line-ups
FC Viktoria Plzeň
Wiegele – Memić, Dweh, Vavro, Pališčák (74. Sojka) – Červ – Ladra (74. Faal), Hrošovský (C) (60. Pirgić), Souaré – Kabongo (77. M. Vydra), Višinský (60. Lawal).
PFC Levski Sofia
Vucov – Neves, Dimitrov (C), Makoun, Maicon – Grujić, Mubárik (82. Centelles) – Soula (60. Oko-Flex), Serginho, Bala (73. Búrás) – Reinaldo (82. Perea).
statistics
Goals: 63. Kabongo (Souaré) – 44. Bala (Reinaldo), 65. Reinaldo (Maicon) Yellow cards: 87. Pirgić (PLZ) – 20. Soula (LVS) Referees: Hernández – Naranjo, Rojo (všichni ESP) Shots on goal: 2:3 Shots off target: 6:1 Corners: 4:1 Offside: 1:0 Fouls: 9:11
Attendance: 10143
Viktoria welcomed Bulgarian side Levski to the Doosan Arena for their third match of the Europa League league phase. The visitors took the lead before the break, but Christophe Kabongo equalised in the second half. Levski soon struck again, however, and the 2–1 defeat leaves Viktoria still without a point.
The visitors kicked off the third match of the league phase. The first attack came in the fourth minute, when Ladra tried to deliver a cross into the box, but his ball found only the visiting goalkeeper. Roared on by their supporters, Levski pushed forward, but their inaccurate passing prevented them from creating any chances. In the 11th minute, Červ registered the first shot on target, though his effort lacked the power to trouble the goalkeeper. Towards the end of the 13th minute, Amar Memić had a chance inside the box but fired over the bar. Viktoria were keeping their opponents at bay and successfully breaking up their attacks. In the 23rd minute, Višinský latched onto a long ball from the back, getting in behind the visiting defence and bearing down on the goalkeeper. However, a defender recovered in time to deny him. A minute later, Wiegele was also called into action. The visitors broke the deadlock shortly before half-time. Reinaldo capitalised on a mistake by Pališčák and squared the ball to Everton Bala, who fired past Wiegele. Viktoria therefore went into the break trailing by a single goal.
Levski threatened immediately after the restart, but Dweh blocked a shot inside the box behind for a corner. In the 51st minute, Ladra tried his luck but missed the target. Two minutes later, Souaré took a corner, after which the Viktoria players appealed for a handball penalty. VAR reviewed the incident, but no penalty was awarded. Viktoria found their equaliser in the 62nd minute. Following a corner, the ball was worked across to Souaré on the opposite flank, and Kabongo met his subsequent cross to fire past the visiting goalkeeper. However, parity did not last long. In the 66th minute, Reinaldo got on the end of a cross to put the ball past Wiegele and restore Levski’s lead. Plzeň tried to break down the Levski defence but were unable to create another clear-cut opportunity to equalise. The 2–1 defeat leaves Viktoria without a point after three matches in the Europa League league phase.
