"Qarabağ" once again raised the flag of Azerbaijan at the European Cup arena. A magnificent battle unfolded on the field as the disciples of Gurban Gurbanov welcomed "Braga" at their home stadium in the return match of the Europa League playoff stage.

Although the guests started with active attacks, "Qarabağ" with its impenetrable defense maintained superiority. Before the break, our team controlled the game, keeping the ball in their possession.

"Qarabağ" remained close to opening the scoring in the first 45 minutes, but shots from Elvin Jafarguliyev, Leandro Andrade, and Marko Jankovic were blocked by the opposing goalkeeper. In the final whistle of the first half, Olavio Juninho created an excellent opportunity for Leandro Andrade, but the midfielder from Cape Verde failed to capitalize on it.

The second half started with mutual attacks, but Marko Vesovic and Abdulla Zubir missed their chances. Elvin Jafarguliyev's pass was not accurate, and after receiving a second yellow card for a foul, "Qarabağ" found themselves in the minority. The guests took advantage of this, scoring two goals late in the match, despite multiple attempts by the defensive line and our goalkeeper Andrey Lunyov.

The fate of the teams was resolved in extra time. First, Mateusz Silva narrowed the gap, but the opponent increased it with a penalty. Behind the scenes, in this tumultuous drama, the hero was Nariman Akhundzade, who scored the decisive goal in extra time, making the stadium roar with joy. Thus, the match ended with a score of 3:2 in favor of "Qarabağ".

This magnificent triumph cemented "Qarabağ" in the history of Azerbaijani football as the first team to advance to the round of 16. Their next challenge will be a showdown with "Bayer 04 Leverkusen." Good luck, "Qarabağ"!

PRESS

"Qarabağ" reached the round of 16 of the Europa League.