CUSCO (Interstat) — Deportivo Garcilaso and CD Comerciantes Unidos played to a 0-0 draw on Sunday at Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in Cusco, a match shaped by resolute defending and a steady flow of disciplinary decisions rather than goals. Neither side found the net in the league contest, leaving the hosts and visitors to split the points after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Deportivo Garcilaso carried the pregame favoritism but could not turn it into a breakthrough, while Comerciantes Unidos stayed compact and denied the home side a clear finishing touch. The teams remained level through the first half and the second, and the match ended without a goal. The result was a scoreless stalemate that remained tense from the opening whistle through the final minutes.

The most important passage of the game came in the closing stages, when the match moved from a long series of yellow cards to a pair of red cards. Deportivo Garcilaso’s Ramos Rodriguez C. I. was booked in the seventh minute. Comerciantes Unidos’ Parodi J. was cautioned in the 42nd minute, and Olivares J. followed in the 47th. Deportivo Garcilaso’s Zubczuk P. was booked in the 53rd minute. Comerciantes Unidos then received yellow cards to Rodriguez J. in the 54th minute and Vilca R. in the 55th minute. The bookings continued with Sen M. in the 77th minute, Deportivo Garcilaso’s Canales E. in the 78th minute and Comerciantes Unidos’ Alcedo F. in the 90+4th minute. Comerciantes Unidos finished with six yellow cards, while Deportivo Garcilaso had three.

The late dismissals changed the shape of the finish. Deportivo Garcilaso’s Barbieri J. was sent off in the 87th minute, and Comerciantes Unidos’ Salinas T. was dismissed in the 89th minute, leaving each side to close out the match with 10 players. The red cards raised the tension in a game that had already produced nine yellow cards and gave both teams a final stretch to navigate under difficult circumstances. The yellow-card count reached nine before the red cards arrived, with the bookings spread across both sides and across both halves. Comerciantes Unidos made substitutions in the 63rd minute, with Olivares J. and Rodriguez A. coming on, and added Herrera J. in the 64th minute. Deportivo Garcilaso responded with Olivares C. and Ascues A. in the 72nd minute. Comerciantes Unidos later brought on Parodi J. in the 84th minute and Carpio Ferro M. P. in the 90+5th minute.

The draw left Comerciantes Unidos with a season record in this competition of one win, one loss and four draws. Deportivo Garcilaso is now two wins, three losses and one draw in the competition. Both teams hold the same records across all competitions.

Deportivo Garcilaso entered the match after a 3-2 win at Cajamarca and had also beaten Los Chankas 4-1 at home, while also carrying recent losses at Club Alianza Atletico and FBC Melgar and a home defeat to Sport Huancayo. Comerciantes Unidos came in after a 2-2 draw with AD Tarma and a 1-1 draw at FBC Melgar, following a home win over Cienciano and a road loss at Sporting Cristal and a 1-1 draw with Juan Pablo II. The visitors’ latest result extended a run of draws, while Deportivo Garcilaso was unable to build on its recent road victory.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Deportivo Garcilaso 1, CD Comerciantes Unidos 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Deportivo Garcilaso with a 69.2 percent probability to win. Deportivo Garcilaso had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.75. The total score of 0 went over the over/under line of 2.5.