Sweden-Bulgaria - Summary
Larsson fires five-star Swedes
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| Sweden's striker Henrik Larsson (R) salutes the fans behind his teammate midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg after scoring a goal against Bulgaria , 14 June 2004 during their opening match of the European Nations football championships at the Jose de Alvalade stadium in Lisbon. Sweden and Bulgaria are competing in Group C with Italy and Denmark. |
Henrik Larsson scored a quick-fire double to help fire Sweden to a 5-0 win over Bulgaria that will have piled the pressure on to group C rivals Denmark and Italy on Monday.
Two goals in the space of a minute from the former Celtic striker killed off Bulgaria and demonstrated just why all of Sweden had been desperate for him to come out of international retirement to lead the drive for glory in Portugal.
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| Sweden's striker Henrik Larsson (top) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against Bulgaria, 14 June 2004 during their opening match of the European Nations football championships at the Jose de Alvalade stadium in Lisbon. Sweden and Bulgaria are competing in Group C with Italy and Denmark. |
Larsson's double, his 26th and 27th goals for his country on his 75th international appearance, came just before the hour mark after Freddie Ljungberg had given the Swedes a first half lead.
A 78th-minute penalty from Larsson's strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic, awarded after Ljungberg was brought down by Vladimir Ivanov, and a last-minute strike by Marcus Allback completed the rout.
Bulgars down but not out
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| Bulgarian Striker Zoran Jankovic (L) reacts,14 June 2004 during their opening match of the European Nations football championships at the Jose de Alvalade stadium in Lisbon. Bulgaria and Sweden are competing in Group C with Italy and Denmark. AFP PHOTO PAUL BARKER |
Convincing as Sweden's win ultimately was, Bulgaria generated sufficient chances early on to suggest that neither Denmark nor Italy, who drew 0-0 earlier in the day, will find them pushovers.
The pattern of the match could well have been very different but for English referee Mike Riley's decision to deny the Bulgarians what looked like a certain penalty after only six minutes.
As Marian Hristov got away from Teddy Lucic in the box the Swedish fullback appeared to clip his ankles but Riley interpreted the Bulgarian's tumble as a dive and waved play on.
Martin Petrov, who played after passing a late fitness test, then showed why the Bulgarians were desperate for him to be ready by wriggling clear of Lucic and firing in a deep cross that Zoran Jankovic volleyed narrowly wide.