FC Qarabag gets second UEFA Champions League Group point

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

Spanish Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 against 10-man Qarabag C on the last day of October at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, further damaging their chances of advancing to the knockout stages.

On the game that was played within the group stage of 2017/18 UEFA Champions League, where the two teams got in the Group C together with the English Chelsea and Italian Roma football clubs, Qarabag, played solidly defensively and took advantage of one of their few opportunities to break the deadlock.

There was a tense struggle right from the very beginning of the match. Both the Azerbaijani and Spanish teams were constantly pressing and made dangerous attacks.

On the 40th minute of the match, Qarabag’s midfielder Michel opened the scoring – having received the ball from the corner kick, he sent it to Atletico’s gate. However, at the 56th minute of the game, the midfielder of the host team Thomas equalized the score - 1:1.

After that, the score did not change. Thus, Qarabag got its second point in the UEFA Champions League group stage, thus adding another success to the history of Azerbaijani football.

Qarabag's head coach Gurban Gurbanov commented on the match upon its completion.

"It was a difficult match, and we played well. Everyone knows the level of Atletico, but my players did not want to give in and showed their character," Gurbanov told journalists, adding that Qarabag will try to win more points in the coming games.

Qarabag earned their first ever Champions League point when they played Atletico in Azerbaijan two weeks ago, a match in which they also finished with 10 men. There Qarabag also did not let Atletico Madrid take three points – the game ended in a goalless draw.

Currently, the Italian Roma having eight points leads in the Group C, followed by English Chelsea FC with seven points, Atletico with three, while Qarabag is the fourth with two points.

One of the exciting matches will be held on November 22, when Qarabag will host Chelsea at the Olympic Stadium in Baku.

Qarabag FC, which is seeking to become the champion of Azerbaijan for the fifth time in a row, began its Champions League campaign in mid-July in the second qualifying round. Wins over Georgian FC Samtredia and Moldovan FC Sheriff took the team to the playoff, where it beat Danish FC Copenhagen and advanced to the Champions League group stage thanks to an away goal.

Qarabag is among few clubs worldwide with a refugee status. After the occupation of the city of Agdam by the Armenian militaries in 1993, the team was compelled to leave its hometown and settled in Baku.