Ilia Gruev returned to action for Leeds after nearly seven months on the sidelines, Slavi Spasov scored in the FA Cup, and Ivan Pankov made a key contribution to AEK Larnaca’s victory. These were among the highlights of the performances by Bulgarian footballers playing abroad over the weekend.
Gruev back in the Leeds squad
Gruev came on in the second minute of stoppage time in Leeds’ 1–0 home win over Tottenham in the Premier League. For the Bulgarian midfielder, it was his first appearance for the senior team since April 18, when he suffered a serious knee injury. Noah Okafor scored the only goal in the 79th minute.
In the FA Cup, Slavi Spasov started for Yeovil against Chesterfield and opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 38th minute. The striker stayed on the pitch until the 60th minute, but Yeovil were eliminated after a 4–3 defeat.
Lukas Petkov played the full 90 minutes for Elversberg in their 2–1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. The Bulgarian winger had five shots and made three key passes. Meanwhile, Fabian Nürnberger did not play for Darmstadt in their 2–0 defeat to Nuremberg because of injury.
Pankov with an assist and a shot against the post
Ivan Pankov was among the most active Bulgarians. He played the entire match in AEK Larnaca’s 4–1 win over Karmiotissa. The midfielder assisted Riad Bajić for the opening goal in the 42nd minute, and earlier hit the post with a shot from outside the penalty area.
Andrea Hristov started as captain for Vizela in their 2–2 away draw with AVS in Liga Portugal 2. Angel Bastunov came on in the 71st minute. Vizela led 2–0 but conceded an equaliser in the second half.
Martin Minchev started for Cracovia in their 2–1 defeat to Wisła in the Kraków derby and was substituted in the 60th minute. Rosen Bozhinov came on in the 77th minute for Pisa in their 2–2 draw with Südtirol in Serie B.
Matches and appearances on Sunday
Zdravko Dimitrov started and played until the 78th minute in Mardin’s 1–1 home draw with Batman Petrolspor. The Bulgarian had an opportunity to open the scoring in the 27th minute, but the goalkeeper saved his shot. After the match, Malmö coach Gaute Helstrup said that his team had “allowed too many counter-attacking opportunities and failed to make the right decisions in the final phase”.
Yannis Karabelov was not included in Malmö’s squad for the goalless draw with Göteborg. Hristiyan Petrov remained an unused substitute for Heerenveen in their impressive 5–3 win over Feyenoord.
In Slovenia, Boris Dimitrov came on in the 66th minute for Mura in their 1–1 draw with leaders Koper, but missed an opportunity to double the visitors’ lead. Ivan Turitsov played the entire match for Dinamo Batumi in their 3–2 defeat to Spaeri. Edison Jordanov came on in stoppage time in Beerschot’s 2–1 win over Virton.
Among the young Bulgarian footballers, Aleksandar Sirakov stood out. The 16-year-old striker scored a hat-trick for Dinamo Zagreb in their 6–1 win over Slaven Belupo at under-17 level. He already has 13 goals in 10 matches and leads the league’s scoring charts.
Sources: palmssport.bg, sportal.bg