Strong start for Ludogorets in the UEFA Youth League

Ludogorets U19 began their UEFA Youth League qualifying campaign with an excellent victory. Hristo Zlatinski’s boys defeated Dynamo (Minsk) 1–0 at their home ground, Eagles’ Nest. In this match, Ludogorets were considered the away team, as both legs will be played in Razgrad due to UEFA’s ban on hosting games in Belarus. The return leg, at the same venue, will take place on Wednesday (November 5) at 18:00, and unlike today’s game, fans will be allowed to attend.

Georgi Penev scored the only goal in the 31st minute. The midfielder netted a beautiful strike from the edge of the penalty area after an excellent team move. Kristian Nikolov could have doubled the lead early in the second half, but his shot hit the post.

The narrow win for Ludogorets was fully deserved and gives the team strong hopes of advancing to the next stage. Zlatinski’s side played solidly in defense and didn’t allow any serious threats to goalkeeper Valentin Valentinov.

“It was a tough match for us,” said Zlatinski. “The players were nervous in the opening minutes, but then they started playing the way they should. I believe we’ll perform even better in the second leg,” added the Ludogorets U19 coach.

Ludogorets U19 lineup vs Dynamo Minsk:
Valentinov, Ivanov, Karchov, Valyakov, Yanev, Todorov, Sarov, Penev, Marinov, Dimitrov, K. Nikolov (substitutes: Gatinski, Lyutskanov, N. Nikolov, Hasan)