Currently leading the Bulgarian championship during the winter break, Ludogorets stands out for its confident gameplay.
The Razgrad team, at the top of the Parva Liga, is particularly notable for its strong defense.
Interestingly, just five months ago, Qarabag demolished Ludogorets in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
Idman.biz directs attention to this comparative point and, more broadly, to European national league teams that have conceded fewer goals.
A match played on August 13 in Bulgaria has left a deep mark in the memories of both Azerbaijani and Bulgarian fans. However, the Bulgarians are likely eager to forget it. With four goals scored in extra time, Qarabag managed to net seven goals against Ludogorets in 120 minutes. While the Azerbaijani club then struggled to find the back of the net in subsequent continental competitions, it was a different story in Razgrad. Despite having a strong defense, Ludogorets conceded seven goals in a single game. To put it into perspective, in the 19 league games played by Ludogorets this season, they allowed fewer goals in every match than they did in that one against Qarabag. In fact, the 15 Bulgarian clubs that played against Ludogorets—four of which faced them twice—scored only six goals in total. That’s right: 15 Bulgarian clubs together couldn't match what Qarabag achieved in just one game. In the national league, CSKA and Botev scored twice, while Spartak and Arda managed to score once. The other 15 games were shutouts for Ludogorets.
In the Azerbaijani league, Qarabag has conceded just seven goals in 18 games, a record that stands as one of the best in Europe.
The team in Europe with the fewest goals conceded this season is Qarabag's former Champions League opponent, Lincoln. While Qarabag scored seven goals in two matches against the Gibraltar-based team (five at home, two away), Lincoln allowed only three goals in 15 league games in their home competition.
In the Malta league, Sliema Wanderers conceded five goals in 11 games, while in Slovenia, Olimpija allowed 18 goals in 18 matches, and Sheriff from Moldova conceded six goals in 14 games. In Andorra, Rangers allowed six goals in 12 matches.
In terms of average goals conceded per game, Lincoln leads with 0.2 goals, followed by Ludogorets at 0.31. Differdange and Olimpija each allow 0.33 goals per game. Qarabag is next with 0.39, followed closely by Celtic in Scotland, with a 0.36 goal-per-game ratio (22 games, 8 goals) and Slavia in the Czech Republic with 0.37 (19 games, 7 goals). In Croatia, Rijeka shares the same rate as Qarabag—0.39 (18 games, 7 goals).
Vugar Mammadov
Idman.biz
