Brandon Caicedo broke a scoreless deadlock in stoppage time on Saturday lifting Atlético Bucaramanga to a 1–0 victory over Fortaleza FC at Estadio Américo Montanini, as reported by Futbolred.
The decisive moment arrived in the 94th minute of the Liga BetPlay encounter, when Aldair Gutiérrez sent a low pass to Brandon Caicedo, according to AS Colombia. After a goalmouth scramble, Caicedo poked the loose ball home from the turf.
Win Sports reported that the strike secured three points for the Bucaramanga side, pushing them to 35 points in the standings. Pablo Peirano’s squad finished the all-play-all phase in fourth place.
Despite the victory, AS Colombia said that Bucaramanga missed out on securing the league’s “invisible point” bonus. The team finished the regular phase with nine wins, eight draws, and two defeats.
Caicedo found the net inside the six-yard box in the ninth minute, but the referee disallowed the effort following a VAR review for offside, according to AS Colombia.
Futbolred documented yellow cards for Fortaleza’s Leonardo Pico in the 18th minute, Santiago Vivas in the 33rd, and Yesid Díaz in the 44th. Fortaleza FC received three yellow cards: Rubén Leonardo Pico Carvajal was cautioned in the 18th minute, followed by Santiago Vivas Vélez in the 33rd minute and Yesid Alberto Díaz Montero in the 44th minute.
Futbolred statistics showed Bucaramanga controlled 53 percent of the ball compared to 47 percent for Fortaleza, outshooting their visitors 17 to nine.
Williams Barlasina stood firm in goal for Fortaleza, earning the match’s top defensive rating of 6.5 from Futbolred. Meanwhile, Caicedo claimed man-of-the-match honors with an 8.1 rating.
Midfielder Sebastián Navarro unleashed a powerful strike in the 88th minute that struck the left goalpost, as detailed by AS Colombia.
At the 80th minute mark, the referee issued two yellow cards almost simultaneously to Ítalo Montaño Cortés of Fortaleza FC and Brandon Andrés Caicedo Angulo of Bucaramanga.
The Bogotá-based club wrapped up a difficult campaign at the bottom of the table, collecting just 12 units from 19 matches and a -12 goal differential, according to Futbolred. Fortaleza FC sits in 20th place with 12 points from 19 matches and a -12 goal differential.
Diego Arias managed Fortaleza through the final stretch of the semester following a coaching carousel that saw him take over from Sebastián Oliveros mid-year, Diario del Cauca reported. The team failed to reach the cuadrangulares or secure a Copa Sudamericana berth. Arias arrived at the Bogotá club midway through the year, barely a month after his departure from Atlético Nacional, where he won the 2025 Copa BetPlay and finished as league runner-up in the first half of 2026.
He is joined by assistant Francisco ‘Pacho’ Nájera, with whom he shared a dressing room at the Verdolaga side. His arrival formed part of a managerial domino effect in which Arias left Nacional, Lucas González moved from Tolima to the Verdolaga side, Sebastián Oliveros departed Fortaleza for Ibagué, and Arias took his place.
With the regular phase concluded, Bucaramanga advances directly to the semifinal cuadrangulares.
Fortaleza cerró la campaña en el último lugar de la clasificación con un total de 12 unidades.
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