Levski and AEK Athens played to a 0:0 draw in their first Champions League playoff match at the National Stadium Vasil Levski.
The domestic champions produced a strong performance against the Greek side and will go into the return leg next week level. The match in Greece is on August 26, Wednesday, at 22:00.
First half
In the 17th minute Nikola Serafimov shot toward Strakosha’s goal after receiving a pass from a foul, but the ball went wide. Three minutes later Lovro Majer found Luka Jović in the box and the Serb fired a dangerous shot that struck the crossbar.
In the 32nd minute a dangerous cross could have been tapped in from close range, but Jović missed the ball. On the throw-in Vutsov erred and gave the ball to the Serbian forward, whose left-footed shot flew high and the keeper’s mistake had no consequence.
Seven minutes before halftime Levski had their clearest chance. Aldair was played behind the ‘yellow-blacks’ defence. Armstrong Oko-Flex hesitated, but the ball reached Mehdi Moubarek, whose low shot lacked power and Tomas Strakosha collected it comfortably.
In the 42nd minute Dimitrov delivered a diagonal pass to the left flank to Alex Senteies. The Spaniard crossed to Oko-Flex, whose shot was blocked by a Greek defender.
Second half
Levski were more active in the opening minutes of the second half. Maicon advanced in the 54th minute and shot along the ground, which Strakosha saved, though not convincingly.
In the 57th minute Dimitrov tried his luck from distance, but the AEK keeper caught it easily. The visitors’ first on-target effort came two minutes later when Vutsov dealt calmly with Zini’s shot from the edge of the box. Shortly after the striker shot again and won a corner, which led to an inaccurate header by Filipe Relvas.
Both teams pushed for a winning goal late on, but neither attack reached a dangerous position and the match finished 0:0.
Result and lineups
Levski – AEK 0:0
Starting lineups: Levski: 92 Vutsov, 21 Aldair, 31 Serafimov, 50 Dimitrov, 3 Maicon, 35 Serginho, 19 Moubarek, 20 Senteies, 11 Oko-Flex, 7 Reinaldo, 17 Everton Bala.
AEK Athens: 1 Strakosha, 12 Rota, 2 Mukudi, 44 Filipe Relvas, 3 Pilios, 14 Majer, 18 Marin, 6 Kairinen, 11 Koita, 9 Jović, 90 Zini.
For more on Levski, visit the club page Levski.
Source: Fakti.bg BG Sport
