NEC Nijmegen came from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Levski Sofia in the Liga Europa. The visitors led at the interval through Nascimentο Reinaldo, before Tjaronn Chery leveled after the restart and neither side found a winner.

Match Summary

For more than half an hour the score stayed 0-0. The first notable event was disciplinary rather than a goal, as Noé Lebreton of NEC Nijmegen was shown a yellow card in the 24th minute. Levski Sofia then went in front. Nascimentο Reinaldo scored in the 35th minute, and the away side took a 1-0 lead into half-time.

The second half became a response from the home team. Tjaronn Chery equalized in the 64th minute, wiping out the deficit with more than a quarter of the match still to play. After that the score did not move again. There was no second NEC Nijmegen goal and no late Levski Sofia winner, and the Liga Europa meeting finished 1-1.

Key Moments

The caution on Noé Lebreton mattered because it arrived while the game was still level. NEC Nijmegen had to play the rest of the night a booking down, including the spell in which they fell behind and the later chase for an equalizer.

Falling behind before the break changed the shape of the second half. Levski Sofia had a lead to protect, and NEC Nijmegen had to come from behind rather than start the second period still looking for a first goal.

The equalizer with more than 25 minutes remaining was the comeback that decided how the points were split. It restored parity early enough that a winner was still possible, yet the remaining time produced none. That is why a match Levski Sofia had led ended as a draw.

Match Statistics

The numbers favoured NEC Nijmegen even though the scoreline did not. They attempted 17 shots to Levski Sofia's 8 and put 8 on target compared with 2. Expected goals backed that gap as well, at 2.02 for the hosts and 1.22 for the visitors. Corners were 6-1 in NEC Nijmegen's favour. The only yellow card of the match went to the home side, and there were no red cards.

See also

• NEC Nijmegen vs Levski Sofia live score
• AltBets live scores
• AltBets tips
• Match recaps