Football across nations: January 2020

2020 Peruvian First Division (Liga 1)

Season	2020
Dates	31 January 2020 – 20 December 2020
Champions	Sporting Cristal
Copa Libertadores	Sporting Cristal Universitario de Deportes Ayacucho FC Universidad César Vallejo
Copa Sudamericana	Carlos A. Mannucci Sport Huancayo Universidad Técnica de Cajamarca FBC Melgar
Relegated	Deportivo Llacuabamba Carlos Stein Atlético Grau
Matches played	284
Goals scored	750 (2.64 goals/match)
Top goalscorer	Emanuel Herrera (Sporting Cristal) – 20 goals
Biggest home win	Cienciano – Universidad de San Martín 4-0 (9 February 2020) FBC Melgar – Sport Huancayo 4-0 (18 November 2020)
Biggest away win	Llacuabamba – FBC Melgar 0-6 (21 November 2020)
Highest scoring	Binacional – Sporting Cristal 3-6 (17 October 2020)
Longest winning run	Sporting Cristal (8 matches, round 18 Apertura – round 6 Clausura)
Longest unbeaten run	Universidad César Vallejo (19 matches, round 7 Apertura – round 6 Clausura)
Longest winless run	Atlético Grau (10 matches, rounds 1-10 Apertura) Deportivo Llacuabamba (10 matches, rounds 10-19 Apertura)
Longest losing run	Alianza Lima (5 matches, rounds 5-9 Clausura)
Total attendance	No spectators were allowed after round 6 of Apertura
Highest attendance	No spectators were allowed after round 6 of Apertura
Lowest attendance	No spectators were allowed after round 6 of Apertura
Average attendance	No spectators were allowed after round 6 of Apertura

Competition details and format

The Peruvian First Division (Primera División in Spanish) is the main football competition in Peru and the top tier of the football system in Peru. Since 2019, it has been officially called Liga 1 (Liga 1 Movistar for sponsorship reasons), and in 2020 it had this name for a second time. Primera División is however the generic name and it was the 104^th edition under this name in 2020. Deportivo Binacional were the defending champions, but failed to compete for the title again and even classified in the lower part of the table. Sporting Cristal won the title for the 20^th time in their history, defeating Universitario de Deportes 3-2 on aggregate in the play-off final. Their last five titles came every even year (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020). It is the first time since the establishment of the new play-off system that the national champions are neither the winners of Apertura, nor the winners of Clausura.

It was the first season in the history of the competition with 20 participants and the first one to incorporate the use of Video Assistance Referee (VAR) review system. Nevertheless, the number of participants would be reduced to 18 in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the 2020 Second Division and led to the cancellation of the 2020 Copa Perú.

The COVID-19 pandemic had effects on the competition, which was suspended on 11 March 2020. In May 2020 it was decided to restart the competition on the 31^st of July 2020, under very strict health protocols, and with all the matches played on neutral grounds, in Lima and Callao, and without spectators. The structure of the competition was also changed, as the Clausura (called Stage 2) would involve two groups of 10 teams, while the Apertura (renamed Stage 1) would be played normally. The 2020 Copa Bicentenario was postponed for 2021. The restart of the competition was postponed again for the 7^th of August 2020, to provide the teams with more training time. A single match (Academia Cantolao – Universitario de Deportes 0-0) was played on the 7^th of August, because the behavior of some Universitario fans outside the stadium disregarded the health-related protocols, and all the other matches were again cancelled. Eventually, the competition restarted on the 18^th and 19^th of August 2020, with all the other matches of the 7^th round of Apertura (Stage 1).

The competition was organized mainly by the FPF (Federación Peruana de Fútbol – Peruvian Football Federation) with the help of the ADFP (Asociación Deportiva de Fútbol Profesional – Professional Football Sports Association). Most matches were broadcasted by Gol Perú (Gol TV), while most of the other matches were broadcasted by DirecTV Sports.

This was the first time that 20 teams participated in the competition, an increase by 2 from the 18 teams that had competed in the previous year. The Peruvian First Division is normally divided into 2 tournaments (Apertura and Clausura, this year renamed Stage 1 and Stage 2), usually followed by a decisive play-off between the winners of the tournaments and the teams classified first and second in the aggregate table (if different from the winners of the tournaments) to establish the champions. In the event that the same team wins both tournaments, they are crowned champions and no play-off is played.

Therefore, the first tournament to be played was the Apertura (Stage 1). All teams played against each other once (single round-robin), for a total of 19 matches. The first six rounds were played under normal conditions until the 9^th of March 2020. Then, the competition was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restarted with the 7^th round in August 2020. All matches from the 7^th round onwards were played on selected stadiums (neutral grounds) in Lima and Callao, without spectators and under strict health-related rules. The winners of the Apertura (Stage 1) qualify for the play-off semifinals if they are among the top ten in the final aggregate table, and they might qualify directly for the finals if they are classified first or second in the final aggregate table. The winners of the Apertura (Stage 1) also qualify for the next year Copa Libertadores. On the 5^th of October 2020, with three rounds to go, Universitario de Deportes became Apertura winners as they won 3-1 over UTC and increased their lead to 11 points above the second placed.

The second tournament was the Clausura (Stage 2). Points earned during the Apertura were not carried over in the Clausura. Under normal circumstances, teams would play against each other once (single round-robin), for a total of 19 matches, in the same order and reversed location in respect to Apertura. However, in 2020, because the competition involved a five-month break (March through August) and there would not be enough time to finish the competition before the end of the year, the Clausura (Stage 2) involved two groups of 10 teams, selected according to the Apertura (Stage 1) final table. Teams in the same group will play against each other once, for a total of 9 matches. The winners of the two groups played the Clausura (Stage 2) final, to decide the winners of the tournament. The winners of Clausura have the same status as the winners of the Apertura, so they also qualify for the play-off semifinals if they are among the top ten in the final aggregate table and might qualify directly for the finals if they finish first or second in the aggregate table. The winners of the Clausura also qualify for the next year Copa Libertadores under the same condition. Sporting Cristal clearly won Group A, while the winners of Group B were decided in the last minute of the last round, as Ayacucho FC won 1-0 over Carlos A. Mannucci, scoring the decisive goal in stoppage time. In the Clausura final, Ayacucho FC surprisingly defeated Sporting Cristal on penalties (after a 1-1 draw) to claim their place in the play-off semifinals… where they met Sporting Cristal again.

The final aggregate table (Apertura + Clausura) is very important. The teams classified first and second in the aggregate table would qualify for the play-off semifinals even if they did not win either tournament and therefore have a chance to become national champions. If the teams finishing first or second in the aggregate table are also the winners of any tournament, they will qualify directly to the play-off finals. However, if the same team wins both tournaments, they are champions and no play-off is played, so the second classified in the aggregate table cannot participate in the play-offs. Sporting Cristal classified first in the aggregate table and qualified for the play-off semifinals, even if they did not win any tournament. They were sure of their place in the play-offs (at least the second place in the aggregate table) after a 1-1 draw with UTC in the 8^th (second to last) round of Clausura, on the 23^rd of November, as they were 3 points ahead of second classified Universitario and 5 points ahead of third classified Universidad César Vallejo. Universitario de Deportes won 2-0 over Binacional in the last round of Clausura on 30 November and therefore remained in second place in the aggregate table. As already winners of Apertura, they qualified directly to the play-off finals. Universidad César Vallejo came third and missed the play-offs by a small margin, although in the last round they still had a chance, either by winning Group B of Clausura (eventually won by Ayacucho) or by getting to the second place in the aggregate table (eventually claimed by Universitario). However, they qualified for 2021 Copa Libertadores, as Peru 4.

The aggregate table also decides the relegation. Initially, the four teams with the worst overall record (classified 17^th, 18^th, 19^th and 20^th) were to be relegated to the Second Division. However, due to the cancellation of the 2020 Copa Perú and the reduced schedule of the 2020 Second Division (made up by only 10 teams), in August 2020 it was decided that only three teams will be relegated, those classified 18^th, 19^th and 20^th in the aggregate table. Only the winners of the 2020 Second Division would promote to the 2021 Liga 1, so the number of teams would decrease to 18 in the next year. By losing 6-0 to FBC Melgar on the 21^st of November 2020, in round 7 of Clausura, Deportivo Llacuabamba became the first team that was mathematically relegated after just one year in the First Division. The other two relegated teams were only decided in the last round of Clausura, on the 28^th of November. Atlético Grau and Carlos Stein had stayed for a long time on the relegation positions in the table, but they managed a sort of come-back during the Clausura, taking advantage of the very poor form of Alianza Lima and Academia Cantolao. Therefore, in the last round, any two of these four teams could be relegated. Atlético Grau, last classified among them, needed to win but only succeeded a 1-1 draw against Alianza Universidad and were relegated. The biggest surprise was the defeat of Alianza Lima, 2-0 to Sport Huancayo, actually their fifth defeat in a row, which led to the relegation of the 2019 runners-up and former (23 times) title winners for the first time since 1940. Carlos Stein, which were equal in points to Alianza Lima before this last round, managed a 1-1 draw against UTC to stay for another year in the First Division. Academia Cantolao, despite losing 3-2 to Sporting Cristal, took benefit of the poor results of the others to remain in the top flight. However, Alianza Lima managed to reverse the decision of their relegation to the Second Division, by appealing to the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne regarding certain financial irregularities of Carlos Stein. On 17 March 2021, more than three months after the last round of Clausura, the Court of Arbitration of Sport ruled that Carlos Stein were to be penalized by 2 points for their irregularities. Despite the fact that 2021 season had started already and Carlos Stein had played one match in the first round of the First Division, they were relegated to the Second Division, their result in the first round was cancelled, and Alianza Lima were accepted back in the First Division in their place for the 2021 season of the Peruvian First Division.

The possible remaining berth(s) for the Copa Libertadores and all teams to participate in the Copa Sudamericana (except for the winners of Copa Bicentenario, which was however not played in 2020) were established according to the final ranking of the aggregate table. The three teams qualified for the play-offs, Sporting Cristal, Universitario de Deportes, and Ayacucho FC, also qualified for the next year Copa Libertadores. The fourth Copa Libertadores berth was assigned to Universidad César Vallejo, as the best classified team in the aggregate table not qualified for the play-offs. Teams classified fifth through eighth in the aggregate table qualified for the next year Copa Sudamericana: Carlos A. Mannucci, which missed the fourth place and a historical qualification to Copa Libertadores by losing 1-0 to Ayacucho FC in the last round, Sport Huancayo, Universidad Técnica de Cajamarca and FBC Melgar.

The play-offs decide the national champions, unless the same team wins both tournaments. The play-offs possibly involve one or two semifinals and the final. There are four possible situations:

1. Two different teams win the tournaments and are not classified first or second in the aggregate table, but in the first ten. In this case, the two winners of the tournaments and the two teams classified first and second in the aggregate table would qualify for the semifinals, to be played in two legs. The winners of the semifinals would qualify for the final, also to be played in two legs.

2. Two different teams win the tournaments and one of them is classified first or second in the aggregate table, while the other is not. This was the situation in 2020, just like in 2019. In this case, the team which won a tournament and is classified first or second in the aggregate table (Universitario de Deportes) is directly qualified for the final and only one semifinal is to be played, between the winner of the other tournament (Ayacucho FC) and the team classified first or second in the aggregate table which is not the winner of any tournament (Sporting Cristal). The semifinal and the final will be played in two legs.

3. Two different teams win the tournaments and are classified first and second in the aggregate table. In this case, both teams will qualify for the final, and no semifinals are played. The final will be played in two legs.

4. The same team wins both tournaments. In this case, they are crowned champions and no play-off is played.

In the play-off semifinal, Sporting Cristal won both legs over Ayacucho FC, 2-1 and 4-1, and qualified with a score of 6-2 on aggregate for the play-off final. Unlike 2019 and before (when legs were played home and away), both matches were played in Lima, technically on neutral ground (Monumental Stadium), just like all the other matches since the league was resumed in August, due to COVID-19 health-related restrictions.

Sporting Cristal, which showed an excellent form in the last part of the season, also won the first leg of the play-off final, 2-1 over Universitario de Deportes, and succeeded to get a draw, 1-1, in the second leg, to win 3-2 on aggregate. Both legs were played at the National Stadium in Lima (neutral ground). Sporting Cristal achieved their 20^th title, and their fifth in the last 10 years, winning in every even year (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020).

Team changes from 2019

To the First Division

Promoted from the Second Division

Cienciano (Second Division winners)

Promoted from the Copa Perú

Carlos Stein (Copa Perú winners)

Promoted via play-offs (“Cuadrangular de Ascenso”)

Atlético Grau (play-off winners, Second Division fourth place)

Deportivo Llacuabamba (play-off runners-up, Copa Perú runners-up)

From the First Division - Relegated to the Second Division

Unión Comercio (17^th in 2019)

Pirata FC (18^th in 2019)

Teams

Team	Home town	Stadium	Capacity	2019
Deportivo Binacional	Juliaca	Guillermo Briceño	20030	Champions
Alianza Lima	Lima	Alejandro Villanueva	35000	Runners-up
Sporting Cristal	Lima	Alberto Gallardo[1]	11600	3^rd overall
Universitario de Deportes	Lima	Monumental	80093	4^th overall
Sport Huancayo	Huancayo	Huancayo	20000	5^th overall
FBC Melgar	Arequipa	Monumental UNSA	60370	6^th overall
Cusco FC[2]	Cusco	Garcilaso de la Vega	42056	7^th overall
Universidad César Vallejo	Trujillo	Mansiche	23214	8^th overall
Ayacucho FC	Ayacucho	Ciudad de Cumaná	15000	9^th overall
Carlos A. Mannucci	Trujillo	Mansiche	23214	10^th overall
Academia Cantolao	Callao	Miguel Grau	17000	11^th overall
Alianza Universidad	Huánuco	Heraclio Tapia León	25000	12^th overall
Universidad de San Martín	Lima	Alberto Gallardo¹	11600	13^th overall
Universidad Técnica de C.	Cajamarca	Héroes de San Ramón	18000	14^th overall
Sport Boys	Callao	Miguel Grau¹	17000	15^th overall
Deportivo Municipal	Lima	Iván Elías Moreno	13773	16^th overall
Cienciano	Cusco	Garcilaso de la Vega	42056	Promoted
Carlos Stein	Olmos	Francisco Mendoza	5000	Promoted
Atlético Grau	Piura	Campeones del 36[3]	12000	Promoted
Deportivo Llacuabamba	Llacuabamba	Germán Contreras[4]	6300	Promoted

Geographical distribution of teams

More than one third of the teams, 7 out of 20 are from the Capital Region – 5 from the Province of Lima and 2 from the Province of Callao. One department, La Libertad, has 3 teams – Universidad César Vallejo, Carlos A. Mannucci and Deportivo Llacuabamba. The department of Cusco has two teams – Cusco FC and Cienciano. The other 8 teams come from 8 different departments.

Location of the 2020 Peruvian First Division teams. Source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liga_1_2020_(Perú)

Province or department	Number	Name of the teams
Lima	5	Alianza Lima, Sporting Cristal, Universitario de Deportes, Deportivo Municipal, Universidad de San Martín
La Libertad	3	Universidad César Vallejo, Carlos A. Mannucci, Deportivo Llacuabamba
Callao	2	Academia Cantolao, Sport Boys
Cusco	2	Cusco FC, Cienciano
Arequipa	1	FBC Melgar
Ayacucho	1	Ayacucho FC
Cajamarca	1	Universidad Técnica de Cajamarca
Huánuco	1	Alianza Universidad
Junín	1	Sport Huancayo
Lambayeque	1	Carlos Stein
Piura	1	Atlético Grau
Puno	1	Deportivo Binacional

Foreign players

Each team is allowed a maximum of 5 foreign players in the squad but only 4 of them may play simultaneously in the field, while the fifth one is allowed on the bench. A foreign player could be replaced in the roster by another foreign player only during the larger mid-year transfer window. If a foreign player receives Peruvian citizenship during the course of the year, he would still be counted as a foreign player throughout that year.

Most foreign players are from South American countries, especially Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Paraguay. Many of the foreign players are strikers and are usually among the top goalscorers of the competition.

Compulsory use of young players (“bolsa de minutos”)

For the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, each team has to use one or more players born in 2000 or after for a total of at least 1710 minutes in Apertura and 810 minutes in Clausura, for a total of at least 2520 minutes. As there are 28 matches overall, it means that a young player has to play 90 minutes (the entire game) in each round, on average. If these requirements are not met by a team, points would be deducted for that team.

Apertura (Stage 1)

The Apertura (or Stage 1) is the first tournament of the 2020 Peruvian First Division (Liga 1 Movistar). Each team play each other once (single round-robin), a total of 19 matches. It started on the 31^st of January and was suspended on 11 March 2020, with only the first six rounds played. It was restarted on the 7^th of August 2020 with just one game, then on the 18^th and 19^th of August 2020 with the other games of round 7, and ended on 19 October 2020. Beginning with round 7, all matches were played in Lima and Callao, on neutral grounds, without spectators, and under very strict health-related protocols due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Universitario de Deportes won this tournament.

Round 1 (31 January – 3 February 2020)

FBC Melgar – Universitario 1-2

Alianza Lima – Alianza Universidad 2-3

UTC – Sporting Cristal 2-1

Sport Huancayo – Atlético Grau 1-0

Universidad César Vallejo – Deportivo Municipal 1-1

Universidad San Martín – Ayacucho 3-1

Academia Cantolao – Cienciano 2-1

Carlos Stein – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-2

Sport Boys – Deportivo Llacuabamba 3-2

Cusco FC – Deportivo Binacional 0-2

Round 2 (7-9 February 2020)

Ayacucho – Sport Boys 2-1

Atlético Garu – Universidad César Vallejo 1-1

Deportivo Binacional – Melgar 2-4

Universitario – Sport Huancayo 2-1

Sporting Cristal – Cusco FC 3-2

Cienciano – Universidad San Martín 4-0

Alianza Universidad – Carlos Stein 1-0

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Academia Cantolao 3-1

Carlos A. Mannucci – Alianza Lima 1-1

Deportivo Municipal – UTC 0-0

Round 3 (14-17 February 2020)

Cienciano – Deportivo Llacuabamba 5-2

Universidad César Vallejo – Deportivo Binacional 0-2

Academia Cantolao – Ayacucho 0-2

Carlos Stein – Universitario 1-3

Sport Boys – Carlos A. Mannucci 3-3

Alianza Lima – Atlético Grau 1-0

Universidad de San Martín – Alianza Universidad 1-2

FBC Melgar – Sporting Cristal 1-0

Sport Huancayo – Deportivo Municipal 1-1

UTC – Cusco FC 2-1

Round 4 (21-24 February 2020)

Deportivo Binacional – UTC 1-0

Deportivo Municipal – Carlos Stein 1-1

Sporting Cristal – Sport Huancayo 0-0

Atlético Grau – Sport Boys 2-3

Cusco FC – FBC Melgar 3-1

Universitario – Universidad César Vallejo 0-2

Carlos A. Mannucci – Academia Cantolao 0-1

Ayacucho FC – Alianza Lima 2-0

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Universidad San Martín 1-2

Alianza Universidad – Cienciano 1-0

Round 5 (28 February – 2 March 2020)

UTC – FBC Melgar 1-1

Alianza Lima – Deportivo Municipal 1-0

Academia Cantolao – Atlético Grau 1-0

Cienciano – Ayacucho FC 1-4

Alianza Universidad – Deportivo Llacuabamba 3-0

Universidad San Martín – Carlos A. Mannucci 2-2

Sport Boys – Universitario 3-3

Carlos Stein – Deportivo Binacional 1-1

Universidad César Vallejo – Sporting Cristal 1-1

Sport Huancayo – Cusco FC 3-2

Round 6 (6-9 March 2020)

Carlos A. Mannucci – Cienciano 0-2

Sporting Cristal – Carlos Stein 0-1

Cusco FC – Universidad César Vallejo 2-1

Deportivo Llacuabamba – UTC 2-2

Deportivo Municipal – Academia Cantolao 2-0

FBC Melgar – Sport Huancayo 1-0

Atlético Grau – Universidad San Martín 0-0

Universitario – Alianza Lima 2-0

Deportivo Binacional – Sport Boys 3-1

Ayacucho FC – Alianza Universidad 1-1

Round 7 (18-19 August 2020)

Academia Cantolao – Universitario 0-0 – played on the 7^th of August 2020

Universidad San Martín – Deportivo Municipal 0-1

Sport Boys – Sporting Cristal 1-4

Sport Huancayo – UTC 2-0

Universidad César Vallejo – FBC Melgar 0-0

Alianza Lima – Binacional 3-0 (awarded, Binacional unable to play due to COVID-19 cases)

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Ayacucho 1-3

Carlos Stein – Cusco FC 1-2

Alianza Universidad – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-1

Cienciano – Atlético Grau 3-0 (awarded, initially 0-0[5])

Round 8 (25-27 August 2020)

Binacional – Academia Cantolao 2-3

Sporting Cristal – Alianza Lima 1-1

Deportivo Municipal – Cienciano 0-1

Carlos A. Mannucci – Deportivo Llacuabamba 1-0

UTC – Universidad César Vallejo 1-3

Ayacucho – Sport Huancayo 1-1

Cusco FC – Sport Boys 2-0

Universitario – Universidad San Martín 2-0

Atlético Grau – Alianza Universidad 1-1

FBC Melgar – Carlos Stein 0-2

Round 9 (29 August – 1 September 2020)

Alianza Lima – Cusco FC 0-0

Cienciano – Universitario 1-3

Academia Cantolao – Sporting Cristal 2-6

Universidad César Vallejo – Sport Huancayo 2-0

Alianza Universidad – Deportivo Municipal 1-1

Sport Boys – FBC Melgar 1-0

Carlos Stein – UTC 0-1

Universidad San Martín – Binacional 0-0

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Atlético Grau 2-0

Ayacucho – Carlos A. Mannucci 1-2

Round 10 (7-9 September 2020)

FBC Melgar – Alianza Lima 2-2

Universitario – Alianza Universidad 3-2

UTC – Sport Boys 2-1

Binacional – Cienciano 0-0

Sport Huancayo – Carlos Stein 1-0

Cusco FC – Academia Cantolao 1-1

Deportivo Municipal – Deportivo Llacuabamba 2-2

Carlos A. Mannucci – Universidad César Vallejo 1-1

Sporting Cristal – Universidad San Martín 2-0

Atlético Grau – Ayacucho 2-2

Round 11 (11-14 September 2020)

Alianza Universidad – Binacional 1-2

Alianza Lima – UTC 0-2

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Universitario 0-1

Sport Boys – Sport Huancayo 0-1

Carlos Stein – Universidad César Vallejo 2-2

Academia Cantolao – FBC Melgar 0-2

Universidad San Martín – Cusco FC 1-2

Ayacucho – Deportivo Municipal 1-2

Carlos A. Mannucci – Atlético Grau 0-2

Cienciano – Sporting Cristal 0-0

Round 12 (17-19 September 2020)

UTC – Academia Cantolao 3-1

Universidad César Vallejo – Sport Boys 2-0

Carlos Stein – Atlético Grau 1-1

Binacional – Deportivo Llacuabamba 2-1

FBC Melgar – Universidad San Martín 1-1

Universitario – Ayacucho 1-0

Deportivo Municipal – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-1

Sport Huancayo – Alianza Lima 1-1

Cusco FC – Cienciano 2-3

Sporting Cristal – Alianza Universidad 2-1

Round 13 (21-24 September 2020)

Sport Boys – Carlos Stein 0-1

Alianza Lima – Universidad César Vallejo 1-1

Universidad San Martín – UTC 1-1

Carlos A. Mannucci – Universitario 2-2

Atlético Grau – Deportivo Municipal 3-2

Academia Cantolao – Sport Huancayo 1-3

Alianza Universidad – Cusco FC 1-0

Cienciano – FBC Melgar 3-1

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Sporting Cristal 1-4

Ayacucho – Binacional 1-0

Round 14 (25-28 September 2020)

Universidad César Vallejo – Academia Cantolao 1-1

Sport Huancayo – Universidad San Martín 4-3

Universitario – Atlético Grau 2-0

Sport Boys – Deportivo Municipal 1-1

UTC – Cienciano 3-0

Carlos Stein – Alianza Lima 0-2

Binacional – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-1

Sporting Cristal – Ayacucho 2-1

Cusco FC – Deportivo Llacuabamba 2-2

FBC Melgar – Alianza Universidad 1-0

Round 15 (29 September – 1 October 2020)

Academia Cantolao – Carlos Stein 2-2

Cienciano – Sport Huancayo 0-0

Universidad San Martín – Universidad César Vallejo 0-1

Carlos A. Mannucci – Sporting Cristal 3-3

Deportivo Municipal – Universitario 0-5

Deportivo Llacuabamba – FBC Melgar 1-1

Ayacucho – Cusco FC 1-1

Alianza Universidad – UTC 0-0

Alianza Lima – Sport Boys 1-1 – played on 7 October 2020

Atlético Grau – Binacional 2-2 – played on 7 October 2020

Round 16 (2-5 October 2020)

Carlos Stein – Universidad de San Martín 1-2

Universidad César Vallejo – Cienciano 1-0

Sport Boys – Academia Catolao 1-2

Binacional – Deportivo Municipal 1-3

Alianza Lima – Deportivo Llacuabamba 2-0

Sporting Cristal – Atlético Grau 1-2

Cusco FC – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-4

FBC Melgar – Ayacucho 0-0

Sport Huancayo – Alianza Universidad 0-1

UTC – Universitario 1-3

Round 17 (8-10 October 2020)

Cienciano – Carlos Stein 0-1

Deportivo Municipal – Sporting Cristal 1-1

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Sport Huancayo 0-2

Ayacucho – UTC 1-1

Alianza Universidad – Universidad César Vallejo 0-0

Carlos A. Mannucci – Melgar 1-1

Universidad de San Martín – Sport Boys 1-1

Academia Cantolao – Alianza Lima 1-0

Atlético Grau – Cusco FC 1-1

Universitario – Binacional 1-1

Round 18 (12-15 October 2020)

Carlos Stein – Deportivo Llacuabamba 3-3

Academia Cantolao – Alianza Universidad 1-2

Cusco FC – Deportivo Municipal 1-1

Alianza Lima – Universidad de San Martín 0-1

Sport Huancayo – Binacional 1-0

Melgar – Atlético Grau 3-0

Sport Boys – Cienciano 2-1

Universidad César Vallejo – Ayacucho 2-1

Sporting Cristal – Universitario 1-0

UTC – Carlos A. Mannucci 2-2

Round 19 (16-19 October 2020)

Universidad de San Martín – Academia Cantolao 2-1

Deportivo Municipal – Melgar 1-2

Alianza Universidad – Sport Boys 0-1

Cienciano – Alianza Lima 2-1

Binacional – Sporting Cristal 3-6

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Universidad César Vallejo 2-3

Ayacucho – Carlos Stein 3-0

Universitario – Cusco FC 3-2

Atlético Grau – UTC 0-0

Carlos A. Mannucci – Sport Huancayo 0-1

Apertura (Stage 1) final table

1	Universitario de Deportes	19	13	4	2	38-18	42	[6] Qualified for the play-off
2	Sport Huancayo	19	10	5	4	23-15	35
3	Sporting Cristal	19	9	6	4	38-23	33
4	Universidad César Vallejo	19	8	9	2	25-16	33
5	Carlos A. Mannucci	19	7	8	4	28-22	29
6	UTC	19	7	8	4	24-20	29
7	Alianza Universidad	19	8	5	6	21-17	29
8	FBC Melgar	19	7	7	5	23-20	28
9	Ayacucho FC	19	7	6	6	28-21	27
10	Cienciano	19	8	3	8	27-23	27
11	Binacional	19	6	5	8	24-29	23
12	Alianza Lima	19	5	7	7	19-20	22
13	Academia Cantolao	19	6	4	9	21-33	22
14	Deportivo Municipal	19	4	9	6	20-24	21
15	Cusco FC	19	5	6	8	26-31	21
16	Universidad San Martín	19	5	6	8	20-27	21
17	Sport Boys	19	5	5	9	24-33	19	[6]
18	Carlos Stein	19	4	6	9	18-28	17	^[6]
19	Atlético Grau	19	3	8	8	17-27	17
20	Deportivo Llacuabamba	19	2	5	12	25-42	11

Clausura (Stage 2)

Points earned during the Apertura will not be carried over in the Clausura (Stage 2), which starts anew, as a different tournament. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the large break caused by it, the tournament had to be changed, from a single round-robin championship involving all 20 teams to a competition divided in 2 groups of 10 teams, in which all teams play each other once, for a total of 9 matches. All matches are played on neutral grounds, in Lima and Callao, without spectators, and under very strict health-related protocols due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The competition started on the 23^rd of October 2020 and will end in December 2020. The winners of the two groups will play the Clausura final or decisive match, to establish the winner of the tournament, which will have access to the play-offs for the title and will qualify for the next year Copa Libertadores.

The two groups have been made according to the Apertura final table. The first classified, Universitario de Deportes, were the seeded team in Group A, while the second classified, Sport Huancayo, were the seeded team of Group B. Each team within every next pair (3^rd and 4^th, then 5^th and 6^th, and so on) was then distributed into one or the other group, according to a drawing of lots, which took place on the 20^th of October 2020.

The final composition of the Clausura groups was thus the following:

Group (Liguilla) A

Universitario de Deportes

Sporting Cristal

UTC

Alianza Universidad

Cienciano

Binacional

Academia Cantolao

Universidad de San Martín

Carlos Stein

Atlético Grau

Group (Liguilla) B

Sport Huancayo

Universidad César Vallejo

Carlos A. Mannucci

FBC Melgar

Ayacucho FC

Alianza Lima

Deportivo Municipal

Cusco FC

Sport Boys

Deportivo Llacuabamba

Group (Liguilla) A

Round 1 (24-26 October 2020)

Universitario – Atlético Grau 2-1

Cienciano – Sporting Cristal 2-3

Carlos Stein – Academia Cantolao 2-1

Alianza Universidad – Universidad de San Martín 0-1

UTC – Binacional 3-0

Round 2 (30-31 October 2020)

Academia Cantolao – Atlético Grau 0-0

Sporting Cristal – Carlos Stein 1-0

Cienciano – UTC 1-1

Universidad San Martín – Binacional 0-2

Alianza Universidad – Universitario 0-1

Round 3 (3-4 November 2020)

UTC – Academia Cantolao 4-2

Universitario – Cienciano 0-1

Atlético Grau – Sporting Cristal 1-4

Carlos Stein – Universidad San Martín 0-2

Binacional – Alianza Universidad 2-1

Round 4 (6-7 November 2020)

Academia Cantolao – Universitario 2-2

Alianza Universidad – Carlos Stein 3-2

Cienciano – Binacional 1-1

UTC – Atlético Grau 0-0

Universidad San Martín – Sporting Cristal 0-2

Round 5 (10-11 November 2020)

Binacional – Academia Cantolao 1-0

Universitario – UTC 1-6

Sporting Cristal – Alianza Universidad 2-0

Atlético Grau – Universidad San Martín 0-2

Carlos Stein – Cienciano 3-2

Round 6 (13-16 November 2020)

UTC – Alianza Universidad 1-2

Academia Cantolao – Cienciano 2-0

Universitario – Universidad San Martín 2-3

Binacional – Sporting Cristal 1-2

Atlético Grau – Carlos Stein 3-1

Round 7 (19-21 November 2020)

Alianza Universidad – Academia Cantolao 1-1

Universidad San Martín – UTC 1-1

Cienciano – Atlético Grau 1-0

Sporting Cristal – Universitario 2-2

Carlos Stein – Binacional 1-3

Round 8 (23-24 November 2020)

Academia Cantolao – Universidad San Martín 1-2

Cienciano – Alianza Universidad 2-0

UTC – Sporting Cristal 1-1

Universitario – Carlos Stein 0-2

Binacional – Atlético Grau 1-3

Round 9 (28-30 November 2020)

Atlético Grau – Alianza Universidad 1-1

Sporting Cristal – Academia Cantolao 3-2

Carlos Stein – UTC 1-1

Universidad San Martín – Cienciano 1-2

Binacional – Universitario 0-2

Group A table

1	Sporting Cristal	9	7	2	0	20-9	23	Qualified for Stage 2 final
2	Universidad San Martín	9	5	1	3	12-10	16
3	UTC	9	3	5	1	18-9	14
4	Cienciano	9	4	2	3	12-11	14
5	Binacional	9	4	1	4	11-13	13
6	Universitario de Deportes	9	3	2	4	12-17	11
7	Carlos Stein	9	3	1	5	12-16	10
8	Atlético Grau	9	2	3	4	9-12	9
9	Alianza Universidad	9	2	2	5	8-13	8
10	Academia Cantolao	9	1	3	5	11-15	6

Group (Liguilla) B

Round 1 (23-26 October 2020)

Cusco FC – FBC Melgar 3-1

Deportivo Municipal – Sport Huancayo 0-0

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Sport Boys 3-0

Carlos A. Mannucci – Universidad César Vallejo 2-3

Alianza Lima – Ayacucho FC 1-2

Round 2 (29-31 October 2020)

Carlos A. Mannucci – Cusco FC 0-2

Sport Boys – Sport Huancayo 3-2

Alianza Lima – Deportivo Municipal 1-2

Universidad César Vallejo – Deportivo Llacuabamba 2-0

Ayacucho FC – FBC Melgar 2-0

Round 3 (2-3 November 2020)

Cusco FC – Sport Boys 1-2

Deportivo Municipal – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-2

FBC Melgar – Alianza Lima 0-4

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Ayacucho FC 1-0

Sport Huancayo – Universidad César Vallejo 0-0 – played on the 12^th of November 2020

Round 4 (5-6 November 2020)

Sport Boys – Deportivo Municipal 1-0

Cusco FC – Sport Huancayo 0-0

Alianza Lima – Deportivo Llacuabamba 2-2

Ayacucho FC – Universidad César Vallejo 1-1

Carlos A. Mannucci – FBC Melgar 0-0 – played on the 12^th of November 2020

Round 5 (9-10 November 2020)

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-2

Sport Huancayo – Ayacucho FC 0-3

Universidad César Vallejo – Alianza Lima 4-1

FBC Melgar – Sport Boys 4-1

Deportivo Municipal – Cusco FC 1-1

Round 6 (14-16 November 2020)

Deportivo Municipal – Ayacucho FC 1-1

Sport Boys – Carlos A. Mannucci 0-4

FBC Melgar – Universidad César Vallejo 0-2

Cusco FC – Alianza Lima 1-0

Sport Huancayo – Deportivo Llacuabamba 4-3

Round 7 (20-21 November 2020)

Ayacucho FC – Cusco FC 3-1

Universidad César Vallejo – Deportivo Municipal 0-1

Deportivo Llacuabamba – FBC Melgar 0-6

Alianza Lima – Sport Boys 0-2

Carlos A. Mannucci – Sport Huancayo 2-1

Round 8 (24-25 November 2020)

FBC Melgar – Sport Huancayo 4-0 – played in advance, on 18 November 2020

Sport Boys – Ayacucho FC 0-1

Cusco FC – Universidad César Vallejo 1-1

Deportivo Municipal – Deportivo Llacuabamba 2-5

Carlos A. Mannucci – Alianza Lima 1-0

Round 9 (28-30 November 2020)

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Cusco FC 2-3

Sport Huancayo – Alianza Lima 2-0

FBC Melgar – Deportivo Municipal 3-2

Ayacucho FC – Carlos A. Mannucci 1-0

Universidad César Vallejo – Sport Boys 3-1

Group B table

1	Ayacucho FC	9	6	2	1	14-5	20	Qualified for Stage 2 final
2	Universidad César Vallejo	9	5	3	1	16-7	18
3	Carlos A. Mannucci	9	5	1	3	13-7	16
4	Cusco FC	9	4	3	2	13-10	15
5	FBC Melgar	9	4	1	4	18-14	13
6	Sport Boys	9	4	0	5	10-18	12
7	Deportivo Llacuabamba	9	3	1	5	16-21	10
8	Deportivo Municipal	9	2	3	4	9-14	9
9	Sport Huancayo	9	2	3	4	9-15	9
10	Alianza Lima	9	1	1	7	9-16	4

Clausura final / decisive match (theoretically on neutral ground) – 5 December 2020

Sporting Cristal – Ayacucho FC 1-1 (1-0, 0-1, 0-0) after 90 minutes and extra time.

Ayacucho FC won 3-2 on penalties and are therefore the winners of Clausura; as such, they qualified for the play-offs.

Aggregate table (Apertura + Clausura)

1	Sporting Cristal (Q)	28	16	8	4	58-32	56	Qualified for the play-offs and CL
2	Universitario (AW, Q)	28	16	6	6	50-35	53	[7] Qualified for the play-offs & CL
3	Univ. César Vallejo	28	13	12	3	41-23	51	Qualified for Copa Libertadores
4	Ayacucho FC (CW, Q)	28	13	8	7	42-26	47	Qualified for the play-offs and CL
5	Carlos A. Mannucci	28	12	9	7	41-29	45	Qualified for Copa Sudamericana
6	Sport Huancayo	28	12	8	8	32-30	44	Qualified for Copa Sudamericana
7	UTC	28	10	13	5	42-29	43	Qualified for Copa Sudamericana
8	FBC Melgar	28	11	8	9	41-34	41	Qualified for Copa Sudamericana
9	Cienciano	28	12	5	11	39-34	41
10	Alianza Universidad	28	10	7	11	29-30	37
11	Universidad San Martín	28	10	7	11	32-37	37
12	Cusco FC	28	9	9	10	39-41	36
13	Binacional	28	10	6	12	35-42	36
14	Sport Boys	28	9	5	14	34-51	31	[7]
15	Deportivo Municipal	28	6	12	10	29-38	30
16	Academia Cantolao	28	7	7	14	32-48	28
17	Alianza Lima	28	6	8	14	28-36	26
18	Atlético Grau (R)	28	5	11	12	26-39	26	Relegated to Segunda División
19	Carlos Stein (R)	28	7	7	14	30-44	25	[8] Relegated to Segunda División
20	Dep. Llacuabamba (R)	28	5	6	17	41-63	20	^[7]Relegated to Segunda División

Q – Qualified for the play-offs

AW – Apertura Winners

CW – Clausura Winners

R – Relegated

Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) drawing of lots; 5) play-off (only if needed to decide teams for relegation)

Play-offs

Play-offs were played to establish the champions of the Peruvian First Division. Universitario de Deportes, as winners of the Apertura and second classified in the aggregate table, were qualified directly to the play-off finals, while Ayacucho FC (winners of Clausura) and Sporting Cristal (first classified in the aggregate table) were qualified for the play-off semifinals. All matches, either “home” or “away”, were played in Lima.

Qualified team	Manner of qualification	Stage
Universitario	Winners of Apertura	Finals
Universitario	Second classified in the aggregate table	Finals
Ayacucho FC	Winners of Clausura	Semifinals
Sporting Cristal	First classified in the aggregate table	Semifinals

Semifinals

First leg, 9 December 2020

Sporting Cristal – Ayacucho FC 2-1

Second leg, 12 December 2020

Ayacucho FC – Sporting Cristal 1-4

Sporting Cristal qualified for the play-off finals, winning both legs and 6-2 on aggregate.

Finals

First leg, 16 December 2020

Universitario – Sporting Cristal 1-2

Second leg, 20 December 2020

Sporting Cristal – Universitario 1-1

Sporting Cristal became the 2020 champions of the Peruvian First Division, winning 3-2 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name and nationality	Club	Goals
1	Emanuel Herrera (ARG)	Sporting Cristal	20
2	Yorleys Mena (COL)	Univ. César Vallejo	19
3	Sebastián Penco (ARG)	Sport Boys	14
3	Mauro Guevgeozián (ARM)	UTC	14
3	Danilo Carando (ARG)	Cusco FC	14
6	Alejandro Hohberg (PER)	Universitario	13
6	Othoniel Arce (MEX)	FBC Melgar	13
8	Jonathan Dos Santos (URU)	Universitario	12
9	Jefferson Collazos (COL)	Atlético Grau	11
9	Matías Succar (PER)	Deportivo Municipal	11

[1] For important games, Sporting Cristal, Universidad de San Martín and Sport Boys use the much larger Nacional Stadium as their home ground.

[2] On the 23 December 2019, Real Garcilaso announced that they change their name into Cusco FC. Their home ground remains Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Stadium in Cusco for some of the matches, but they will also use Túpac Amaru Stadium in Sicuani as their home ground.

[3] Atlético Grau play their home games at Camepones del 36 stadium in Sullana instead of their usual Miguel Grau stadium in Piura.

[4] Deportivo Llacuabamba use Germán Contreras Jara Stadium in Cajabamba as their home ground because their stadium in Llacuabamba does not meet the criteria set for holding First Division matches.

[5] Atlético Grau were punished for fielding a player who had been suspended for this match.

[6] Universitario de Deportes, Carlos Stein and Sport Boys have 1 point deducted for financial irregularities.

[7] Universitario de Deportes, Sport Boys and Deportivo Llacuabamba have 1 point deducted for irregularities.

[8] Carlos Stein initially had 1 point deducted for financial irregularities, then they had been penalized by further 2 points by a decision of the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne, on 17 March 2021, which effectively changed the final table. Carlos Stein were therefore relegated, while Alianza Lima remained in the First Division.

Football across nations

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Thursday, 30 January 2020

2020 Peruvian First Division (Liga 1)