Athletic (Spain) – Qarabağ – 3:1
Goals: Gorka Guruzeta 40’, 88’; Roberto Navarro 70’ – Leandro Andrade 1’
Qarabağ played their third match in the UEFA Champions League league stage, visiting Spain’s Athletic club in Bilbao.
Head coach Gurban Gurbanov fielded the following starting eleven at the San Mamés stadium: 99. Mateusz Kochalski, 44. Elvin Jafarghuliyev, 81. Kevin Medina, 13. Bahlul Mustafazade, 2. Mateus Silva, 35. Pedro Bicalho, 20. Kadi Borges, 15. Leandro Andrade, 10. Abdellah Zoubir (c), 17. Camilo Duran, 7. Nariman Akhundzade.
Our players made an excellent start to the game. Already in the 1st minute, Qarabağ managed to open the scoring away from home. Taking advantage of a misunderstanding between the opposing defenders, Leandro Andrade found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and calmly sent the ball into the net with a precise strike.
Even after the goal, our team continued to fight confidently against the strong opponent. Since both sides played fast-paced football, dangerous moments frequently appeared in front of both goals. Just before halftime, the home team managed to equalize from one of their attacks.
The second half was also played in an open, attacking manner. Both teams had several dangerous chances, but Athletic made better use of theirs, scoring two more goals to secure a 3:1 victory.
After three rounds, Qarabağ have collected 6 points.
It should be noted that Qarabağ’s next match in the tournament will take place on November 5 against English club Chelsea. The match will be held at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium and will kick off at 20:45.
