Czech side Plzeň lose 1:2 to Levski in Europa League again

Plzeň lost 1:2 to Bulgaria’s Levski in the third round of the Europa League’s main phase and have now gone three games in a row without a point. The match was played at Štruncovy sady in front of 10,143 spectators. The result leaves the Czech side’s chances of advancing very slim.

A defensive error decided the first half

Before kickoff, Levski was seen as the easiest of the opponents Plzeň had been drawn against, and the game was at home. Coach Radoslav Kováč rotated his lineup because of a heavy schedule, but the team was expected to collect points. Instead, the defense again made mistakes, as it did at the start of the season.

In the first half Plzeň barely let their opponents out of their own half but could not create anything dangerous. Amar Memič shot just over the crossbar in the 13th minute, and goalkeeper Svetoslav Vutsov then stopped two breakaways. Denis Višinský also wasted one of them: he approached the goalkeeper too slowly, and the recovering defender Aldair Neves cleanly took the ball off him.

Shortly before halftime, young defender Tobiáš Pališčák, who played in place of the regular starter Adam Gabriel because of rotation, made a poor back pass. Reinaldo intercepted it and set up Everton Bala, who put the visitors ahead in the 44th minute.

Second half: Kabongo’s goal and Levski’s reply

After the break, Plzeň’s territorial advantage disappeared. In the 53rd minute the hosts wanted a penalty after a header by Sampson Dweh and a handball by Marko Grujić, but the referee did not award one. Kabongo equalized in the 62nd minute, getting a touch to a cross from Cheick Souaré as goalkeeper Vutsov failed to hold the ball.

The celebration was short-lived: just a few minutes later, in the 65th, Reinaldo scored Levski’s second goal after a sharp pass from Maicon. Plzeň’s attempts to push late in the game came to nothing.

Plzeň remain on zero, along with three other Europa League teams. They will look for their first points in Norway: the match against Lillestrøm takes place on Nov. 5.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz