CSKA Sofia Advances Over Qarabag in Tense Penalty Shootout

CSKA Sofia 0-0 Qarabag (5-4 on penalties) at Vasil Levski National Sports Academy in Sofia ended goalless over 120 minutes before the Bulgarians held their nerve from the spot to edge through in the UEFA Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round. With no league standings context available, the significance here is purely knockout: CSKA advance after a tense, attritional tie decided by a single missed Qarabag penalty in the shootout.

Match Report

The first half was tight and physical, with CSKA Sofia picking up the first booking on 39 minutes when Bruno Jordão (CSKA Sofia) received a yellow card (Tripping) as Qarabag tried to break through midfield.

Just after the interval, the pattern continued. On 48 minutes, Leandro Godoy (CSKA Sofia) was shown a yellow card (Unsportsmanlike conduct), underlining the home side’s combative approach. Qarabag responded with their own disciplinary issues: in the 50th minute, Marko Janković (Qarabag) collected a yellow card (Roughing), followed by Bence Várkonyi (Qarabag) on 55 minutes with another yellow card (Roughing) as duels intensified across the middle third.

Coaches began to adjust on 70 minutes when Renaldo Cephas replaced Kady Borges (Qarabag), adding fresh legs in attack. A minute later, at 71', James Eto'o replaced Bruno Jordão (CSKA Sofia), giving the hosts new energy in midfield. Eto'o’s impact was immediate but also rash: on 74 minutes he was booked, with James Eto'o (CSKA Sofia) shown a yellow card (Roughing) after a late challenge.

Qarabag made a triple change in the 82nd minute to tilt the balance. Cebrail Makreckis replaced Bədavi Hüseynov (Qarabag), Bruno Langa replaced Elvin Cafarquliyev (Qarabag), and Jaly Mouaddib replaced Olexiy Kashchuk (Qarabag), a clear attempt to refresh both defence and attacking midfield zones for the closing stages of normal time. CSKA responded on 89 minutes as Joël Zwarts replaced Leandro Godoy (CSKA Sofia), seeking more mobility up front.

Deep into stoppage time of the second half, Qarabag made another attacking tweak: at 90+2', Joni Montiel replaced Abdellah Zoubir (Qarabag), adding a fresh playmaker before extra time.

Extra time brought more fatigue and more cards. On 95 minutes, Ángelo Martino (CSKA Sofia) received a yellow card (Holding) after being isolated defensively on the flank. Four minutes later, at 99', Mohamed Amine Brahimi replaced Ángelo Martino (CSKA Sofia), a like-for-like change to stabilise the left side. Qarabag then adjusted their forward line on 100 minutes as Musa Qurbanlı replaced Zakaria Sawo (Qarabag), looking for a different profile at centre-forward.

As legs tired, CSKA’s back line continued to walk a disciplinary tightrope. In the 105+3' minute, Teodor Ivanov (CSKA Sofia) was booked with a yellow card (Roughing) for a late challenge. Qarabag’s Bruno Langa, already introduced from the bench, joined the list on 106 minutes when Bruno Langa (Qarabag) received a yellow card (Roughing). The final booking of the night came on 112 minutes, as Joël Zwarts (CSKA Sofia) was shown a yellow card (Unsportsmanlike conduct) amid rising tension and frustration in the closing stages of extra time.

With no breakthrough from open play, the tie went to a penalty shootout at the end of extra time. The sequence unfolded as follows:

At 120+1', Marko Janković (Qarabag) converted from the spot (Penalty Shootout) to open the series, immediately followed at 120+1' by Ioannis Pittas (CSKA Sofia) scoring his penalty (Penalty Shootout) to level the count.

The decisive moment came at 120+2' when Matheus Silva (Qarabag) missed his penalty (Missed Penalty, Penalty Shootout), handing CSKA an early advantage. Teodor Ivanov (CSKA Sofia) capitalised at 120+2' by scoring his penalty (Penalty Shootout), pushing the hosts ahead in the sequence.

Qarabag stayed alive at 120+3' as Jaly Mouaddib (Qarabag) scored from the spot (Penalty Shootout), but Jean-Philippe Gbamin (CSKA Sofia) answered at 120+3' with another successful penalty (Penalty Shootout), maintaining CSKA’s edge.

Renaldo Cephas (Qarabag) kept the visitors in contention at 120+4' by converting his penalty (Penalty Shootout), yet Stefano Sensi (CSKA Sofia) responded at 120+4' with a composed finish (Penalty Shootout) to keep CSKA in front.

Joni Montiel (Qarabag) scored at 120+5' (Penalty Shootout), but with Qarabag having already missed once, the pressure shifted to the hosts’ final taker. James Eto'o (CSKA Sofia) stepped up at 120+5' and scored his penalty (Penalty Shootout), sealing a 5-4 shootout win after a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes.

Fixture Statistics & Tactical Audit

• xG: not available vs not available
• Possession: 42% vs 58%
• Shots on Target: 3 vs 5
• Goalkeeper Saves: not available vs not available
• Blocked Shots: 3 vs 7

Qarabag enjoyed the territorial and attacking initiative, with more possession (58% vs 42%) and a higher volume of shots on target (5 vs 3), while also forcing more defensive interventions from CSKA, reflected in Qarabag’s 7 blocked shots against CSKA’s 3. The foul count (26 by CSKA vs 14 by Qarabag) underlines how often the home side had to disrupt play without the ball. Without xG data, the shot quality cannot be quantified precisely, but the distribution of shots on target and possession suggests Qarabag were the more proactive side, whereas CSKA prioritised compactness and risk management, ultimately relying on penalty-taking execution rather than chance creation to progress.

Standings Update & Seasonal Impact

With no league or group standings data provided for either CSKA Sofia or Qarabag, the impact can only be framed within this Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round tie. CSKA’s shootout victory sends them into the next phase of qualifying, extending their European campaign and the associated financial and sporting benefits, while Qarabag exit after having controlled large portions of the match but failing to convert that control into a decisive goal.

Lineups & Personnel

CSKA Sofia Starting XI

• GK: Fedor Lapoukhov
• DF: Pastor, Teodor Ivanov, Facundo Rodríguez, Ángelo Martino
• MF: Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Max Ebong, Stefano Sensi, Bruno Jordão
• FW: Ioannis Pittas, Leandro Godoy

Qarabag Starting XI

• GK: Mateusz Kochalski
• DF: Matheus Silva, Bədavi Hüseynov, Bence Várkonyi, Elvin Cafarquliyev
• MF: Pedro Bicalho, Marko Janković, Olexiy Kashchuk, Kady Borges, Abdellah Zoubir
• FW: Zakaria Sawo

Post-Match Verdict

This was a defensively disciplined CSKA Sofia performance, if also a highly physical one (26 fouls and 6 yellow cards), built around containment rather than creation (3 shots on target and 42% possession). Qarabag were the more dominant side in terms of territory and pressure (58% possession, 5 shots on target, 10 corners), but lacked the cutting edge in the final third to turn that control into a goal. In the end, the tie was decided not by open-play structure but by penalty-box composure: CSKA converted all five of their shootout attempts, while Qarabag’s single miss from Matheus Silva proved fatal. Tactically, Qarabag’s multiple attacking substitutions in the second half and extra time increased their threat but not their efficiency, whereas CSKA’s compact block and carefully managed changes preserved energy for the decisive shootout, where their execution was clinical (5/5 penalties scored).