Levski Sofia and Salzburg met at Stadion Vasil Levski in the UEFA Europa League league phase, and the shape of the match explained the scoreline far better than the bare numbers do. Salzburg turned the tie around and left Levski Sofia to chase the game for the best part of the second half. The turning point came at the 39 minute mark, when Haris Tabaković struck it with quality, and everything that followed was played in that new landscape. Salzburg won 1-0 and carried the points home. 22378 supporters filled Stadion Vasil Levski, and the noise never really left the players alone. Neither side arrived in the best form: the last five results read W W W L D for Levski Sofia and W W W W D for Salzburg, and both sets of players knew what a slip would cost.
Match facts
- Date: 17.09.2026
- Kick-off: 16:45 UTC
- Venue: Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria (43632)
- Attendance: 22378
- Referee: Mohammed Al Emara (Finland)
- Competition: UEFA Europa League 2026/2027 – Matchday 1
- Starting line-ups: Levski Sofia (4-2-3-1, Coach: Julio Velázquez) / Salzburg (4-2-3-1, Coach: Danny Röhl)
- Scorers: Haris Tabaković 39′ (Salzburg)
Levski Sofia lined up with Svetoslav Vutsov, Aldair, Kristian Dimitrov, Christian Makoun, Maicon, Sérginho, Gašper Trdin, Everton Bala, Armstrong Oko-Flex, Álex Centelles, Reinaldo in a 4-2-3-1, while Salzburg answered with Christian Zawieschitzky, Nikolas Veratschnig, Kévin Boma, Tim Drexler, Dominik Schmid, Abubakr Barry, Bartosz Mazurek, Edmund Baidoo, Sota Kitano, Yorbe Vertessen, Haris Tabaković in a 4-2-3-1. Julio Velázquez and Danny Röhl led their respective sides from the touchline, and both had a plan for the first hour that they wanted to keep intact.
Goals and key moments
Goal details, minutes and scorers are the part of the record that separate one evening from another. At the 39 minute mark, Haris Tabaković struck it with quality, and there was nothing anyone could do about 0-1. It was a chance worth 0.53 expected goals, which is exactly why it was worth taking. That strike changed the temperature of the evening: from that point Salzburg could play for the counter while Levski Sofia had to take risks in the spaces that had opened up. Not every opening was taken, though, and the chances that were missed told their own story. Taken together, the goals gave the evening a shape that the scoreline on its own never explained.
The tactical picture
Levski Sofia started in 4-2-3-1 under Julio Velázquez, while Salzburg answered with 4-2-3-1 under Danny Röhl, and those two shapes decided most of what happened on the field. Neither manager was willing to hand the central ground over for free, and the shape of the game followed that refusal. The midfield was the part of the pitch both sides wanted, and the numbers show who managed to take it. Salzburg’s 4-2-3-1 was the sharper of the two systems, and Levski Sofia’s 4-2-3-1 spent longer than they should have without the ball. Salzburg pressed high and won the second ball, which left Levski Sofia unable to build from the back and forced them into hopeful passes. The width of the pitch worked against Levski Sofia, who kept trying to attack down the same flank and were closed down every time. Transitions were the story: Salzburg moved the ball forward at speed, Levski Sofia could not. The tactical conversation between the two benches was as much a part of the evening as the movement of the ball itself.
Statistical comparison
The statistical picture is as revealing as the scoreline itself. Expected goals told the sharper story: 0.93 for Levski Sofia, 1.59 for Salzburg. The numbers that decide matches rarely tell the whole story, but they narrow the argument down to a very small area. Levski Sofia attempted 14 shots to Salzburg’s 12, with 0 on target against 7. Possession finished at 50 per cent for Levski Sofia against 50 per cent for Salzburg, and it is worth noting which side actually used it. Levski Sofia won 5 corners to Salzburg’s 4, and that is where most of the set-piece danger came from. Levski Sofia completed 401 of 464 passes against 404 of 471 for Salzburg, a difference that shows how differently the two sides circulated the ball. Fouls were committed 9 times by Levski Sofia and 21 by Salzburg, with 0 and 0 red cards in the official count. The goalkeepers made 6 and 0 saves respectively, and on a night like this that work decides how the result is remembered. The duels went 50 to 42, which is usually the cleanest single indicator of who was prepared to spend effort on the ball. Tackles were completed 12 times by Levski Sofia and 19 by Salzburg, and the duels that followed tell the same story as the rest of the evening. Levski Sofia managed 9 shots from inside the penalty area compared with 9 for Salzburg, which is the clearest single indicator of where the game was actually played.
Discipline and substitutions
Discipline and substitutions shaped the second half more than the scoreline suggests. Levski Sofia collected 1 yellow cards and Salzburg 5, with Sota Kitano (41′), Álex Centelles (55′), Haris Tabaković (56′) among the bookings. The caution count of 6 in total meant the referee had to manage a game that was becoming increasingly physical around the halfway line. Both coaches used their changes: 5 by Levski Sofia and 3 by Salzburg, with the last substitution of the evening coming at the 89 minute mark. The emotional temperature of the evening rose and fell with the challenges and with the decisions taken by both benches. Mohammed Al Emara took charge of the match and kept a close eye on a game that grew untidy in the middle third.
Player of the match and the standout performers
Individual performances separated the two teams across a full ninety minutes. Bartosz Mazurek of Salzburg was the player of the match with a rating of 8.2, and every touch that mattered carried his name on it. For Levski Sofia, the best individual rating belonged to Svetoslav Vutsov (7.62). For Salzburg, the best individual rating belonged to Bartosz Mazurek (8.19). The gap between the best performances on each side was the reason the result never really looked as comfortable as it was. The goalkeeping was worth a mention too: Svetoslav Vutsov made 6 saves for Levski Sofia, and Christian Zawieschitzky made 0 for Salzburg. Across the two squads the highest individual ratings read Svetoslav Vutsov (7.62), Sérginho (7.58), Bartosz Mazurek (8.19), Abubakr Barry (7.66).
What the result means for the league phase
Levski Sofia on 0 points from 1 match, in 27th place with a goal difference of -1 and Salzburg on 3 points from 1 match, in 15th place with a goal difference of +1. Levski Sofia arrived with W W W L D in their last five and Salzburg with W W W W D, so the result fits the run both of them have been on. For Salzburg this is the result the league phase was built for, and it leaves them in a much healthier position; Levski Sofia will need to respond quickly. What the numbers cannot show is how hard the result was worked for, and how differently the two sides will remember it. The next round of the league phase will tell more: whoever adjusts first in the coming days will be the one who controls the group.