The 2022 Bulgarian Cup final was the final match of the 2021–22 Bulgarian Cup and the 82nd final of the Bulgarian Cup. The final originally should have been on 11 May 2022 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. On 28 April the date has been confirmed, but on the next day the Bulgarian Professional Football League and the Bulgarian Football Union announced a revised schedule, in which the game was set for 15 May 2022.
The clubs contesting the final were CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia. This was the 17th occasion of the Eternal derby as a cup final and the first since 2005. For CSKA, this was the third consecutive final appearance and 35th overall, whereas for Levski, it was the first since 2018 and 38th overall. This was the 41st time both teams faced each other in the tournament's history.
Levski Sofia won the final with a narrow 1−0 victory, claiming a record 26th Bulgarian Cup title, their first since 2007, and ending a 13-year overall trophy drought, having last won the 2009 Bulgarian Supercup. Iliyan Stefanov scored the winning goal in the 57th minute. By winning the cup, Levski also secured a place in the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, giving them an opportunity to compete in European competition once again after a 3-year absence.
The final was the most attended match between two Bulgarian sides since the 1998 Bulgarian Cup final.
Pre-match
Originally, 18,564 tickets were provided for Levski fans and 15,597 for CSKA fans, totaling 34,161. Due to oversold tickets resulting from a vendor system error or unauthorized fan entry, the originally designated sections reached full capacity shortly before the kick-off with hundreds of fans still waiting to enter. All walkways were occupied by fans, as well as the emergency exits, and fans were even standing in unmarked areas such as the athletic track in front of the sections, under the electronic scoreboard, and the shelters designated for television cameras.
To accommodate the additional spectators, the police decided to open an extra section, part of the buffer zone between the two sets of fans. For security reasons, the police allowed only children accompanied by their parents to occupy these sections, as the close proximity to the opposing team's fans could have led to potential incidents if the sections were occupied by ultras. According to official police reports, the number of spectators at the stadium was 40,600.
Route to the final
CSKA SofiaRoundLevski SofiaOpponentResultLegsOpponentResultLegsHebar 3–0awayRound of 32Marek2–0awayArda2–0homeRound of 16Septemvri Simitli 7–0homeLokomotiv Plovdiv 2–0homeQuarter-finalsSeptemvri Sofia2–0awaySlavia Sofia2–2 (agg.) 2–0 away; 0–2 homeSemi-finalsLudogorets Razgrad 4–2 (agg.)3–2 away; 1–0 home
Match Details
GK 1 Gustavo Busatto RB 19 Ivan Turitsov CB 29 Thomas Lam CB 4 Menno Koch (c) LB 18 Bradley Mazikou DM 24 Karlo Muhar DM 3 Geferson RW 10 Georgi Yomov AM 15 Thibaut Vion LW 8 Graham Carey CF 9 Jordy CaicedoSubstitutes: GK 25 Dimitar Evtimov DF 6 Hristiyan Petrov MF 5 Federico Varela MF 7 Yohan Baï MF 21 Amos Youga MF 30 Yanic Wildschut FW 27 Maurício Garcez Manager: Alan Pardew GK 1 Plamen Andreev (c) CB 5 Kellian van der Kaap CB 23 Noah Sonko Sundberg CB 33 José Córdoba RM 91 Dragan Mihajlović CM 7 Georgi Milanov CM 30 Filip Krastev LM 6 Wenderson Tsunami AM 14 Iliyan Stefanov SS 17 Welton Felipe CF 19 Bilal BariSubstitutes: GK 13 Nikolay Mihaylov GK 99 Yoan Zagorov DF 4 Ivan Goranov DF 22 Patrik-Gabriel Galchev MF 8 Andrian Kraev MF 10 Radoslav Tsonev FW 88 Marin Petkov Manager: Stanimir Stoilov
Man of the Match: Iliyan Stefanov (Levski Sofia) Assistant referees: Georgi Todorov (Sofia) Martin Venev (Sofia) Fourth official: Georgi Ginchev (Veliko Tarnovo) Reserve assistant referee: Georgi Minev (Sofia) Video assistant referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (Petrich) Assistant video assistant referee: Ivo Kolev (Sofia)Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time
Notes
References