2017–18 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

The 2017–18 First Professional Football League was the 94th season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, the 70th since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid and also the 2nd season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. The season is the second with a new league structure and strict financial criteria where 14 clubs play each other home and away, until the league is split up in championship and relegation playoffs. The new league structure, inspired by the ones used by the Belgian First Division A and Danish Superliga, was approved by the Bulgarian Football Union on 6 June 2016.^[7] The fixture list was released on 22 June 2017.^[8]

First Professional Football League

Season	2017–18
Dates	14 July 2017–25 May 2018
Champions	Ludogorets Razgrad (7th title)
Relegated	Pirin Blagoevgrad
Champions League	Ludogorets Razgrad
Europa League	Slavia Sofia CSKA Sofia Levski Sofia
Matches played	243
Goals scored	621 (2.56 per match)
Top goalscorer	Claudiu Keșerü (26)
Best goalkeeper	Bozhidar Mitrev (19 clean sheets)
Biggest home win	Ludogorets Razgrad 7–0 Beroe (18 April 2018)[1]
Biggest away win	Etar 0–6 Ludogorets Razgrad (18 March 2018)[2]
Highest scoring	Botev Plovdiv 2–6 CSKA Sofia (30 July 2017)[3]
Longest winning run	14 games by Ludogorets Razgrad[4]
Longest unbeaten run	25 games by CSKA Sofia[4]
Longest winless run	31 games by Vitosha Bistritsa[4]
Longest losing run	6 games by Vereya and Vitosha Bistritsa[4]
Highest attendance	29,000 CSKA Sofia 0–0 Ludogorets Razgrad (5 May 2018)[5]
Lowest attendance	~30 Septemvri Sofia 2–1 Cherno More (8 December 2017)[6]
← 2016–17 2018–19 → All statistics correct as of 25 May 2018.

On 29 April 2018, four rounds before the end of the championship, Ludogorets Razgrad managed to secure the title for a seventh consecutive and overall time.

Teams

A total of 14 teams would be contesting the league. Etar were promoted as champions of the 2016–17 Second League, sealing their title on the final day of the season with a 2–2 away draw against Nesebar, coupled with Septemvri Sofia's 0–2 away defeat to Oborishte.^[9] The promoted club replaced Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, who suffered an immediate return to the second tier after elimination in the relegation play-offs by Montana.

Septemvri Sofia, runners-up of the 2016–17 Second League, won the play-off against Montana and return to the top flight after an 18-year absence, for the first time since the 1998–99 season. Montana return to the second tier after two seasons in the top flight.

Vitosha Bistritsa, who finished 3rd in the 2016–17 Second League, defeated Neftochimic in the play-off and won promotion to the top division for the first time in their history. Neftochimic spent only one season in the First League.

Stadia and locations

Note: From the 2016–17 season onwards, all participating clubs are required to have electric floodlights and adequate pitch conditions under the BFU and TV broadcaster's new licensing criteria.^[10] The following stadiums below have either obtained a license under UEFA's category ranking or fulfill the licensing criteria.

Sofia

Beroe
Vereya

Dunav

Cherno More

Etar

Ludogorets

Botev
Lokomotiv

Pirin

Vitosha

Location of teams in 2017–18 First League

CSKA

Levski

Septemvri

Slavia

Sofia 2017–18 First League football clubs

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity (seating)
Beroe	Stara Zagora	Beroe	12,128[11]
Botev	Plovdiv	Botev 1912 Football Complex	4,000
Cherno More	Varna	Tichaa	8,250
CSKA	Sofia	Balgarska Armiya	18,495[12]
Dunav	Ruse	Gradski, Ruse	12,400[13]
Etar	Veliko Tarnovo	Ivaylob	18,000
Levski	Sofia	Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov	25,000[14]
Lokomotiv	Plovdiv	Lokomotiv	13,000[15]
Ludogorets	Razgrad	Ludogorets Arena	9,000[16]
Pirin	Blagoevgrad	Hristo Botev	7,000
Septemvri	Sofia	Vasil Levski National Stadiumc	43,230
Slavia	Sofia	Slavia Vasil Levski National Stadiumd	25,556 43,230
Vereya	Stara Zagora	Trace Arena	3,500[17]
Vitosha	Bistritsa	Bistritsa Stadium	2,500

a.^ Cherno More played their first home match at Kavarna Stadium in Kavarna due to ongoing renovation works at their Ticha Stadium.^[18]
b.^ Etar played their first two home matches at Lovech Stadium in Lovech due to ongoing renovation works at their Ivaylo Stadium.^[19]
c.^ Septemvri Sofia will play at the Vasil Levski National Stadium because their Dragalevtsi Stadium is not licensed for First League.^[20]
d.^ Slavia Sofia obtained permission from the Bulgarian Football Union to use their own stadium and will play their matches at the Vasil Levski National Stadium only when floodlights are necessary.^[21]

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor	Additional
Beroe	Aleksandar Tomash	Veselin Penev	Uhlsport[22]	—	Refan
Botev Plovdiv	Nikolay Kirov	Lachezar Baltanov	Uhlsport[23]	Efbet	—
CSKA Sofia	Hristo Yanev (caretaker)	Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski	adidas	Mtel	WinBet, Baristo
Cherno More	Ilian Iliev	Georgi Iliev	Uhlsport	Armeets	—
Dunav Ruse	Malin Orachev	Diyan Dimov	Joma	—	WinBet
Etar	Krasimir Balakov	Kiril Akalski	Joma[24]	—	WinBet
Levski Sofia	Delio Rossi	Bozhidar Mitrev	Joma	Vivacom	Strabag, Efbet, Spetema
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Bruno Akrapović	Vančo Trajanov	Uhlsport[25]	Efbet	General Broker
Ludogorets Razgrad	Dimitar Dimitrov	Svetoslav Dyakov	Umbro[26]	bet365	Vivacom, Spetema
Pirin Blagoevgrad	Milen Radukanov	Yulian Popev	Erreà[27]	Katarino Spa	—
Septemvri Sofia	Nikolay Mitov	Valentin Galev	Uhlsport[28]	Efbet[28]	—
Slavia Sofia	Zlatomir Zagorčić	Georgi Petkov	Joma	bet365	—
Vereya	Elias	Elias	Erreà[29]	Efbet	Spetema
Vitosha Bistritsa	Kostadin Angelov	Chetin Sadula	Jumper[30]	Efbet[31]

Note: Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only one sponsorship is permitted per jersey for official tournaments organised by UEFA in addition to that of the kit manufacturer (exceptions are made for non-profit organisations). Clubs in the domestic league can have more than one sponsorship per jersey which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. Shorts also have space available for advertisement.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Beroe	Ferario Spasov	Mutual consent	19 May 2017[32]	Pre-season	Aleksandar Tomash	8 June 2017[33]
Septemvri	Hristo Arangelov	Demoted to assistant1	4 June 2017[34]		Dimitar Vasev	8 June 2017[35]
Vereya	Aleksandar Tomash	Signed by Beroe	5 June 2017		Ilian Iliev	9 June 2017[36]
Levski	Nikolay Mitov	Mutual consent	4 August 2017[37]	6th	Asen Bukarev (caretaker)	4 August 2017
	Asen Bukarev	End of caretaker tenure	8 August 2017	9th	Delio Rossi	8 August 2017[38]
Ludogorets	Georgi Dermendzhiev	Resigned	9 August 2017[39]	2nd	Petko Petkov (caretaker)	10 August 2017
	Petko Petkov	End of caretaker tenure	14 August 2017		Dimitar Dimitrov	14 August 2017[40]
Septemvri	Dimitar Vasev	Sacked	23 August 2017	13th	Nikolay Mitov	23 August 2017[41]
Cherno More	Georgi Ivanov	Resigned	21 September 2017	6th	Emanuel Lukanov (caretaker)	21 September 2017[42]
Dunav	Veselin Velikov	Mutual consent	16 October 2017	12th	Plamen Donev (caretaker)	16 October 2017[43]
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Voyn Voynov	Mutual consent	30 October 2017[44]	8th	Bruno Akrapović	30 October 2017[45]
Dunav	Plamen Donev	End of caretaker tenure	31 October 2017	13th	Malin Orachev	31 October 2017[46]
Cherno More	Emanuel Lukanov	End of caretaker tenure	28 December 2017	7th	Ilian Iliev	28 December 2017[47]
Vereya	Ilian Iliev	Signed by Cherno More	28 December 2017	6th	Blagomir Mitrev	2 January 2018[48]
Etar	Stanislav Genchev	Demoted to assistant	4 January 2018	12th	Krasimir Balakov	4 January 2018[49]
Vereya	Blagomir Mitrev	Mutual consent	1 April 2018[50]	6th	Elias	2 April 2018[51]
CSKA Sofia	Stamen Belchev	Mutual consent	1 May 2018	2nd	Hristo Yanev (caretaker)	1 May 2018[52]

1.^ No license for First League.

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ludogorets Razgrad	26	21	3	2	63	13	+50	66	Qualification for the Championship round
2	CSKA Sofia	26	19	6	1	59	14	+45	63
3	Levski Sofia	26	14	8	4	37	14	+23	50
4	Beroe	26	12	9	5	33	24	+9	45
5	Botev Plovdiv	26	11	9	6	44	29	+15	42
6	Vereya	26	10	5	11	24	34	−10	35
7	Slavia Sofia	26	8	8	10	34	37	−3	32	Qualification for the Relegation round
8	Septemvri Sofia	26	9	4	13	25	42	−17	31[a]
9	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	26	8	7	11	22	37	−15	31[a]
10	Cherno More	26	7	6	13	24	32	−8	27
11	Pirin Blagoevgrad	26	6	8	12	20	28	−8	26
12	Dunav Ruse	26	5	6	15	17	38	−21	21[b]
13	Etar	26	4	9	13	24	45	−21	21[b]
14	Vitosha Bistritsa	26	0	8	18	12	51	−39	8

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fairplay ranking; 9) Draw.^[53]
Notes:

1. Septemvri Sofia ahead of Lokomotiv Plovdiv on head-to-head record; Septemvri Sofia–Lokomotiv Plovdiv 3-1, Lokomotiv Plovdiv–Septemvri Sofia 1-0.
2. Dunav Ruse ahead of Etar on head-to-head record; Dunav Ruse–Etar 0–0, Etar–Dunav Ruse 0–2.

Results

Home \ Away	BSZ	BOT	CHM	CSK	DUN	ETA	LEV	LPL	LUD	PIR	SEP	SLA	VER	VIT
Beroe	—	1–1	2–0	0–3	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	0–0	0–0
Botev Plovdiv	1−1	—	1–2	2–6	3–0	3–0	2–1	3–0	1–3	0–1	5–0	1–1	1–0	3–0
Cherno More	1–4	0–0	—	0–1	1–0	0–0	2–3	0–1	0–1	0–1	1–4	1–1	1–2	1–0
CSKA Sofia	6–0	1–1	0–0	—	3–0	2–1	1–0	4–1	0–1	0–0	2–0	1–0	3–0	6–1
Dunav Ruse	1–1	0–0	0–1	0–2	—	0–0	0–4	2–2	0–5	0–0	0–1	0–1	2–0	3–0
Etar	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	—	0–1	1–2	0–6	2–1	3–3	2–1	0–1	2–0
Levski Sofia	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	—	1–0	0–0	3–0	2–0	4–0	1–0	2–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	0–2	0–0	0–3	0–1	2–1	2–0	0–0	—	0–3	1–0	1–0	1–2	1–1	3–1
Ludogorets Razgrad	2–0	2–1	3–1	1–2	2–0	4–0	2–0	0–0	—	1–1	1–0	4–1	3–1	3–0
Pirin Blagoevgrad	0–1	1–2	1–1	1–2	1–0	3–2	0–3	5–0	0–2	—	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–0
Septemvri Sofia	0–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–2	1–1	1–4	3–1	1–4	1–0	—	0–2	2–0	1–0
Slavia Sofia	1–4	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–0	1–2	1−1	1–1	0–4	3–1	4–1	—	0–1	4–0
Vereya	0–1	2–4	0–4	0–5	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	—	1–1
Vitosha Bistritsa	0–1	2–4	1–2	0–2	1–2	1–1	0–0	1–1	2–4	0–0	0–0	1–1	0–3	—

Source: bulgarian-football.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Beroe	7	8	10	5	6	5	7	5	4	5	5	7	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Botev Plovdiv	12	7	12	12	12	12	11	10	10	7	7	4	4	4	4	5	5	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Cherno More	3	1	1	1	1	1	4	4	6	6	6	9	7	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	9	10	10
CSKA Sofia	5	11	5	4	3	3	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Dunav Ruse	1	2	7	6	9	11	12	11	11	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12
Etar	11	10	13	13	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	10	12	12	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13
Levski Sofia	9	13	6	9	7	6	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	2	3	2	8	4	7	6	7	7	10	8	6	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	7	7	7	7	9	9
Ludogorets Razgrad	10	6	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Pirin Blagoevgrad	4	5	8	7	11	10	10	9	9	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Septemvri Sofia	14	4	11	11	13	13	9	12	13	13	13	12	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	8	8	8
Slavia Sofia	6	9	4	10	10	9	13	13	12	9	10	8	9	9	10	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	7	7
Vereya	8	14	9	3	5	4	5	6	5	3	4	5	6	7	6	6	6	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Vitosha Bistritsa	13	12	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

Source: bulgarian-football.com

Results by round

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Beroe	D	D	D	W	D	W	L	W	W	D	L	L	W	W	D	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	D	L	W	D
Botev Plovdiv	L	W	L	W	D	L	D	W	L	W	W	W	D	W	D	D	D	D	D	W	L	L	D	W	W	W
Cherno More	W	W	W	D	D	W	L	L	L	D	L	L	W	W	L	W	L	L	D	L	L	D	D	L	L	L
CSKA Sofia	D	L	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	D	D	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W
Dunav Ruse	W	D	L	D	L	L	L	W	L	L	D	L	D	L	D	L	W	L	L	D	W	W	L	L	L	L
Etar	L	D	L	D	W	W	D	D	L	D	D	L	L	L	W	L	L	L	W	L	D	L	D	L	D	L
Levski Sofia	D	D	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	D	W	W	D	L	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	W	D	L
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	W	D	D	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	L	L	L	D	D	D	W	D	D	L	L	W
Ludogorets Razgrad	D	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Pirin Blagoevgrad	W	L	D	D	L	L	D	W	D	L	D	D	D	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	D	W	L	L
Septemvri Sofia	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	D	L	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	D	L	L	W	D	L	L	W	D	W
Slavia Sofia	D	L	W	L	D	L	L	L	W	W	D	W	D	L	D	W	L	W	L	D	L	D	D	L	W	W
Vereya	D	L	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	W	D	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	D	D	L	L	D	W	L	L
Vitosha Bistritsa	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	L	D	L	D	L	D	L	L	D	L	D	D

Source: bulgarian-football.com
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Championship round

Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LUD	CSK	LEV	BSZ	BOT	VER
1	Ludogorets Razgrad (C)	36	27	7	2	91	22	+69	88	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round		—	3–2	2–2	7–0	2–2	5–0
2	CSKA Sofia	36	24	9	3	80	26	+54	81	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round		0–0	—	2–2	1–0	4–1	5–1
3	Levski Sofia (O)	36	18	10	8	55	27	+28	64	Qualification for the European play-off final		0–1	2–3	—	1–2	3–2	2–0
4	Beroe	36	16	11	9	45	43	+2	59			1–1	1–1	0–4	—	3−2	1–0
5	Botev Plovdiv	36	15	11	10	62	49	+13	56			2–4	2–1	1–0	2–1	—	2–0
6	Vereya	36	10	6	20	27	61	−34	36			0–3	0–2	0–2	0–3	2–2	—

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fairplay ranking; 9) Draw.^[54]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Positions by round

Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal number of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.

Team ╲ Round	Initial	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Beroe	4	4	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4
Botev Plovdiv	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
CSKA Sofia	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Levski Sofia	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3
Ludogorets Razgrad	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Vereya	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

Source: bulgarian-football.com

Relegation round

Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation		SLA	CHM	PIR	VIT
1	Slavia Sofia	32	11	10	11	44	44	0	43	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[a]		—	1–1	2–1	0–0
2	Cherno More	32	11	7	14	33	35	−2	40	Qualification for the European play-off quarter-finals		2–0	—	2–1	2–0
3	Pirin Blagoevgrad (R)	32	7	9	16	29	42	−13	30	Qualification for the relegation play-offs		2–5	0–2	—	2–2
4	Vitosha Bistritsa (O)	32	1	10	21	17	60	−43	13			1–2	1–0	1–3	—

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fairplay ranking; 9) Draw.^[54]
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Slavia Sofia qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2017–18 Bulgarian Cup.

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation		SEP	LPL	DUN	ETA
1	Septemvri Sofia	32	12	5	15	32	48	−16	41	Qualification for the European play-off quarter-finals		—	0–0	0–2	1–0
2	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	32	9	10	13	26	43	−17	37			0–2	—	2–2	1–0
3	Dunav Ruse (O)	32	8	7	17	24	44	−20	31	Qualification for the relegation play-offs		0–2	1–0	—	1–0
4	Etar (O)	32	6	10	16	31	52	−21	28			4–2	1–1	2–1	—

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fairplay ranking; 9) Draw.^[54]
(O) Play-off winners

European play-offs

Bracket

	Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Quarter-final 1
	Cherno More	2	2	4
							Semi-final
	Septemvri Sofia	1	1	2
							Cherno More	2	2	4
	Quarter-final 2
							Lokomotiv Plovdiv	1	2	3
	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	3	3	6
													Final
	Slavia Sofia	1	0	1
													Levski Sofia			4
													Cherno More			1

European play-off quarter-finals

5 May 2018 (2018-05-05)

17:00 EEST

Cherno More	2−1	Septemvri Sofia
Iliev 45+1', 77' (pen.)	Report	Toshev 57'

Ticha, Varna

Attendance: 770

Referee: Volen Chinkov (Sofia)

11 May 2018 (2018-05-11)

17:30 EEST

Septemvri Sofia	1−2	Cherno More
Toshev 85'	Report	Fennouche 39', 43'

Vasil Levski, Sofia

Attendance: 200

Referee: Stefan Apostolov (Simitli)

---

4 May 2018 (2018-05-04)

17:30 EEST

Lokomotiv Plovdiv	3−1	Slavia Sofia
Bakalov 17' Aralica 56' Marchev 67'	Report	Yomov 2'

Lokomotiv, Plovdiv

Attendance: 790

Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (Petrich)

13 May 2018 (2018-05-13)

19:00 EEST

Slavia Sofia	0−3	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
	Report	Umarbayev 26' Angelov 82' Aralica 90'

Vasil Levski, Sofia

Attendance: 350

Referee: Stanislav Todorov (Shumen)

European play-off semi-finals

16 May 2018 (2018-05-16)

19:00 EEST

Cherno More	2−1	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Zehirov 61' Fennouche 64'	Report	Mihaljević 85'

Ticha, Varna

Attendance: 1,250

Referee: Nikolay Yordanov (Sofia)

19 May 2018 (2018-05-19)

19:45 EEST

Lokomotiv Plovdiv	2−2 (a.e.t.)	Cherno More
Mihaljević 12', 42'	Report	Kuzma 69' Dimov 103'

Lokomotiv, Plovdiv

Attendance: 970

Referee: Nikola Popov (Sofia)

European play-off final

24 May 2018 (2018-05-24)

20:30 EEST

Levski Sofia	4−1	Cherno More
Obertan 24' Buș 39' Panayotov 74' Goranov 83' (pen.)	Report	Fennouche 56'

Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia

Attendance: 4,030

Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Plovdiv)

Relegation play-offs

Bracket

	First round						Second round						Third round
	Match 1
	Etar	2	1	3
							Match 3
	Pirin Blagoevgrad	1	0	1
							Etar	2	2	4
	Match 2
							Dunav Ruse	0	1	1
	Vitosha Bistritsa	0	1	1
													Match 5
	Dunav Ruse	1	3	4
													Dunav Ruse			2
													Tsarsko Selo			1
							Match 4
							Vitosha Bistritsa	0	2	2
							Pirin Blagoevgrad	1	1	2
													Match 6
													Vitosha Bistritsa			2 (4)
													Lokomotiv Sofia			2 (2)

Winners of matches 3, 5 and 6 will play in the top division next season

First round

6 May 2018 (2018-05-06)

17:30 EEST

Vitosha Bistritsa	0–1	Dunav Ruse
	Report	Karagaren 48'

Bistritsa Stadium, Bistritsa

Attendance: 290

Referee: Stanislav Todorov (Shumen)

14 May 2018 (2018-05-14)

17:30 EEST

Dunav Ruse	3–1	Vitosha Bistritsa
Karagaren 22', 30' Shopov 40'	Report	Hristov 31' (pen.)

Gradski, Ruse

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (Petrich)

---

7 May 2018 (2018-05-07)

20:00 EEST

Etar	2–1	Pirin Blagoevgrad
Pochanski 26' Badará 32'	Report	Kirilov 72'

Ivaylo, Veliko Tarnovo

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Plovdiv)

14 May 2018 (2018-05-14)

20:30 EEST

Pirin Blagoevgrad	0–1	Etar
	Report	Manneh 52'

Hristo Botev, Blagoevgrad

Attendance: 1,680

Referee: Nikola Popov (Sofia)

Second round

17 May 2018 (2018-05-17)

20:00 EEST

Etar	2–0	Dunav Ruse
Mladenov 54' Pashov 76'	Report

Ivaylo, Veliko Tarnovo

Attendance: 1,450

Referee: Vladimir Valkov (Plovdiv)

21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)

20:30 EEST

Dunav Ruse	1–2	Etar
N'Diaye 57'	Report	Batrović 68' (pen.) Stoyanov 90+2'

Gradski, Ruse

Attendance: 2,500

Referee: Stefan Apostolov (Simitli)

---

17 May 2018 (2018-05-17)

17:30 EEST

Vitosha Bistritsa	0–1	Pirin Blagoevgrad
	Report	Popev 57'

Bistritsa Stadium, Bistritsa

Attendance: 180

Referee: Angel Bayaltsaliev (Sofia)

21 May 2018 (2018-05-21)

17:30 EEST

Pirin Blagoevgrad	1−2	Vitosha Bistritsa
Nichev 66'	Report	Mutafchiyski 60' Dolapchiev 63'

Hristo Botev, Blagoevgrad

Attendance: 480

Referee: Stanislav Todorov (Shumen)

Pirin Blagoevgrad are relegated to the Second League.

Third round

24 May 2018 (2018-05-24)

17:30 EEST

Dunav Ruse	2−1	Tsarsko Selo
Karagaren 59' N'Diaye 75'	Report	Minchev 82'

Botev 1912 Football Complex, Plovdiv

Attendance: 410

Referee: Nikolay Yordanov (Sofia)

25 May 2018 (2018-05-25)

20:00 EEST

Vitosha Bistritsa	2−2 (a.e.t.)	Lokomotiv Sofia
Kutev 63' Hristov 120+5'	Report	I. Dimitrov 4' Z. Dimitrov 111'
Penalties
Kochilov Angelov Kotev Hristov	4–2	Stankev Z. Dimitrov Semerdzhiev Goranov

Lokomotiv, Plovdiv

Attendance: 550

Referee: Nikola Popov (Sofia)

Season statistics

Round	Goal of the week	Club	Save of the week	Club
1	Dani Kiki vs Etar	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Mihail Ivanov vs Cherno More	Vitosha Bistritsa
2	Vladislav Uzunov vs Botev Plovdiv	Slavia	Dušan Perniš vs Dunav	Beroe
3	Tiago Rodrigues vs Botev Plovdiv	CSKA Sofia	Hristiyan Vasilev vs Levski Sofia	Vitosha Bistritsa
4	Carlos Ohene vs Slavia	Beroe	Dušan Perniš vs Slavia	Beroe
5	David Jablonský vs Dunav	Levski Sofia	Stanislav Antonov vs Levski Sofia	Dunav
6	Junior Mapuku vs Pirin Blagoevgrad	Levski Sofia	Jorge Broun vs Dunav	Ludogorets
7	Dimo Bakalov vs Dunav	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Dušan Perniš vs CSKA Sofia	Beroe
8	Virgil Misidjan vs Slavia	Ludogorets	Stanislav Antonov vs Vitosha Bistritsa	Dunav
9	Gabriel Obertan vs Septemvri	Levski Sofia	Yevhen Borovyk vs CSKA Sofia	Cherno More
10	Tiago Rodrigues vs Dunav	CSKA Sofia	Dušan Perniš vs Levski Sofia	Beroe
11	Alioune Badará vs CSKA Sofia	Etar	Emil Mihaylov vs Levski Sofia	Cherno More
12	Pedro Eugénio vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Beroe	Blagoy Makendzhiev vs CSKA Sofia	Pirin Blagoevgrad
13	Roman Procházka vs CSKA Sofia	Levski Sofia	Jorge Broun vs Etar	Ludogorets
14	Martin Kamburov vs Vereya	Beroe	Stanislav Antonov vs Septemvri	Dunav
15	Jordi Gómez vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Levski Sofia	Georgi Argilashki vs Cherno More	Vereya
16	Martin Kamburov vs Pirin Blagoevgrad	Beroe	Georgi Argilashki vs Etar	Vereya
17	Carlos Ohene vs Slavia	Beroe	Georgi Argilashki vs Levski Sofia	Vereya
18	Ivan Minchev vs Cherno More	Slavia	Dušan Perniš vs Botev Plovdiv	Beroe
19	Junior Mapuku vs Pirin Blagoevgrad	Levski Sofia	Dušan Perniš vs Septemvri	Beroe
20	Serkan Yusein vs Etar	Botev Plovdiv
21	Pedro Eugénio vs Cherno More	Beroe	Daniel Naumov vs CSKA Sofia	Vereya
22	Gabriel Obertan vs Septemvri	Levski Sofia	Blagoy Makendzhiev vs CSKA Sofia	Pirin Blagoevgrad
23	Daniel Peev vs Slavia	Vitosha Bistritsa	Valentin Galev vs Ludogorets	Septemvri
24	Alasana Manneh vs CSKA Sofia	Etar	Nikolay Krastev vs Cherno More	Levski Sofia
25	João Paulo vs Vereya	Botev Plovdiv	Ilko Pirgov vs Beroe	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
26	Todor Nedelev vs Dunav	Botev Plovdiv	Georgi Argilashki vs Vitosha Bistritsa	Vereya
27	Pedro Eugénio vs Levski Sofia	Beroe	Dušan Perniš vs Levski Sofia	Beroe
28	Martin Kamburov vs Vereya	Beroe	Renan vs CSKA Sofia	Ludogorets
29	Claudiu Keșerü vs Levski Sofia	Ludogorets	Bozhidar Mitrev vs Ludogorets	Levski Sofia
30	Ivan Goranov vs CSKA Sofia	Levski Sofia	Bozhidar Mitrev vs CSKA Sofia	Levski Sofia
31	Georgi Bozhilov vs Slavia	Cherno More	Martin Lukov vs Etar	Dunav
32	Jordi Gómez vs Beroe	Levski Sofia	Daniel Kajzer vs CSKA Sofia	Botev Plovdiv
33	Paulinho vs Botev Plovdiv	Levski Sofia	Nikolay Krastev vs Botev Plovdiv	Levski Sofia
34	Mehdi Fennouche vs Septemvri	Cherno More	Georgi Argilashki vs Botev Plovdiv	Beroe
35	Atanas Zehirov vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Cherno More	Bozhidar Mitrev vs CSKA Sofia	Levski Sofia
36	Paulinho vs Vereya	Levski Sofia

Top scorers

As of match(es) played on 25 May 2018^[55]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Claudiu Keșerü	Ludogorets Razgrad	26
2	Fernando Karanga	CSKA Sofia	23
3	Pedro Eugénio	Beroe	16
4	Steven Petkov	Botev Plovdiv	15
5	Martin Kamburov	Beroe Stara Zagora	14
6	Virgil Misidjan	Ludogorets Razgrad	12
7	Ivaylo Dimitrov	Slavia Sofia	11
	Martin Toshev	Septemvri Sofia
9	Alioune Badará	Etar	10
	João Paulo	Botev Plovdiv[n 1]
11	Fernando Viana	Botev Plovdiv	9
	Marcelinho	Ludogorets Razgrad
	Todor Nedelev	Botev Plovdiv
	Tiago Rodrigues	CSKA Sofia
	Galin Ivanov	Slavia Sofia
	David Jablonský	Levski Sofia
	Dimo Bakalov	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
	Stanislav Kostov	Levski Sofia[n 2]
19	Vasil Shopov	Dunav Ruse	8
	Kiril Despodov	CSKA Sofia
	Paulinho	Levski Sofia
22	Miroslav Budinov	Septemvri Sofia[n 3]	7
	Sergiu Buș	Levski Sofia
	Boris Galchev	Septemvri Sofia
	Chris Gadi	Septemvri Sofia
	Jody Lukoki	Ludogorets Razgrad
	Jakub Świerczok	Ludogorets Razgrad
	Wanderson	Ludogorets Razgrad
29	Junior Mapuku	Levski Sofia	6
	Mariyan Ognyanov	Cherno More
	Ivan Minchev	Slavia Sofia
	Radoslav Vasilev	Cherno More
	Ismail Isa	Dunav Ruse[n 4]
	Georgi Iliev	Cherno More
	Mehdi Fennouche	Cherno More[n 5]

Notes

1. Including 1 goal for Ludogorets Razgrad.
2. Including 6 goals for Pirin Blagoevgrad.
3. Including 6 goals for Dunav Ruse.
4. Including 2 goals for Vereya.
5. Including 3 goals for Vereya.

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Fernando Karanga	CSKA Sofia	Botev Plovdiv	6–2[56]	30 July 2017
Junior Mapuku	Levski Sofia	Pirin Blagoevgrad	3–0[57]	18 August 2017
Fernando Viana4	Botev Plovdiv	Septemvri Sofia	5–0[58]	12 October 2017
Claudiu Keșerü	Ludogorets Razgrad	Etar	4–0[59]	23 October 2017
Fernando Karanga	CSKA Sofia	Beroe	6–0[60]	10 December 2017
Pedro Eugénio	Beroe	Cherno More	4–1[61]	17 February 2018
Claudiu Keșerü	Ludogorets Razgrad	Beroe	7–0[62]	18 April 2018

Clean sheets

As of match(es) played on 25 May 2018^[63]

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Bozhidar Mitrev	Levski Sofia	19
2	Vytautas Černiauskas	CSKA Sofia	17
3	Jorge Broun	Ludogorets Razgrad	12
4	Dušan Perniš	Beroe	11
5	Blagoy Makendzhiev	Cherno More[g 1]	10
6	Ivan Čvorović	Botev Plovdiv	9
	Renan	Ludogorets Razgrad
8	Yanko Georgiev	Septemvri Sofia	8
	Ilko Pirgov	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
10	Georgi Argilashki	Beroe[g 2]	7
11	Stanislav Antonov	Dunav Ruse	6
	Emil Mihaylov	Cherno More
13	Martin Lukov	Dunav Ruse	5
	Antonis Stergiakis	Slavia Sofia
	Hristo Ivanov	Etar
16	Nikolay Georgiev	Vitosha Bistritsa	3
	Valentin Galev	Septemvri Sofia
	Georgi Georgiev	Pirin Blagoevgrad
19	Georgi Petkov	Slavia Sofia	2
	Antoni Milina	Lokomotiv Plovdiv
	Daniel Kajzer	Botev Plovdiv
22	Yevhen Borovyk	Cherno More	1
	Ivan Dyulgerov	Cherno More
	Mihail Ivanov	Vitosha Bistritsa
	Petar Ivanov	Levski Sofia
	Aleksandar Lyubenov	Levski Sofia
	Nikolay Radev	Vitosha Bistritsa
	Hristiyan Vasilev	Vitosha Bistritsa

Notes

1. Including 7 clean sheets for Pirin Blagoevgrad.
2. Including 6 clean sheets for Vereya.

Transfers

• List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2017
• List of Bulgarian football transfers winter 2017–18