Bulgaria defeated Portugal 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-20) in Sofia on Friday to secure their second straight victory at the Men's European Volleyball Championship and remain unbeaten after two matches.
Playing before a strong home crowd at Arena 8888, Gianlorenzo Blengini's team was in control throughout the match. Bulgaria took command in each set and never allowed Portugal to seriously threaten its advantage, closing out the match in straight sets.
Aleksandar Nikolov again led Bulgaria's scoring with 17 points, continuing his strong start to the tournament. Martin Atanasov added nine points, including two aces, while Denislav Bardarov contributed eight. Portugal's leading scorer was Andre Pereira, who finished with 13 points.
The victory follows Bulgaria's opening win over North Macedonia on Wednesday, when the hosts began their European Championship campaign with a 3-0 victory at the same Sofia venue. Bulgaria entered the tournament as the 2025 world runners-up, with Blengini in charge and Aleks Grozdanov serving as captain.
The European Championship is drawing significant interest in Sofia, with more than 120,000 fans expected to attend matches in the Bulgarian capital during the tournament. Tickets for Bulgaria's match against Poland have sold out, while only limited tickets remained for the games against Ukraine and Portugal.
