From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 37, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Rildo runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Maicon
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Levski this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match12 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Radoslav Kirilov. 2‑0 against Spartak 1918, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petar Vitanov, and the manager let it.
Market14 Sep 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Levski, another week without a signature from Petar Vitanov.
Squad14 Sep 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Levski have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Sep 2026
Carlos Ohene hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Levski can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Levski
Álex Centelles was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 230% of everything Levski earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match5 Sep 2026
CSKA 1948 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 27 days on the sidelines for Martin Emilov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The award goes to Christian Makoun, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Karl Fabien gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad31 Aug 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market31 Aug 2026
Stipe Vulikić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Levski can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 Aug 2026
Levski make it 4 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Levski have 4 straight wins of it.
Market31 Aug 2026
CSKA Sofia come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Levski did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market31 Aug 2026
Levski get their man
The chase for Mark-Emilio Papazov ended with $960.0K changing hands and CSKA Sofia out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Levski
Radoslav Kirilov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 9.33 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match19 Aug 2026
Levski march on in the cup
Dobrudzha are out and Levski go through, 3‑2 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 31. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market24 Aug 2026
Asen Mitkov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Levski can pretend not to have heard.
Match22 Aug 2026
Levski make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Levski have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Levski this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A masterclass from Rildo
Marked 9.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
Levski say no — this time
The offer from Hajduk Split for Mustapha Sangaré was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market17 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done: Fourat Soltani joins from CSKA 1948 in a deal worth $1.6M. Now comes the harder part.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Levski
Svetoslav Vutsov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match15 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Christian Makoun’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Levski.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.95, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Álex Centelles, and the manager let it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
One of those days for Rildo
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 8.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market10 Aug 2026
Montana come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Levski did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market10 Aug 2026
The name of Juan Perea has come up in conversations Levski were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mazire Soula commits to Levski for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Levski
Christian Makoun was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match8 Aug 2026
A bad afternoon for Levski against Arda
0‑1 to Arda, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Armstrong Oko-Flex, and the manager let it.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Levski dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market10 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Everton Bala's contract
48 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
Dynamo Kyiv come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Levski did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market3 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Levski, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Álex Centelles and Levski agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Levski
Álex Centelles was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
One of those days for Rildo
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Everton Bala, and the manager let it.
Market3 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about David Kusso again, and this time the name on the line is Montana. Levski are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Marked 8.74 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.