Europa League side Salzburg ends Levski run with a narrow lead

Under the bright lights of the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, the Salzburg team celebrated a 1-0 victory on Thursday that ended Levski's run in the Europa League. Haris Tabakovic scored for the tenth time in eleven league matches, while the Bulls benefited from a lucky incident.

Lucky cross from Schmid

A through ball from Schmid missed its intended target and fell to Levski captain Dimitrov, who clumsily flicked the ball in front of Tabakovic's feet. The ball then rolled through goalkeeper Vutsov's legs into the net in the 39th minute.

Salzburg's convincing performance

The Salzburg side's performance was appealing and mature despite Zabransky's absence; coach Danny Röhl allowed few mistakes. Goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky, a 19‑year‑old Austrian debutant, was only seriously tested once, when he saved striker Reinaldo in a one‑on‑one duel in the 62nd minute.

In the final stages the Salzburg team maintained the lead with strong tackling and good positioning, ensuring the result was deserved. At the same time, Hoffenheim suffered a 0‑2 defeat to Greek Cup winners OFI at the start of the Europa League group stage, with Aitor Cantalapiedra scoring in the 30th minute and Gergios Kanellopoulos finding the net in the 84th minute.