CSKA achieves first championship victory against Botev Plovdiv

Comeback in Sofia

CSKA achieved its first victory in the new championship after defeating Botev Plovdiv 3:2 in a second-round match held at the National Stadium. Although the "canaries" took the lead, the capital giants managed to turn the result around in the final minutes of the match.

Match Progress

The visitors made a breakthrough in the 38th minute through Carlos Algarra, putting Botev Plovdiv ahead. The "army men's" response came shortly after – former Lokomotiv Plovdiv player Joel Schwarz scored the first goal for the hosts in the 41st minute. At the end of the match, Schwarz scored his second goal in the 90th minute, giving CSKA the advantage.

In the 95th minute (the second minute of stoppage time), Ioannis Pitas scored the third goal for CSKA, fixing the score at 3:1. Botev Plovdiv managed to reduce the deficit in the final part of the match through Asen Chandarov, but this did not change the final outcome.

Lineups and Next Engagements

In the CSKA lineup under the leadership of Hristo Yanev were Fyodor Lapoukhov, Tamimu Worou, Teodor Ivanov, Facundo Rodriguez, Andrey Yordanov, Petko Panayotov, Bruno Jordao, Max Ebong, Mohamed Brahimi, Joel Schwarz, and Leo Pereira. Through substitutions during the match, Pastor, Angelo Martino, Stefano Sensi, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, and Ioannis Pitas participated.

For Botev Plovdiv, the defense featured Daniel Naumov, Vladimir Mendes, Timothy Awani, Simeon Petrov, Bryan-Anthony Hein, Asen Chandarov, Carlos Algarra, Carlos Meoti, Nikola Iliev, Samuel Kalu, and Chidera Okoh. Substitutions for the visitors were Nikola Soldo, Mauro Rodriguez, Georgi Milanov, and Franklin Mascote.

In the next round, CSKA will host Dunav, while Botev Plovdiv will visit Cherno More. Before that, the capital team awaits a rematch against Azerbaijani side "Qarabag" in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, after the first leg ended 0:0.