Ludogorets thrashed Etar 7:4 in their first summer friendly

Ludogorets started its summer training convincingly, crushing Etar 7:4 in its first friendly match, played in Razgrad.

The "Eagles" set the pace from the opening minutes. Alberto Salido opened the scoring in the 5th minute, and just five minutes later doubled the hosts' lead. Eric Markus netted the third goal for Ludogorets, but the visitors managed to pull two back, reducing the score to 3:2. However, the Razgrad team quickly restored their advantage – Nikolay Nikolov made it 4:2, and Agibou Camara set the halftime score at 5:2. During the first half, Eric Markus was forced to be substituted after taking a hit.

After the restart, Alexander Marinov increased the score to 6:2. Etar again found the net for 6:3, and Bernard Tekpetey scored the seventh goal for Ludogorets. In the closing minutes, the visitors completed the final score – 7:4.

In the friendly, Ludogorets fielded an experimental lineup, giving several young players from the second team a chance to play alongside more experienced footballers. Ludogorets dominated the initiative for most of the match, while Etar took advantage of a few defensive mistakes by the hosts.

Three Ludogorets goalkeepers played 30 minutes each. On the field appeared Sergio Padt, Hendrik Bonmann, and 16-year-old Alexander Panayotov, who made his unofficial debut for Ludogorets.

Deroy Duarte, Olivier Verdon, and Petar Stanic did not participate in the match as they are engaged with their national teams.

On June 28, Ludogorets departs for a training camp in Bansko, where they will conduct the second part of their summer preparations. The next friendly for the 14-time champions is on July 4 against the Romanian side Botosani.