Santa Fe went dark in Bucaramanga: the champions left their unbeaten run on the Américo Montanini stadium pitch.

Santa Fe lost fairly on their visit to Atlético Bucaramanga and, in the process, left a nine-match unbeaten run on the Américo Montanini stadium field, in a result that, for now, does not jeopardize their permanence among the top eight of the 2025-II BetPlay League.

The Colombian champion, who swapped his traditional colors for gray jerseys with no visible numbers, seemed poised to continue.

Barely ten minutes passed before Omar Fernández Frasica took advantage of a long pass from Iván Scarpeta to beat a sluggish home defense and face the goal to beat goalkeeper Aldaír Quintana.

Ten minutes later, the champion's pace once again seemed a lethal weapon. This time, it was Edwar López who exploited the space, following a brilliant pass from Alexis Zapata, to score what looked like a 2-0 lead. But VAR ultimately saved the home side, as the scorer was narrowly offside, but offside.

That decision seemed to blow a fuse in Santa Fe; the team suddenly shut down, and Bucaramanga began to gain ground. They managed to tie the game in the 31st minute.

Bayron Duarte went down in the visitors' box, and Jeison Angulo was left waiting for a penalty to be awarded, which wasn't awarded. Fabián Sambueza took advantage of that, taking the ball, turning, and passing it back. Kevin Londoño then delivered a cross that Luciano Pons took advantage of, heading it between the two center backs to equalize.

Bucaramanga were much more powerful, scoring another goal before the winning goal, which was correctly ruled out for offside. In the 71st minute, Leonardo Flores took advantage of a rebound to put the ball into Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo's goal, but Fáber Gil was offside in the previous play.

In the end, Bucaramanga took the win after a play that was heavily contested by Santa Fe: center back Luis Delgado awarded a penalty for a handball by Argentine Marcelo Meli, who went out with his arm open to block a shot from Pons.

What did León complain about? That the ball hit Meli's toe before going to his hand. VAR ruled in Delgado's favor, and Pons sealed the match in the 81st minute.

The champion's unbeaten run stretched to nine rounds. They hadn't lost since the match against Nacional in Bogotá, in the semifinals last semester. This Saturday's match should have left coach Jorge Bava with many thoughts.