On Tuesday, May 26, in the sixth round of Group G of the Copa Libertadores 2026, Liga de Quito and Always Ready met at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium and produced a frantic first half in which Yerlin Quiñónez opened the scoring before Enrique Triverio and Fernando Nava turned the game on its head to put Always Ready 2-1 ahead by the 39th minute.
The match kicked off at 17:00 Ecuador time — 19:00 in Argentina, according to TN — and arrived with stakes already framed: OneFootball had called ldu quito vs always ready a decisive fixture for both teams' hopes of reaching the next phase. TN’s live coverage tracked the early swings on the scoreboard and recorded the progression from a LDU 1-0 lead to an Always Ready 2-1 advantage.
Quiñónez’s strike arrived at six minutes, a rapid opener that put LDU Quito up and forced Always Ready to chase the game. At 18 minutes Enrique Triverio levelled the score, and at 39 minutes Fernando Nava scored the goal that sent Always Ready in front. TN’s timeline noted all three goals and showed the match at 1-2 at one point during its live reporting.
The match arrived under contrasting short-term formlines noted by TN: LDU Quito came in following a victory over Lanús, while Always Ready arrived off a loss to Mirassol. TN also reported that Marcelo Straccia was named as Always Ready’s coach and Tiago Nunes as LDU Quito’s coach, details that set the managerial context for what unfolded on the pitch.
Statistics from the game underscore the mismatch between control and scoreboard. The numbers showed a 53% to 47% split in possession and disparate passing figures — 68 passes on one side and 17 on the other — alongside shots figures listed as 8 and 7 for the teams. TN’s coverage also recorded a single shot-on-goal figure in one phase of the match. Those raw figures, as reported, underline a familiar Libertadores tension: possession does not always equal control over results.
The sequence of events created a different picture from the one the early possession numbers suggested. LDU’s quick start and the early Quiñónez goal gave the home side hope of setting the match tempo, but Triverio’s equaliser and Nava’s late first-half strike handed Always Ready the lead and momentum. TN’s live updates captured the turns and left both coaches with immediate adjustments to consider before the second half.
Beyond the immediate scoreboard, the fixture’s importance was simple and pressing: it was part of the sixth round of Group G, and both teams were chasing the points that matter in a tight group stage. OneFootball’s assessment that the match would be decisive for qualification chances was reflected in the urgency on the field; every loose ball and transition felt like it could tilt the group standings.
The central issue now is clear. With Always Ready holding a 2-1 advantage by the 39th minute, both clubs must translate the first-half status into the result that carries weight in Group G — LDU to recover from the deficit, Always Ready to protect and turn the lead into the points that could salvage their campaign after the Mirassol defeat. The immediate test falls to the two coaches named by TN: can Tiago Nunes conjure a LDU response, or will Marcelo Straccia’s side maintain the advantage into the decisive stages of the Copa Libertadores 2026?
