CSKA Sofia vs 09.07.26 18:003 – 2Full Time
Derry City — UEFA Europa League: stats, lineups & analysis
Match report
CSKA Sofia edge five-goal thriller against Derry City
CSKA Sofia won 3-2 against Derry City in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League 1st Qualifying Round tie at the National Stadium Vasil Levski, with the home side surviving a late scare after taking control in the first half.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Ioannis Pittas opened the scoring in the 19th minute, but Derry City responded quickly through Liam Boyce, who converted an assist from M. Duffy in the 31st to level at 1-1. CSKA restored their lead before the break when Bruno Jordão, set up by Stefano Sensi, made it 2-1, sending the sides in with the home team ahead at half-time.
Pittas struck again in the 53rd minute, latching onto a pass from Pastor to extend the lead to 3-1 and put CSKA firmly in command. Derry City pushed for a way back and got a late reward when James Olayinka, assisted by Patrick McClean, scored in the 89th minute to make it 3-2, but there was no further comeback before the final whistle.
CSKA dominated general play, holding 67 percent of possession and forcing two shots on target compared to none for Derry City, whose single goal-scoring involvement came from a solitary corner advantage.
Pittas scored twice, opening the match in the 19th minute and restoring CSKA's advantage in the 53rd, proving decisive at both ends of the contest.
CSKA's 67 percent share of possession underlined their control for long spells of the match despite Derry City's late fightback.
CSKA Sofia beat Derry City 3–2 (half-time 2–1).
CSKA Sofia met Derry City in the UEFA Europa League (1st Qualifying Round). Kick-off was Thursday, 9 July 2026, 18:00 UTC at Vasil Levski National Sports Academy. Referee: Visar Kastrati.
Team pages: CSKA Sofia · Derry City · UEFA Europa League
Key moments
- 19' Goal: Ioannis Pittas — 1–0
- 31' Goal: Liam Boyce (assist: Michael Duffy) — 1–1
- 41' Goal: Bruno Jordão (assist: Stefano Sensi) — 2–1
- 53' Goal: Ioannis Pittas (assist: Pastor) — 3–1
- 88' Goal: James Olayinka (assist: Patrick McClean) — 3–2
Starting line-ups
CSKA Sofia (4-3-1-2)
- 21 Fedor Lapoukhov
- 21 F. Lapoukhov
- 17 A. Martino
- 14 Teodor Ivanov
- 32 F. Rodriguez
- 2 Pastor
- 8 Stefano Sensi
- 6 Bruno Jordão
- 30 Petko Panayotov
- 94 I. Solet
- 28 Ioannis Pittas
- 9 L. Godoy
Derry City (4-4-2)
- 1 Brian Maher
- 6 R. Slevin
- 3 Patrick McClean
- 25 Christy Grogan
- 22 Conor Barr
- 7 Michael Duffy
- 23 Cameron Dummigan
- 28 James Olayinka
- 2 Barry Cotter
- 27 Liam Boyce
- 14 Ellis Chapman
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave CSKA Sofia 67%, the draw 21%, Derry City 12%. It finished CSKA Sofia 3–2 Derry City.
CSKA Sofia's rating gap decides it — CSKA Sofia are clearly the stronger side on our strength rating, and UEFA Europa League home advantage on top gives CSKA Sofia a clear lead. The draw at 21% is lifted by a low-scoring environment.
Why CSKA Sofia at 67%?
CSKA Sofia sit 287 points higher on our strength rating — 1529 to 1241. Sides with a 200–300-point rating edge at home won 67.1% of 5,855 such games. UEFA Europa League home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to draws (22.8% vs 24.9% norm). UEFA Europa League homes won 47.5% of 4,358 games vs 44.9% across all 98,123 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly. The 300 most similar past games finished 66–22–12.
Why only 67%?
No scored evidence points the other way. 67% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 21% and Derry City at 12%.
Why is the draw only 21%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 20.9%. These teams' recent games average 2.2 goals — a low-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 28.3% of 17,993. The goals environment adds 2.5 points to the draw. UEFA Europa League produces fewer draws than most, taking 2.1 points off.
What did we measure but not count?
Derry City have 19 fully-tracked matches with us — under our usual 25-game bar — but their strength rating is anchored to the long-run European club ratings list, which carries their wider competitive history into the number. Clubs from leagues we don't fully cover play too few tracked games for a record built from scratch, so their rating chain starts from published long-run club ratings instead of a blind first guess.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the CSKA Sofia vs Derry City final score and result, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this UEFA Europa League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
The full match report above covers the goals, key moments and stats. Explore more on the CSKA Sofia and Derry City team pages or the UEFA Europa League page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of CSKA Sofia vs Derry City?
CSKA Sofia beat Derry City 3–2 (half-time 2–1).
›Who scored in CSKA Sofia vs Derry City?
Ioannis Pittas (19') for CSKA Sofia; Liam Boyce (31') for Derry City; Bruno Jordão (41') for CSKA Sofia; Ioannis Pittas (53') for CSKA Sofia; James Olayinka (88') for Derry City.
›Where can I watch CSKA Sofia vs Derry City highlights?
This page carries the full match report, stats and lineups for CSKA Sofia vs Derry City; goal clips are added as soon as official highlights are available.
›What is the head-to-head record between CSKA Sofia and Derry City?
CSKA Sofia and Derry City have met 1 time — 1 win for CSKA Sofia, 0 wins for Derry City and 0 draws.