Less than three weeks after their last meeting – CSKA and Levski will once again compete against each other at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. This clash is after the end of the regular season and opens the playoff phase in the group that will determine the new champion.
Levski slipped to fifth place and the “armies” regained second and thus got off to a flying start to this stage of the campaign. This time, the main referee will be Georgi Kabakov, and the spectators in the stands will be significantly less because of the closed parts of the stadium. The big capital derby starts at 16:15 and you will be able to follow it LIVE at SportLive.bg.
CSKA – Levski on TV: When and where to watch the big derby from the First League?
First half
Levski was the first to create tension in the opposing penalty area. The “Blues” were high in the “Reds” half, the mistake came and after a quick exchange of passes, Ohene entered the penalty area, but was blocked. It came to a corner kick, and after the cross, the first shot in the match, but he came out with a lot of shots.
In the 6th minute, CSKA got their first shot, but it was just as inaccurate. Phaeton received from the left, advanced with a ball at his feet and shot from distance, but it was wide.
In the 14th minute, Lindseth fought down the right side of his team’s attack, taking away from Cordoba. However, he subsequently missed the moment to pass to Karanga and his attempt was blocked. Seconds later, the first yellow card of the match was handed out – it was for Sanyang, who tripped Fabio Lima in the back.
After a quarter of an hour of play, El Jemili made a great turn on the edge of the penalty area and shot dangerously, and after a ricochet on a “red” player, the ball headed menacingly towards Busato’s goal. He touched it to deflect it ever so slightly, but enough to send it into the side post and save his team.
A minute later, Thibaut Vion brought Ricardinho on for Bussato, albeit with a man on his back. From a small angle, Ricardinho shot with his weaker left foot but missed the target.
25′ – 1:0! Excellent lead pass from Lindseth to Sanyang on the wing. The fullback passed parallel to the goal line, but there a “blue” defender intervened just in front of Karanga with a split. However, the deflected ball reached Scarshem, who with one touch accurately sent it over everyone, but also into the net.
In the following seconds, there was a dangerous exchange of attacks from both teams. In the 28th minute, Lindsett shot technically with a transfer kick outside the penalty area, but Andreev kicked in a corner kick. After his performance, Ohene cleared his head.
35′ – 2:0! The hosts doubled their lead with another goal from the Norwegian. This time Scarshem got to a lead pass, held well in the penalty area, then found Lindseth, who came speeding from second position uncovered and left no chance for Andreev.
Five minutes later, Levski’s Jose Cordoba rushed into the CSKA penalty area. There, tension was created after a technical transfer pass from the defender, which Petkov found. However, the Bulgarian was slow to play and behind him, Vion tapped the ball for Busato to intervene.
45′ – 3:0! Levski executed a learned corner, and Petkov’s shot was blocked. However, a leading pass of the hosts fell to Lima, who was alone in his own half, chased by two “red” players. Lima made a blunder and gave the ball to Carreaso, who knocked it in front of Andreev and then sent it into the empty goal.
Compositions
CSKA: Bussato, Vion, Mattei, Cordoba, Sanyang, Yuga, Careasso, Scarshem, Lindseth, Phaeton, Karanga
Levski: Andreev, Tsunami, Van der Kaap, Cordoba, Dimitrov, Ohene, Mislovic, El Jemili, Petkov, De Lima, Ricardinho
Before CSKA against Levski
Unlike the clash between these opponents just over two weeks ago, this time they will be able to rely on a lot more of their players. For the “blues”, only the midfielders Asen Mitkov and Iliyan Stefanov are out, who are treating injuries.
With the “reds”, Ivan Turitsov is questionable, but he will rather be kept in view of the upcoming match with Botev Plovdiv. Hristiyan Petrov has been training alongside the others for several days, but it is not certain whether he will start from the first minute. The only one who certainly misses the match due to injury is Martin Stoychev.
However, CSKA head coach Stamen Belchev will have one thing in mind for the upcoming rematch with Botev Plovdiv – a few days after the match with Levski. As many as five players are one yellow card away from being punished and not playing with the “canaries”. We are talking about the solid starters Jonathan Lindseth, Thibaut Vion and Fernando Karanga, as well as Enes Mahmutovic and Emmanuel Shakic.
CSKA enters this duel as a serious favorite, but it is not clear what exact line-up Stamen Belchev would bet on given the above information. Levski, on the other hand, will try to stop the unpleasant series of four consecutive matches without success against the great rival (two draws and two losses). The last one was from September 18, 2022 – with 2:0.
