Qarabag 2-2 Chelsea: Azerbaijani side earn first-ever goal and point against an English team in the Champions League

Qarabag produced another spirited performance in the UEFA Champions League as they held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw in Baku. The Azerbaijani side, one of the surprise packages of the tournament, showed remarkable resilience against one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Chelsea took an early lead through Estevao in the 17th minute, silencing the home crowd. Qarabag responded with two goals before halftime, including a penalty, to go into the break 2-1 up.
In the second half, substitute Alejandro Garnacho came to Chelsea’s rescue, scoring the equaliser to make it 2-2. The young Argentine forward nearly grabbed a late winner, but his shot was well saved. Chelsea’s 19-year-old defender Hato endured a difficult night, struggling to cope with Qarabag’s attacking pressure.

It was a memorable night for Qarabag, who secured their first-ever point against an English opponent in European competition. It was also the first time they have scored a goal against an English club in the UEFA Champions League.

Their previous results against English sides were as follows:

The home team could have even won it in injury time when Oleksiy Kashchuk came close from close range but failed to make clean contact.

Qarabag have now collected seven points from a possible twelve in their Champions League campaign, losing only once so far. Their results this season include:

The Azerbaijani champions have tripled their overall goal tally in the competition and now stand a genuine chance of qualifying for the knockout stage. Chelsea, meanwhile, had a great result over the weekend but failed to follow it up with a win against relative minnows — a reminder that inconsistency remains Enzo Maresca’s biggest challenge this season.