CSKA 1948 secured a comfortable 3-1 victory over Lokomotiv Sofia in the Bulgarian First League's regular season fourth round on Saturday evening. The away side took control after the interval and never looked back, despite Lokomotiv pulling one back through S. Delev. By then, the visitors had already established the kind of lead that lets them breathe.
Lokomotiv started brightly enough, with R. Daskalov picking up a booking at sixteen minutes. The game shifted after the break when E. Dost came on for the hosts at the hour mark, but it was CSKA 1948 who struck first through E. Franco in the fifty-third minute. Lokomotiv responded with Delev's goal seven minutes later, but the visitors ended a barren spell with Frederic's strike at eighty-eight minutes.
The statistics told a story of contrasting approaches. Lokomotiv Sofia generated more attacks at 122 to 107 and held 49 per cent possession, but CSKA 1948 were more clinical with their chances. The visitors registered 18 shots to the hosts' 16, yet Franco and Frederic converted their opportunities while Lokomotiv could only find the net once despite Delev's effort.
Lokomotiv's yellow cards came from Daskalov, Minchev, and Iliev, while CSKA 1948 saw Soltani and Medfai cautioned. Both managers made changes in search of results, with five substitutions recorded across the two sides. The away team's defensive resilience was notable, particularly in the period before the hosts' consolation goal.
The result leaves Lokomotiv Sofia rooted at the bottom of the table with just three points from seven games. They have yet to register a win, with three draws and four defeats already. The visitors, meanwhile, move up to fourth place with 16 points from eight matches, building on their recent form that includes two consecutive draws against Panathinaikos and Spartak Trnava.