Ludogorets thrash Etar 7–4 in first summer friendly

Ludogorets made an impressive start to their summer preparations with a commanding 7–4 victory over Etar in their first pre-season friendly, played in Razgrad.

The Eagles set the tempo from the opening minutes. Alberto Salido opened the scoring in the 5th minute, and just five minutes later he doubled the hosts' advantage. Erick Marcus added Ludogorets' third goal, but the visitors responded with two goals to reduce the deficit to 3–2. The Razgrad side quickly restored their cushion, with Nikolay Nikolov making it 4–2 before Aguibou Camara extended the lead to 5–2 before halftime. During the first half, Erick Marcus was forced off after taking a knock.

After the restart, Aleksandar Marinov made it 6–2. Etar found the net again to cut the score to 6–3, but Bernard Tekpetey scored Ludogorets' seventh goal. The visitors added one more in the closing minutes to complete the final score of 7–4.

Ludogorets fielded an experimental lineup for the friendly, giving several young players from the club's second team the opportunity to play alongside more experienced squad members. The home side controlled the game for most of the match, while Etar capitalized on a few defensive mistakes.

Three Ludogorets goalkeepers each played 30 minutes. Sergio Padt, Hendrik Bonmann, and 16-year-old Aleksandar Panayotov all featured, with Panayotov making his unofficial debut for the club. Deroy Duarte, Olivier Verdon, and Petar Stanic did not take part in the match as they were away on international duty with their national teams.

On June 28, Ludogorets will travel to Bansko for a training camp, where they will complete the second phase of their summer preparations. The 14-time champions' next pre-season friendly is scheduled for July 4 against Romanian side Botosani.