Ludogorets eliminated Botev (Plovdiv) in the cup and will face Botev (Vratsa) in the semifinals

Ludogorets dethroned the holder of the Bulgarian Cup, Botev Plovdiv, with a penalty shootout! In the semifinal, the champions will face Botev Vratsa, with Ludogorets playing away in the first match. The game in Razgrad ended goalless after both regular time and extra time – 0:0, leading to penalty kicks. There, the "Eagles" players proved more accurate, scoring all four of their shots, while for the "Yellow-Blacks," Konstantinos Baloyannis and Atanas Chernev missed, resulting in a final score of 4:2 in the shootout.

The first minutes passed calmly, with the only notable event being a wayward shot by Samuel Akere. Half an hour into the game, Yani Karabelov tried his luck with a shot, but it didn't trouble Hendrik Bonmann. The clearest chance came in the 41st minute when Georgi Rusev crossed from the right to Denny Gropper, who headed the ball, but Bernat managed to clear it with great difficulty. Towards the end of the first half, Ludogorets defender Denny Gropper suffered an injury and was replaced by Aslak Fon Witry, who had recently recovered from an injury.

In the 51st minute, Botev Plovdiv came very close to scoring. Konstantinos Baloyanis took a surprising shot with his left foot, which hit the right post of goalkeeper Bonmann. Ludogorets responded with a good header from Son, which was saved by Bernat. Then, 17-year-old Filip Gigov missed a good opportunity after receiving a pass from Emerson on the left, but failed to capitalize on it. In the 65th minute, Baloyanis shot well again, this time with his right foot, but it was within Bonmann's reach. About ten minutes later, Ivelin Popov also had a shot, but it was inaccurate. Three minutes before the end, Samuel Akere had a chance to shoot, but his effort was disappointing.

Five minutes into the first extra time, Ludogorets had a great chance when Erick Bile shot after a rebound, but missed the target, and an offside was called. After that, Botev Plovdiv's new signing, Jamal Amoafa, suffered an injury and was replaced by young Dimitar Avramov. This was the most notable event, as there were no further chances at either goal. In the second extra time, there were no dangers at either end, and so it logically went to penalties.

The first penalty was taken by Nikola Iliev, who scored. Then, Jakub Piotrowski equalized. However, Baloyanis missed next, as Bonmann saved his shot, and Georgi Rusev put Ludogorets in the lead. Then, Atanas Chernev's shot went over the bar, further worsening the visitors' situation. Ivan Yordanov kept his composure and made it 3:1. Aleksa Marash gave hope to the "Canaries," but everything ended with a shot from Erick Marcus – 4:2, and Ludogorets advanced to the semifinals, with the Bulgarian Cup set to have a new holder.