América held on and gave up on attacking to get a draw against Bahía: they will have to decide their Copa Sudamericana future at home.

With a strong focus on defense, América de Cali earned a goalless draw at Bahía of Brazil on Tuesday in the first half of the playoff to reach the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.

The team coached by Diego Gabriel Raimondi completely gave up on attacking, saw the opposing goal from a distance, and held on as best they could to secure a draw, which they hope to capitalize on next Tuesday at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium.

América will have to quickly resolve the issue of playmaking. Without Juan Fernando Quintero and Duván Vergara, one already close to River Plate and the other already wearing Racing's blue and white, the team looks lame. This is even more so when Rafael Carrascal is missing from the Fonte Nova match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

The start could have been very complicated for Diego Gabriel Raimondi's team: early on, VAR, led by Uruguayan Andrés Cunha, called on his compatriot center-back Andrés Matonte to review a handball by Mateo Castillo as a possible penalty. The cameras saved América's game: before the ball reached the goal, it had grazed the full-back's knee and was therefore not punishable.

The match was a monologue for the Brazilians, as América gave up possession and retreated. The statistics showed Bahia's dominance: 78 percent ball possession, 23 total shots to Colombia's two (the second, a free kick in stoppage time), seven saves by goalkeeper Jorge Soto to Marcos Felipe's one, and a meager performance by Cristian Barrios and Luis Ramos, whose presence in Brazil was only evident by their passport stamps.

VAR reappeared, summoning Matonte to warn him of an elbow from Bahía star Everton Ribeiro on José Cavadía, who had come on to refresh the structure América maintained throughout the game to secure a 0-0 lead. The center-back, without hesitation, sent him off at 90+2, with at least six minutes of added time remaining.

However, Cavadía returned the favor and kicked Tiago, which Matonte, without needing to look at the screens again, punished with a more than deserved red card.

América completed another 0-0 draw in the second half, showing very different faces. Against Llaneros, they attacked and attacked, without success. Against Bahía, they retreated and succeeded. Half the task is done. The second half of the series remains, in Cali.