Reinaldo’s 65th-minute winner gives Levski Sofia 2-1 win at Plzen

Levski turn 1-1 into 2-1 victory

Levski Sofia defeated Plzen 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League League Stage - 3, recovering the lead shortly after the hosts had equalised. The result left Levski Sofia as winners at Doosan Arena, with the visitors scoring the last goal of the match.

Francisco Everton Mota de Castro opened the scoring for Levski Sofia in the 44th minute, assisted by Reinaldo Nascimento Satorno, to make it 0-1. Christopher Kabongo levelled for Plzen in the 62nd minute after Cheick Souare’s assist, but Reinaldo Nascimento Satorno restored Levski Sofia’s advantage in the 65th minute, supplied by Maicon Araújo dos Santos, for the 1-2 final score.

Plzen had more of the ball but not the result

Plzen held 63% possession and attempted 13 shots to Levski Sofia’s 6. However, Levski Sofia had more shots on goal, 3 to 2, while their expected-goals figure was 1.17 compared with Plzen’s 0.97. The numbers point to a controlled away win despite Plzen’s territorial advantage.

Mazire Soula was booked in the 20th minute and Stefan Pirgic received Plzen’s yellow card in the 87th. Neither team received a red card.

Levski climb provisionally sixth

Levski Sofia moved from 1 point to 4 points and were provisionally sixth, having gone into the match ranked #26. Plzen remained on 0 points after 3 games and had gone into the match ranked #32. Levski’s standout performer was Reinaldo, rated 9.0 after 1 goal and 1 assist in 82 minutes. The result ended Levski’s pre-match Loss, Draw sequence, while Plzen’s pre-match form was Loss, Win, Loss, Loss.