Today begins the main part of the battles in the main phase of the Conference League. The tournament starts with a bang with some very interesting clashes and with Bulgarian participation. We are waiting for extremely intriguing matches on the fields in Europe, with the focus of Bulgarian fans undoubtedly being directed to the capital.
For Bulgarian fans, the most attention is attracted by CSKA's home game against the French Monaco. The first round match will be played at the national stadium "Vasil Levski" at 19:45. The Bulgarian team enters the match after a 3:2 victory against CSKA 1948 in the championship, being in a series of good results at home. For their part, Monaco, led by Philippe Louis, arrives in Sofia after a 2:2 draw against Toulouse in Ligue 1. The French team is one of the favorites in the tournament and will be looking for the obligatory three points, but the "reds" will do everything possible to upset their calculations.
Another curious clash pits Panathinaikos against Borac (Banja Luka). Both teams had meetings with Bulgarian teams before getting here, so we will follow their performance with interest.
The visit of Red Star to Swiss Lugano is also of interest. The Serbian giants also include Bulgarian player Kristijan Balov, who hopes for good minutes and a strong performance on the European stage.
Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing and resonant clashes in this first round is between the Croatian Hajduk Split and the Dutch giant Ajax. The atmosphere in Split promises to be hot, and the guests from Amsterdam will be looking for early success in the tournament.
One of the main favorites in the tournament - the Italian Atalanta - comes out against the Cypriot Paphos. The Bergamasco team enters the match after a 3-1 victory against Venezia in Serie A and is chasing the mandatory three points in front of their fans.
The English Brighton also has serious ambitions in the tournament and will strive to start strongly with a convincing home game against the Lithuanian Kauno Zalgiris.