The head coach of the Bulgarian national team, Gianlorenzo Blengini, expressed disappointment after the 1:3 loss to Ukraine in the last match of the Nations League tournament in Burgas. However, the Italian emphasized the team's good reaction after the shock of Simeon Nikolov's severe injury and the poor performance against Turkey.

"Overall, I am not satisfied with today's match. I cannot be satisfied when we lose. But the players reacted and showed a different face. They fought, they were different from what we saw yesterday. Unfortunately, a few elementary mistakes cost us more," said Blengini.

Despite collecting 6 points from 4 matches, he did not hide that his expectations were higher:

"I'm sorry because I believed we deserved more - both today and yesterday. Yes, six points is not a bad achievement, but we missed opportunities."

The coach highly rated the young setter Stoil Palev, who replaced the injured Simeon Nikolov:

"Stoil did very well. This doesn't surprise me - he won a golden treble during the season, he has character, he has presence. Together with Simeon, they complement each other perfectly, although they are very different. It wasn't easy for him to come in and meet expectations, but he did."

Regarding Moni Nikolov's condition, Blengini clarified that there is no definitive medical prognosis yet:

"The medical staff is doing everything possible. The first few days are crucial. I saw him twice - he is determined to return as soon as possible."

Aleksandar Nikolov: "I wasn't OK. I hadn't seen anything like that" 💔

A day after refusing to comment due to his brother's condition, Alex Nikolov spoke with emotion about his experience in Burgas:

"I calmed down a bit. Yesterday I wasn't OK. To see your brother like that - something I haven't experienced before. I didn't react adequately. I consider myself a leader and I shouldn't lose control of the situation, because others get carried away."

About the loss to Turkey and today's match with Ukraine, he is frank:

"I'm sorry for yesterday's match - we let a weaker team beat us in our hall. Today we showed that this was a mistake. We fought, but Ukraine played better."

The best Bulgarian opposite also shared Simeon's condition:

"I've seen Moni twice since then. He's better. He was very scared - normal, his first serious injury. We're waiting for him to come back. It would certainly have been different with him. But Stoil Palev also made a great contribution."

The national team finished the tournament in Burgas with 2 wins and 2 losses.