Bulgaria round-up: CSKA closing in

PFC CSKA Sofia need to win only once in the remaining three rounds in order to claim the Bulgarian Premier League title after a 1-1 draw at nearest rivals PFC Levski Sofia.

Substitute equalises
Levski, champions for the last three seasons, trailed CSKA by six points prior to the match and needed a three-goal victory to secure a better head-to-head record than their opponents should they finish level. They were on course when Todor Kolev headed them into the lead on 49 minutes, and Dimitar Telkiyski went close to scoring a second. But CSKA claimed a point when Portuguese substitute João Paulo Brito received a pass from MacDonald Mukasi, skipped past two Levski defenders and shot in from a tight angle.

UEFA Cup race alive
PFC Litex Lovech moved to within five points of Levski in the race for the UEFA Cup place with a 1-0 win against PFC Spartak Varna. Atanas Bornosuzov's 64th-minute goal kept Litex four points clear of PFC Slavia Sofia, who defeated PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2-0 with a Georgi Vladimirov solo effort and a Blagoy Georgiev penalty. Fifth-placed PFC Cherno More Varna drew 2-2 with PFC Chernomorets Burgas.

Relegation issues settled
Bottom side PFC Rilski Sportist Samokov were relegated despite a creditable 0-0 draw at PFC Naftex Burgas, whose captain Stoyko Sakaliev missed a second-half penalty. PFC Dobrudzha Dobrich were also demoted following a 5-0 defeat at PFC Marek Dupnitsa.

Safety confirmed
Those results ensured PFC Botev Plovdiv's safety after a 3-0 win against PFC Lokomotiv Sofia with first-half goals by Nedko Milenov, Milen Kunchev and Ivan Karamanov, as only two teams will go down with the top flight expanding to 16 clubs from 14.