Ludogorets lost to Espanyol in front of a record audience

Ludogorets lost 0:1 to Espanyol in front of a full stadium. This was the team’s first loss in Europa League this season and the first one since Stanislav Genchev became the head coach. Ludogorets is now second in their group in Europa League after Espanyol.

Genchev replaced Keseru with Tchibota while Moti took Grigore’s place. 19-year-old Damyan Damyanov was the replacement goalkeeper.

Granero passed to Espinosa in the 4^th minute but his following kick was blocked. Cicinho passed to Lukoki who tried to score with his head but Lopez saved. Espaynol took the lead in the 13^th minute. Forster was slower than Campusano who easily scored. Tchibota passed to Wanderson right after that but he missed the gate. Espinosa tried to score again in the 40^th minute but he also missed the gate despite being rather close. A corner kick followed and Badji received the ball, but an Espanyol player kicked it out.

The guest team applied constant pressure during the first half and they relied mostly on diagonal passes. Tchibota and Marcelinho hardly played with the ball.

The coach Genchev made no changes before the second half began. Espanyol’s pressure was lower. Swierczok joined the game in the 60^th minute. A few minutes later Biton replaced Anicet. The home team created their best situation in the 71^st minute. Tchibota and Nedyalkov passed to each other but eventually the ball went out instead of going in Espanyol’s gate. Tchibota tried again in the 79^th minute but his kick was not powerful enough. Havi Lopez received a second yellow card in the last few minutes but this was of no use for Ludogorets.

LUDOGORETS - ESPANYOL 0:1

0:1 Campusano (13')

Ludogorets: Iliev, Nedyalkov, Forster, Moti, Cicinho, Marcelinho, Anicet (68 – Biton), Badji, Wanderson, Tchibota, Lukoki (59 – Swierczok)

Espanyol: Lopez, Espinosa, Via, Corchia, Melendo (68 – Roca), Ituraspe, Granero, Havi Lopez, Campusano (78- Fereira), Wu Lei (61 – Vargas)

Yellow cards: Cicinho, Anicet, Moti (Ludogorets); Lopez, Ituraspe, Havi Lopez (Espanyol)

Red card: Havi Lopez (Espanyol)