We have met twice so far in Razgrad with Bulgarian champions Ludogorets, winning 3-2 here in the Champions League qualifiers in the 2019-2020 season, then drawing 1-1 against them in the Europa League group stage. Now, in the first match of the third round of Champions League qualifiers, the fans would have been satisfied with either result.

Dénes Dibusz played his 100th European cup match in his career, all of them, of course, with Fradi. Naturally, he started in our starting lineup at the 10,400-capacity Huvepharma Arena, where 113 determined Fradi fans cheered on our team. Our starting lineup was as follows: Dibusz - Szalai, Raemaekers, Gartenmann - Makreckis, Tóth, Ötvös, Kanikoviszki, O'Dowda - Varga B., Joseph.

First half

Our team, playing in gold, kicked off the match, which was refereed by Espen Eskas from Norway. We threatened from corners early on, but after Tóth's crosses, Raemaekeres headed over, then Joseph's shot went high. In the 11th minute, Bence Ötvös was shown a yellow card. Ludogorets entered our penalty area for the first time in the 12th minute. Shortly afterwards, Szalai and Dibusz failed to communicate, and after a seemingly harmless pass, the ball flew between them and missed the left post.

In the 18th minute, the home team's Ghanaian player, Tekpetey, also received a yellow card. After his foul, the victim, Ötvös, shot just over the bar from a free kick 20 meters out. In the 23rd minute, all Fradi fans jumped to their feet when, after a free kick from the right, the goalkeeper moved badly and Joseph scored with a half-turn between his legs. However, the referee was alerted by VAR and the goal was ultimately disallowed for offside. In the 28th minute, the home goalkeeper caught O'Dowda's excellent pass in front of Kanikovszki. Joseph had another chance in the 33rd minute, but shot wide, then Makreckis made a great run onto the ball but failed to hit the top left corner.

In the 40th minute, the home team's Brazilian striker, Erick Marcus, saw that Dibusz was off his line from 40 meters out, lobbed the ball over him, and it bounced off the crossbar and back into the hands of our jumping goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick. The first half, which our team controlled, ended 0-0 with a shot by Gartenmann and a header by Varga Barna.

Second half

During the break, our team made no substitutions, while the home team made one, with Chouiar replacing Tekpetey. Ludogorets started the second half with more energy. The Bulgarians in green beat Gartenmann twice, but we heroically blocked both shots. Then Makreckis somehow stumbled into the box and managed to get a shot off, but he missed the goal. It was a great chance... After the break, we continued to give away a lot of balls, and after one of them, Erick Marcus curled a shot over the top right corner from 18 meters.

In the 58th minute, O'Dowda found Tóth with a great ball 7 meters from the goal, but he couldn't control the ball well and shot over the bar. Makrecki was booed more and more by the home crowd, as our player had previously played in the Bulgarian league for Pirin, with whom he won at the Razgrad stadium. In the 63rd minute, Bence Ötvös shot a cleared ball back, but the goalkeeper got down to save the shot heading for the bottom left corner. In the same minute, O'Dowda received a yellow card. Ludogorets brought on their striker, Ivajlo Chochevet, who posed a threat with his first move, shooting just over the bar from a cross from the left, but Dibusz was on hand. Makreckis' yellow card in the 70th minute was also aimed at the Bulgarian fans. Keane changed the formation in the 70th minute, sending Maiga on to replace Varga.

From then on, Tóth and Maiga defended, while Kanikovszki and Ötvös tried to serve Joseph. In the 79th minute, Levi replaced Kanikovszki. In the 83rd minute, Vidal shot over the bar for the home side, then Bile replaced Marcus. Cadu and Gruber came on for Makreckis and Joseph in the final minutes. We continued to push forward for a goal in the final minutes, and in the 88th minute, Gruber slid in after a cross from the left. In stoppage time, our young striker tried again, but the goalkeeper made a brilliant save to deny his shot to the bottom corner.

Our men's football team played to a 0-0 draw away at Ludogorets in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The return leg will be played on Tuesday, August 12, at 8:15 p.m. at the Groupama Arena in Budapest.