Ludogorets easily defeated 4:1 Arda. Sotiriou and Despodov stood out as the main contributors. The guest team almost shocked the champions in the first seconds when Pinas allowed a mistake and Delev stole the ball. He immediately tried to score, but sent the ball out.
Ikoko scored the first goal after Tchibota passed the ball to him. The second goal almost became a fact in the 18th minute when Sotiriou almost caught a nice pass from Tchibota. Ikoko passed the ball to Sotiriou around the 30th minute, and the latter score. The goal was confirmed by VAR. Next, Delev kicked the ball from a foul point, but Padt saved this goal attempt. Delev was eager to score, and he did in the 36th minute with a great combination of skills. Despodov passed the ball to Sotiriou in the 42nd minute, and he scored his ninth goal since his arrival in Ludogorets.
After a strong first half with lots of action, the second one came. Ludogorets earned a penalty kick. Tchibota kicked the ball, and it hit Kiki’s hand. The VAR system cancelled the new penalty kick, despite the fact it was obvious Kiki played with his hand. The champions added a fourth goal in the 59th minute when Despodov scored from the foul point. A fifth goal followed when Tchibota took advantage of an empty gate, but the VAR system cancelled it due to an offside.
LUDOGORETS - ARDA 4:1
1:0 Ikoko (7')
2:0 Sotiriou (29')
2:1 Delev (36')
3:1 Sotiriou (41')
4:1 Despodov (59')
LUDOGORETS: Padt, Pinas, Despodov (63 – Yankov), Tchibota (73 – Rotariu), Sotiriou (63 – Manu), Ikoko (84 – Goncalves), Show, Verdon, Badji, Plastun (63 – Terziev), Oliveira
ARDA: Karadzhov, Zhelev (86 – Stoev), Delev (78 – Atanasov), Kovachev (60 – Yordanov), Kokonov, Rubezhic, Petkov, Kiki, Tilev (46 – Junior), Ivanov, Urukov (46 – Rumenov)
Жълти картони: Badji, Plastun (Ludogorets); Petkov (Arda).