Velasquez explains substitutions after Levski beat Spartak Pleven

Levski Sofia head coach Julio Velasquez has spoken about his tactical decisions during the club's Bulgarian Cup round-of-16 win over Spartak Pleven, saying a half-time reset and a run of substitutions were central to the result. The Bulgarian Cup is a knockout competition running alongside the league season, open to clubs from all divisions.

According to Standart, Velasquez described it as a typical away tie at this stage of the competition. He said the first half lacked the right attacking rhythm but the team found more space after the break and created better chances in the final third. He added that scoring first was always going to be decisive in a match where Spartak had nothing to lose, and said he was pleased his players showed the character to deliver.

Squad depth and rotation

The coach addressed the broader squad picture, saying he is proud to have a large group he can rely on given how congested the fixture list is. Velasquez noted that several players who do not always start got minutes in Lovech, where Spartak are currently playing their home matches, as Gong reports.

Injury news

Velasquez said one player came off earlier than planned because he had only recently returned from injury and needed more time to build match sharpness. On two further absentees, the coach drew a distinction between one who had missed roughly a week of training and was close to returning, and another who had been out considerably longer and was being reintegrated gradually. His priority, he said, was to avoid rushing anyone back before their training load was adequate.

Spartak Pleven had their own fitness concerns heading into the tie. Gong reported that winger Shola Adelani was dealing with an adductor problem, while another player had trained fully in the days before the match but was not considered fully fit. The two clubs had not met in an official fixture since March 2002, when Levski won at home in the Bulgarian top flight.

Velasquez said the next match would be a different kind of game in a different competition and urged his squad to recover well before shifting focus. On the European front, Standart reported that Levski picked up their first point in the UEFA Europa League group stage with a 1-1 draw away to NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands.