Europa League: Moroccan teenager Jones El Abdellaoui scores in Celta Vigo’s 3-2 defeat to Ludogorets

Moroccan youngster Jones El Abdellaoui found the net deep into stoppage time on Thursday night, but his effort wasn’t enough to prevent Celta Vigo from slipping to a 3-2 defeat against Ludogorets in their Europa League encounter.

Ludogorets took command early when Petar Stanic confidently converted a penalty in the 11th minute, sending his strike into the bottom right corner.

The Bulgarian side extended their lead shortly after the break, with Stanic firing another powerful effort into the bottom left corner in the 49th minute.

Stanic completed his hat-trick just after the hour mark, guiding the ball beyond the reach of Ivan Villar to make it 3-0 and put Ludogorets in full control.

Celta Vigo responded in the 70th minute when Pablo Durán latched onto a clever pass from Bryan Zaragoza and finished cleanly into the bottom left corner, giving the visitors a glimmer of hope.

In the final moments, El Abdellaoui added a second for Celta. Receiving a precise cross from Zaragoza inside the box, the Moroccan teenager took a tidy first touch before sending his strike inside the left post to make it 3-2.

Despite the late push, Celta Vigo ran out of time, with Ludogorets holding on to claim the victory.