Deportivo Cuenca hosted Liga de Quito on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at 19:00 at the Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar Banco del Austro in Cuenca, Ecuador, in a meeting that sent two teams trying to move closer to the top of LigaPro onto the same pitch. Cuenca entered the match in fifth place after 14 games, while Liga de Quito arrived fourth, also after 14 matches.

Jorge Célico directed Deportivo Cuenca, with his side showing the kind of balance that has defined its campaign so far: 16 goals scored and 16 conceded. Across from him, Tiago Retzlaff Nunes led Liga de Quito, which came in with 15 goals scored and 12 against. The match was transmitted by Zapping, while Olé provided minute-by-minute coverage as the game unfolded in Cuenca.

Liga de Quito came to Cuenca with a lineup that included Gonzalo Valle; Richard Mina or Gian Allala; Ricardo Adé; Luis Segovia; José Quintero; Fernando Cornejo; Jesús Pretell; Alejandro Tobar; Yerlin Quiñónez; Rodney Redes; and Michael Estrada. The visitors were still balancing domestic league demands with a busy Copa schedule, and any possible rotation was expected during the week, not for the Saturday league match.

That matters because Liga de Quito was due to receive Always Ready of Bolivia on Tuesday at Casa Blanca for the final match of the Copa group stage, a game that gave it a chance to finish first in the group. For now, though, the immediate task was league points in Cuenca, where both teams were trying to keep pace in a crowded race near the top of the table.

The tension for Liga de Quito was simple: protect its position in the league while arriving intact for Tuesday, without giving up the chance to finish first in its Copa group. For Deportivo Cuenca, the chance was just as clear. At home, against a direct table rival, it had a chance to prove that its start was not just solid on paper but strong enough to turn the upper reaches of LigaPro into a real fight.