PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in European football

PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in European football
	The Ludogorets starting XI before a Round of 32 UEFA Europa League game against Lazio in Sofia on 27 February 2014
Club	Ludogorets Razgrad
Seasons played	13
First entry	2012–13 UEFA Champions League
Latest entry	2024–25 UEFA Champions League

PFC Ludogorets Razgrad is an association football club from Razgrad, Bulgaria. Since their introduction to the Bulgarian top-flight, Ludogorets have participated in five different seasons of the UEFA club competitions - four in the Champions League and two in the UEFA Europa League.

Ludogorets' first entry in the European competitions was in the 2012–13 Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia. Since then, the club competes in Europe on an annual basis with variable success.

Ludogorets' best European performance came in the 2013–14 Europa League, when the team won their group against PSV Eindhoven, Chornomorets Odesa and Dinamo Zagreb, eventually becoming the first Bulgarian team to win a UEFA Europa League group. Subsequently, they also reached the round of 16 stage of the same competition, after playing two memorable matches against Lazio, including a 1–0 away win and a 3–3 home draw, before being eliminated by Spanish club Valencia. Then, in the 2014–15 season, Ludogorets became the second Bulgarian team to reach the UEFA Champions League group stages (the first being Levski Sofia in 2006–07) after eliminating Steaua București 6–5 at penalties and the first one to score points in this phase following a 1–0 victory over FC Basel.

History

After winning the 2011–12 A Group for the first time in their history, Ludogorets entered the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League for the 2012–13 season, where they lost 3–4 on aggregate by Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb.

2013–14 Europa League round of 16 campaign

Ludogorets' 2013–14 UEFA Europa League lineup against Italian cup holders Lazio, which recorded a 1-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico.

As 2012–13 Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets qualified for the 2013–14 Champions League qualifying rounds where they entered the tournament from the second preliminary round. Ludogorets were drawn against Slovan Bratislava. In the first leg in Bratislava, they recorded a 1–2 loss against the Slovak champions, keeping poor chances to advance. Despite this, Ludogorets obtained their first victory in the UEFA Champions League, after a 3–0 thrashing against Slovan at the Ludogorets Arena in the return match. As they advanced to the next round, they were drawn against Serbian champions, Partizan Belgrade. After two wins of 2–1 in Razgrad and 1–0 in the second leg, they managed to qualify for the play-off stage, obtaining indirectly their very first qualification to the group stages of a European competition. The team was drawn against FC Basel, but lost 2–4 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. After a second 0–2 loss in Switzerland, Ludogorets were eliminated and transferred to the Europa League for the very first time in their history.

Ludogorets were drawn in Group B of the 2013–14 Europa League, against PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb and Chornomorets Odesa. At their debut in the competition, Ludogorets won 2–0 at Eindhoven over PSV, obtaining their first European group stages victory. On matchday 2, Ludogorets won 3–0 against Dinamo Zagreb, in a replay match from their previous Champions League season clash. On matchday 3, Ludogorets again won 1–0 against Chornomorets Odesa, becoming the first Bulgarian team to begin their group stage participation in European tournaments with three consecutive wins without conceding any goal. On matchday 4, they dropped the only points in a 1–1 home draw with Chornomorets Odesa. On matchday 5, Ludogorets win 2-1 at Zagreb against Dinamo.^[1] On the last matchday, Ludogorets again won 2–0 over PSV at Sofia and qualified for the round of 32 as group winners, with 16 points, being the only Bulgarian team undefeated in UEFA Europa League group stages. In the round of 32, Ludogorets were drawn against Italian cup holders, Lazio. In the first leg, held on Stadio Olimpico at Roma, Ludogorets won 1-0, with striker Roman Bezjak scoring the winning goal in a historic win. At Vasil Levski National Stadium, Ludogorets hold Lazio in a 3–3 draw, after Lazio had a 2–0 lead, until Bezjak and Hristo Zlatinski scored for 2–2. Later, Lazio scored for 3–2, but Juninho Quixada scored the equaliser for a 4–3 aggregate win.^[2] In the round of 16, Ludogorets hosted Spanish team Valencia, but were defeated 0–3, suffering their first defeat in the UEFA Europa League. In the second leg at Mestalla Stadium, Ludogorets were again defeated 0–1 by Valencia and eliminated.^[3]

2014–15 Champions League group stages

In the 2014–15 Champions League, Ludogorets again won both their qualifiers, against F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg and Partizan Belgrade.^[4]^[5] In the play-off they defeated Steaua București to reach the group stage for the first time.^[6] Goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was dismissed for a second yellow card in the last minute of extra time in the second leg, when Ludogorets had used all their substitutes. In the penalty shoot-out, centre-back Cosmin Moți, having converted the first penalty, went in goal and made two saves to put Ludogorets through 6–5 on penalties.^[6]

Ludogorets made their debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014, grabbing a 1-1 equalizer away against Liverpool in the 90th minute scored by Dani Abalo, but in an eventual 1-2 loss,^[7] as the newly signed goalkeeper Milan Borjan then gave away a penalty with a foul on Javi Manquillo, which Steven Gerrard converted to give Liverpool the victory.^[8] Ludogorets made their home debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 1 October 2014, scoring a goal in the 6th minute through Ludogorets' attacking midfielder Marcelinho against the current Champions League champion Real Madrid, but in an eventual 1–2 loss.^[9] In this game Cristiano Ronaldo took two penalties, with the first saved by the Ludogorets' goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov and the second converted into the goal for a 1-1 equalizer.^[9] On 22 October 2014, Yordan Minev scored his first goal for Ludogorets, scoring a last-minute winning goal in a 1–0 home win over Basel in the group stage of the Champions League.^[10] However, on matchday 4, Ludogorets were defeated 0-4 by Basel at St. Jakob-Park, suffering their worst defeat in the European competitions. On 26 November 2014, Dani Abalo scored in the 3rd minute and Georgi Terziev scored his first goal in the 88th minute, getting a 2–2 equalizer against Liverpool, in an eventual 2-2 draw.^[11] On the last matchday, Ludogorets were beaten 0-4 at Santiago Bernabéu by Real Madrid, ending their UEFA Champions League adventure on the fourth place, with 4 points, becoming the first Bulgarian team to record points in that competition when they defeated Basel. This was also the first home win for a Bulgarian team in the UEFA Champions League, and was followed by a 2-2 home draw with Liverpool.

Total statistics

As of 10 November 2024^[update]

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%
UEFA Champions League	70	26	15	29	105	100	37.14
UEFA Europa League	77	25	22	30	103	98	32.47
UEFA Europa Conference League	10	5	1	4	13	14	50
Total	157	56	38	63	221	212	+9

Statistics by club/country

As of 10 November 2024^[update]

Country	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Austria	LASK	2	0	0	2	4	7	−3
Subtotal		2	0	0	2	4	7	−3

Azerbaijan	Qarabağ	2	1	0	1	4	8	−4
Subtotal		2	1	0	1	4	8	−4

Belarus	Dynamo Brest	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
	Dinamo Minsk	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1
	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2
Subtotal		5	4	0	1	6	1	+5

Belgium	Anderlecht	3	1	0	2	2	4	−2
Belgium	Antwerp	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3
Subtotal		5	1	0	4	4	9	−5

Bosnia and Herzegovina	Zrinjski Mostar	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1
Subtotal		2	1	1	0	2	1	+1

Croatia	Dinamo Zagreb	6	2	1	3	11	11	±0
Subtotal		6	2	1	3	11	11	±0

Czech Republic	Viktoria Plzeň	3	1	2	0	4	2	+2
Czech Republic	Slavia Prague	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Subtotal		4	1	2	1	4	4	±0

Cyprus	AEK Larnaca	2	0	2	0	1	1	±0
Subtotal		2	0	2	0	1	1	±0

Denmark	Copenhagen	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1
	Midtjylland	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1
	Nordsjælland	2	1	0	1	2	7	−5
Subtotal		7	1	3	3	4	11	−7

England	Arsenal	2	0	0	2	2	9	−7
	Liverpool	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1
	Tottenham Hotspur	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6
Subtotal		6	0	1	5	6	20	−14

Finland	HJK	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2
Subtotal		2	1	1	0	3	1	+2

France	Paris Saint-Germain	2	0	1	1	3	5	−2
Subtotal		2	0	1	1	3	5	−2

Germany	Bayer Leverkusen	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1
Germany	1899 Hoffenheim	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1
Subtotal		4	1	2	1	6	6	±0

Georgia	Torpedo Kutaisi	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5
Georgia	Dinamo Batumi	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1
Subtotal		4	3	0	1	8	2	+6

Greece	Olympiacos	2	0	2	0	3	3	±0
Subtotal		2	0	2	0	3	3	±0

Hungary	Ferencváros	4	1	1	2	7	6	+1
Hungary	Videoton	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1
Subtotal		6	1	2	3	7	7	±0

Iceland	Valur	2	1	1	0	5	1	+4
Subtotal		2	1	1	0	5	1	+4

Israel	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	2	1	0	1	3	3	±0
Subtotal		2	1	0	1	3	3	±0

Italy	Inter Milan	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3
	Lazio	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1
	Milan	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4
	Roma	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1
Subtotal		8	2	1	5	8	15	−7

Kazakhstan	Astana	2	1	0	1	6	3	+3
Subtotal		2	1	0	1	6	3	+3

Kosovo	Ballkani	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2
Subtotal		2	1	0	1	4	2	+2

Lithuania	Sūduva Marijampolė	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2
Lithuania	Žalgiris	4	2	1	1	9	6	+3
Subtotal		6	3	2	1	11	6	+5

Luxembourg	F91 Dudelange	2	1	1	0	5	1	+4
Subtotal		2	1	1	0	5	1	+4

Moldova	Milsami Orhei	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2
Moldova	Petrocub Hîncești	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5
Subtotal		4	2	0	2	7	4	+3

Montenegro	Budućnost Podgorica	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
	Mladost Podgorica	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5
	Sutjeska Nikšić	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3
Subtotal		5	5	0	0	11	1	+10

Netherlands	Ajax	2	1	0	1	2	4	−2
Netherlands	PSV Eindhoven	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4
Subtotal		4	3	0	1	6	4	+2

Northern Ireland	Crusaders	2	2	0	0	9	0	+9
Subtotal		2	2	0	0	9	0	+9

Portugal	Braga	4	1	1	2	5	6	−1
Subtotal		4	1	1	2	5	6	−1

Republic of Ireland	Shamrock Rovers	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2
Subtotal		2	1	0	1	4	2	+2

Romania	Steaua București	2	1	0	1	1	1	±0
Subtotal		2	1	0	1	1	1	±0

Russia	CSKA Moscow	2	1	1	0	6	2	+4
Subtotal		2	1	1	0	6	2	+4

Serbia	Partizan	4	2	2	0	5	3	+2
Serbia	Red Star Belgrade	4	1	1	2	6	6	±0
Subtotal		8	3	3	2	11	9	+2

Slovakia	Slovan Bratislava	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2
Slovakia	Spartak Trnava	2	2	0	0	6	1	+5
Subtotal		4	3	0	1	10	3	+7

Slovenia	Maribor	2	0	2	0	2	2	±0
	Mura	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2
	Olimpija	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1
Subtotal		6	1	4	1	7	6	+1

Spain	Espanyol	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7
	Real Betis	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2
	Real Madrid	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5
	Valencia	2	0	0	2	0	4	–4
	Athletic Bilbao	1	0	0	1	1	2	–1
Subtotal		9	0	0	9	4	23	–19

Sweden	Malmö FF	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1
Subtotal		2	1	0	1	2	3	−1

Switzerland	Basel	6	1	2	3	4	11	–7
	Servette	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1
	Zürich	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1
Subtotal		10	1	4	5	5	14	–9

Turkey	Fenerbahçe	2	1	0	1	3	3	±0
Turkey	İstanbul Başakşehir	2	0	1	1	1	2	–1
Subtotal		4	1	1	2	4	5	–1

Ukraine	Chornomorets Odesa	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1
Subtotal		2	1	1	0	2	1	+1

Wales	The New Saints	2	2	0	0	9	0	+9
Subtotal		2	2	0	0	9	0	+9

Total		157	56	38	63	221	212	+9

Match results

As of 10 November 2024

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
2012–13	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Dinamo Zagreb	1–1	2–3	3–4
2013–14	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Slovan Bratislava	3–0	1–2	4–2
		3Q	Partizan	2–1	1–0	3–1
		PO	Basel	2–4	0–2	2–6
	UEFA Europa League	Group B	PSV Eindhoven	2–0	2–0	1st
			Dinamo Zagreb	3–0	2–1
			Chornomorets Odesa	1–1	1–0
		Round of 32	Lazio	3–3	1–0	4–3
		Round of 16	Valencia	0–3	0–1	0–4
2014–15	UEFA Champions League	2Q	F91 Dudelange	4–0	1–1	5–1
		3Q	Partizan	0–0	2–2	2–2 (a)
		PO	Steaua București	1–0 (a.e.t.)	0–1	1–1 (6–5 p)
		Group B	Real Madrid	1–2	0–4	4th
			Basel	1–0	0–4
			Liverpool	2–2	1–2
2015–16	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Milsami Orhei	0–1	1–2	1–3
2016–17	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Mladost Podgorica	2–0	3–0	5–0
		3Q	Red Star Belgrade	2–2	4–2 (a.e.t.)	6–4
		PO	Viktoria Plzeň	2–0	2–2	4–2
		Group A	Paris Saint-Germain	1–3	2–2	3rd
			Arsenal	2–3	0–6
			Basel	0–0	1–1
	UEFA Europa League	Round of 32	Copenhagen	1–2	0–0	1–2
2017–18	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Žalgiris	4–1	1–2	5–3
	UEFA Champions League	3Q	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	3–1	0–2	3–3 (a)
	UEFA Europa League	PO	Sūduva Marijampolė	2–0	0–0	2–0
		Group C	Braga	1–1	2–0	2nd
			1899 Hoffenheim	2–1	1–1
			İstanbul Başakşehir	1–2	0–0
		Round of 32	Milan	0–3	0–1	0–4
2018–19	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Crusaders	7–0	2–0	9–0
	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Vidi	0–0	0–1	0–1
	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Zrinjski Mostar	1–0	1–1	2–1
		PO	Torpedo Kutaisi	4–0	1–0	5–0
		Group A	Bayer Leverkusen	2–3	1–1	4th
			Zürich	1–1	0–1
			AEK Larnaca	0–0	1–1
2019–20	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Ferencváros	2−3	1−2	3−5
	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Valur	4–0	1–1	5–1
		3Q	The New Saints	5–0	4–0	9–0
		PO	Maribor	0–0	2–2	2–2 (a)
		Group H	CSKA Moscow	5–1	1–1	2nd
			Ferencváros	1–1	3–0
			Espanyol	0–1	0–6
		Round of 32	Inter Milan	0–2	1–2	1–4
2020–21	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Budućnost Podgorica	—	3–1	—
	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Midtjylland	0–1	—	—
	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Bye	—	—	—
		PO	Dynamo Brest	—	2–0	—
		Group J	Tottenham Hotspur	1–3	0–4	4th
			LASK	1–3	3–4
			Antwerp	1–2	1–3
2021–22	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	1–0	1–0	2–0
		2Q	Mura	3–1	0–0	3–1
		3Q	Olympiacos	2–2 (a.e.t.)	1–1	3–3 (4–1 p)
		PO	Malmö FF	2–1	0–2	2–3
	UEFA Europa League	Group F	Midtjylland	1–1	0–0	4th
			Red Star Belgrade	0–1	0–1
			Braga	0–1	2–4
2022–23	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Sutjeska Nikšić	2–0	1–0	3–0
		2Q	Shamrock Rovers	3–0	1–2	4–2
		3Q	Dinamo Zagreb	1–2	2–4	3–6
	UEFA Europa League	PO	Žalgiris	1–0	3–3 (a.e.t.)	4–3
		Group C	Roma	2–1	1–3	3rd
			Real Betis	0–1	2–3
			HJK	2–0	1–1
	UEFA Europa Conference League	KRPO	Anderlecht	1–0	1–2 (a.e.t.)	2–2 (0–3 p)
2023–24	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Ballkani	4–0	0–2	4–2
	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Olimpija	1–1	1–2	2–3
	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Astana	5–1	1–2	6–3
	UEFA Europa League	PO	Ajax	1–4	1–0	2–4
	UEFA Europa Conference League	Group H	Fenerbahçe	2–0	1–3	2nd
			Spartak Trnava	4–0	2–1
			Nordsjælland	1–0	1–7
		KRPO	Servette	0–1	0–0	0–1
2024–25	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Dinamo Batumi	3–1	0–1	3–2
		2Q	Dinamo Minsk	2–0	0–1	2–1
		3Q	Qarabağ	2–7 (a.e.t.)	2–1	4–8
	UEFA Europa League	PO	Petrocub Hîncești	4–0	2–1	6–1
		LP	Slavia Prague	0–2	—	34th
			Viktoria Plzeň	—	0–0
			Anderlecht	—	0–2
			Athletic Bilbao	1–2	—
			Lazio	—
			AZ Alkmaar		—
			Midtjylland		—
			Lyon	—

Notes

1Q: First qualifying round
2Q: Second qualifying round
3Q: Third qualifying round
PO: Play-off round
KRPO: Knockout round play-offs

Achievements and records

Biggest European home win: Ludogorets 7–0 Crusaders (11 July 2018, UEFA Champions league qualifying round first leg)
Biggest European away win: The New Saints 0–4 Ludogorets (15 August 2019, UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round second leg)
Biggest European home defeat: Ludogorets 2–7 Qarabağ (13 August 2024, UEFA Champions League third qualifying round);
Biggest European away defeat: Nordsjælland 7–1 Ludogorets (5 October 2023, UEFA Europa Conference League group stage); Arsenal 6–0 Ludogorets (19 October 2016, UEFA Champions League group stage); Espanyol 6–0 Ludogorets (7 November 2019, UEFA Europa League group stage)
Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to begin their group stage participation in European tournaments with 3 consecutive wins, when in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage they recorded consecutive wins against PSV Eindhoven (2–0), Dinamo Zagreb (3–0) and Chornomorets Odesa (1–0), without conceding a goal in any of the games.
After the end of the Round of 32 in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to record 9 wins in European competitions in a single season, as well as the first Bulgarian team to record 5 away wins in European competitions in a single season.
During the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League, Ludogorets became the second Bulgarian team to reach the group stages of the competition, the first being Levski Sofia in 2006–07.
During the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage, Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to record points in that competition when they defeated Basel 1–0 at home. This was also the first home win for a Bulgarian team in the UEFA Champions League, and was followed by a 2–2 home draw with Liverpool.
Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to qualify twice for the Champions League group stage, achieving the feat during the 2016–17 season of the tournament. During that season, the team set a new record for most goals scored (6), and became the first Bulgarian team to avoid finishing last in their group.
As of the 2017–18 season Ludogorets holds the record for most points scored in the UEFA Champions League group stage by a Bulgarian team with 4, most goals scored with 6, and fewest goals conceded with 14.

Goalscoring and appearance records

As of 23 February 2023

Most appearances for the club in European competitions

Rank	Name	Career	Appearances
1	Cosmin Moți	2012–2021	81
2	Marcelinho	2011–2020	80
3	Svetoslav Dyakov	2011–2021	78
4	Wanderson	2014–2022	70
5	Cicinho	2015–2023	65
6	Anton Nedyalkov	2018–	57
6	Claudiu Keșerü	2015–2021	57
8	Anicet Abel	2014–2021	53
9	Virgil Misidjan	2013–2018	51
10	Ihor Plastun	2016–2018 2021−	44

Most goals for the club in European competitions

Rank	Name	Career	Goals
1	Claudiu Keșerü	2015–2021	16
2	Wanderson	2014–2022	15
3	Marcelinho	2011–2020	14
4	Jakub Świerczok	2018–2020	10
4	Jody Lukoki	2015–2020	10
6	Roman Bezjak	2012–2015	8
6	Pieros Sotiriou	2021–2022	8
8	Virgil Misidjan	2013–2018	7
8	Kiril Despodov	2020–	7
10	Cosmin Moți	2012–2021	6
10	Dani Abalo	2013–2015	6
10	Elvis Manu	2020–2022	6
10	Cauly	2020–2023	6