Greeks Delighted with Jagušić, and the Numbers Reveal Why
Young Croatian footballer Adriano Jagušić scored for Panathinaikos against CSKA 1948 Sofia, continuing his impressive summer form.
Young Croatian footballer Adriano Jagušić scored for Panathinaikos against CSKA 1948 Sofia, continuing his impressive summer form.
Adriano Jagušić (20) continues to shine in the Panathinaikos jersey. The Croatian footballer scored in his team's 1:1 draw against CSKA 1948 Sofia in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the Conference League, and Greek media have named him the man of the match.
Jagušić gave Panathinaikos the lead in the 21st minute. Following a cross from Santino Andino on the left side, the 20-year-old Croatian made a superb run and headed the ball into the net for 1:0. However, Georgi Rusev equalized for the Bulgarian side in the 31st minute to make it 1:1.
Greek media were full of praise. Gazzetta named Jagušić the best player of the match, stating: "He scored a goal and was excellent." Sport.fm particularly highlighted that he "scored perfectly with his head" and praised his "impressive movement" towards the ball.
According to Sofascore, Jagušić received a rating of 7.4 for his performance, making him the second-highest rated player for Panathinaikos. Only his teammate Rick Van Drongelen (8.0) had a higher rating, while the best player of the entire match was CSKA 1948 Sofia's Lasha Dvali with a 7.9. Jagušić played until the 85th minute, and his teammate Pedro Chirivella also earned a 7.4 rating.
This is a continuation of the young Croatian's excellent form. In this summer's preseason matches, he provided an assist in the win against Ajax (3:1) and scored in the victory over Grasshoppers (3:0). Now he has added two goals in the Conference League qualifiers, the first of which came in the previous match, a 2:2 draw against Paksi in the second qualifying round.
This resurgence is particularly significant given that he was completely marginalized in the second half of last season under former coach Rafael Benitez. He played only six matches in all competitions for Panathinaikos, totaling just 84 minutes. With the arrival of coach Jacob Neestrup, Jagušić has become an indispensable member of the starting lineup.
Jagušić joined the Greek club from Slaven Belupo, where he made 67 appearances, scoring 16 goals and providing 10 assists. The Koprivnica-based club received a transfer fee of around 5.2 million euros, an additional 800,000 euros in bonuses, and 20 percent of any future sale of the player. According to Transfermarkt, his current market value is estimated at five million euros.
