CSKA (Sofia) suffered a second defeat in its winter training in Turkey, after losing 1:2 to the Czech Mlada Boleslav, which occupies 13th place in the local championship. This was the second test for the “army” in the Belek resort, and a few days ago, Hristo Yanev's team also lost to the Polish Korona (Kielce) with 0:2.
The opponent from the Czech Republic had a tangible advantage in the first half and deservedly retired at the break with a two-goal lead. CSKA managed to reduce its deficit only in the last minute of the match, when Mohamed Brahimi converted a penalty and scored the first goal for the team in the tests. The next friendly match of the capital team is scheduled for January 21 against the Ukrainian LNZ Cherkasy.
Although the first dangerous situation of the match was in front of the Czech goal - Ioannis Pitas hit the post with a header after a corner, Mlada Boleslav gradually imposed its pace. In the 12th minute, a mistake in the Czechs' clearance allowed James Eto'o to shoot diagonally, but his shot went wide.
After that, control passed completely into the hands of Mlada Boleslav and in the 26th minute, Jan Buryan opened the scoring. He received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, CSKA's defense did not react in time, and goalkeeper Fyodor Lapouhov was late and the Czech calmly sent the ball into the net. Just four minutes later, Buryan was back in the spotlight after being brought down in the penalty area by Bruno Jordao, and Michal Ševčík converted the penalty for 2:0.
After the break, the pace of play slowed down, with the many substitutions in both teams affecting the organization of the pitch. Petko Panayotov attempted a long-range shot that went dangerously close to the goal. In the closing seconds, Mohamed Brahimi was brought down in the penalty area after an individual break and took responsibility for taking the penalty himself, reducing the score to 1:2.
Thus, CSKA continues its preparations in Turkey, looking for a first victory in the controls before the season resumes.