 |
| Aucas | — | — | — | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 3–4 | — | — | — | — | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | — |
| Barcelona | — | 3–0[a] | — | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | — | 3–0 | — | — | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | — |
| Delfín | 2–2 | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | — | 2–4 | 1–1 | — | — |
| Deportivo Cuenca | — | — | 1–0 | — | — | — | 3–0 | — | 2–2 | — | — | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Emelec | 0–1 | — | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 2–0 | — |
| Guayaquil City | — | — | 0–3 | — | — | — | — | — | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | — | 4–1 | — | 1–2 |
| Independiente del Valle | 2–1 | — | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | — | 3–1 | — | — | 2–0 | — | — | — | 2–3 |
| LDU Quito | 4–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | — | 2–1 |
| Macará | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |
| Manta | — | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–4 | — | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–2 | — |
| Mushuc Runa | — | 1–3 | 2–2 | 6–1 | — | 1–2 | — | — | — | 0–0 | 4–2 | — | 4–0 | — | — | 2–6 |
| Olmedo | — | — | — | — | 2–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Orense | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | — | — | 2–3 | — | 2–0 | — | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | — | 0–3 |
| Técnico Universitario | 0–0 | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | — | — |
| Universidad Católica | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–3 | — | — | — | 1–1 | 3–3 | — | 3–0[b] | — | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Independiente del Valle | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 9 | +20 | 34 | Advance toFinals and qualification forCopa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Emelec | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 15 | +15 | 30 | |
| 3 | 9 de Octubre | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 17 | +8 | 30 | |
| 4 | Universidad Católica | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 25 | 15 | +10 | 29 | |
| 5 | LDU Quito | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 23 | |
| 6 | Delfín | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 20 | +5 | 22 | |
| 7 | Técnico Universitario | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 22 | |
| 8 | Aucas | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 20 | |
| 9 | Barcelona | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 20 | |
| 10 | Guayaquil City | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 20 | |
| 11 | Orense | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 19 | |
| 12 | Deportivo Cuenca | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 16 | |
| 13 | Mushuc Runa | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 21 | −9 | 16 | |
| 14 | Macará | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 13 | |
| 15 | Manta | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 21 | −10 | 12 | |
| 16 | Olmedo | 15 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 49 | −40 | 1 |
| Home \ Away | 9OC | AUC | BSC | DEL | CUE | EME | GUA | IDV | LDQ | MAC | MAN | MUS | OLM | ORE | TEC | CAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 de Octubre | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 3–1 | 0–1 | — |
| Aucas | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | — | 1–2 |
| Barcelona | 1–3 | — | — | — | 3–2 | — | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 4–0 | — | — | — | 1–1 |
| Delfín | — | 1–2 | 4–1 | — | — | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | — | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | — | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–3 | — | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 5–0 | — | — | — |
| Emelec | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 |
| Guayaquil City | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | — | — | — | — | 4–2 | — | 1–0 | — |
| Independiente del Valle | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | — | 3–2 | — | — | — | 4–0 | 1–1 | — | 5–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — |
| LDU Quito | — | — | — | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | — | — | — | — | 4–0 | — | 1–0 | — |
| Macará | — | — | 1–1 | 2–3 | — | — | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | — | — | 1–2 |
| Manta | 1–3 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | — | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 |
| Mushuc Runa | 1–2 | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | — |
| Olmedo | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2–5 | — | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Orense | — | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | — |
| Técnico Universitario | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | — | — | — | 1–1 |
| Universidad Católica | 2–0 | — | — | — | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — | — | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | — | — |
The finals (Third stage) were played byEmelec (first stage winners) andIndependiente del Valle (second stage winners). The winners of the double-legged series were the Serie A champions and earned theEcuador 1 berth in the2022 Copa Libertadores, and the losers were the Serie A runners-up and earned theEcuador 2 berth in the 2022 Copa Libertadores. By having the greater number of points in the aggregate table, Emelec played the second leg at home.
| Independiente del Valle | 3–1 | Emelec |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Emelec | 1–1 | Independiente del Valle |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Independiente del Valle won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emelec | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 64 | Qualification forCopa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Independiente del Valle(C) | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 56 | 27 | +29 | 61 | |
| 3 | Universidad Católica | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 54 | 33 | +21 | 54 | Qualification forCopa Libertadores second stage |
| 4 | Barcelona | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 51 | Qualification forCopa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | 9 de Octubre | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 47 | 38 | +9 | 50 | Qualification forCopa Sudamericana first stage[a] |
| 6 | LDU Quito | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 48 | |
| 7 | Mushuc Runa | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 41 | 42 | −1 | 41 | |
| 8 | Delfín | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 40 | |
| 9 | Aucas | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 47 | 43 | +4 | 39 | |
| 10 | Macará | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 35 | 46 | −11 | 36 | |
| 11 | Técnico Universitario | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 26 | −2 | 35 | |
| 12 | Deportivo Cuenca | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 42 | −3 | 32 | |
| 13 | Orense | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 31 | |
| 14 | Guayaquil City | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 27 | 48 | −21 | 30 | |
| 15 | Manta(R) | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 29 | 46 | −17 | 28 | Relegation toSerie B |
| 16 | Olmedo[b](R) | 30 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 22 | 76 | −54 | 10 |
| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonatan Bauman | Mushuc Runa / Independiente del Valle | 26 |
| 2 | Jhon Cifuente | Delfín | 17 |
| 3 | Lisandro Alzugaray | Universidad Católica | 15 |
| 4 | Diego Dorregaray | Deportivo Cuenca | 14 |
| 5 |  José Fajardo | 9 de Octubre | 12 |
| Francisco Fydriszewski | Aucas | ||
| 7 | Facundo Barceló | Emelec | 10 |
| Jhonny Quiñónez | Aucas | ||
| Sebastián Rodríguez | Emelec | ||
| Joao Rojas | Emelec |
Source:FEF
