On a night where Barcelona shared six goals with Club Brugge, Pafos picked up their first ever Champions League win, and Inter Milan narrowly avoided a shock against Kairat Almaty, it was easy to overlook the significance of Qarabağ FK’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
See, back in 2017-18, on their tournament debut no less, Qarabağ were thrashed 4-0 and 6-0 by Chelsea in the group stage, finishing dead last. Despite picking up two draws home and away against Atlético Madrid, it was that bruising double blow by the Blues that lived longer in the memory.
While they are the undisputed kings of Azerbaijan with 11 titles since 2013-14, they had only won 17 of 80 games across 11 European campaigns. But now, after a comparatively blistering start with two wins and a draw from four outings, these domestic giants are re-writing their own continental script.
After three games, Qarabağ had already sprung shocks on Benfica and Copenhagen for their first ever competition wins before a defeat by Athletic Club; but ahead of the Chelsea clash, even long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov was remaining realistic about his club’s prospects.
“In games against these kinds of teams, our experience really helps us. But we must admit that Chelsea play a different, faster and more dynamic brand of football, which could clash with our style of play. We’ll be playing against a big club, and my players will experience elite football,” Gurbanov admitted.
After just 16 minutes, Estêvão’s opener for the Blues will have had some fans dreading a repeat of the 2017-18 nightmare, but not Gurbanov and his squad. Within 23 dramatic minutes the hosts turned things round and, against all the odds, taken the lead from the penalty spot, Marko Jankovic coolly converting into the bottom corner to spark jubilant scenes.
Though Chelsea would dash Qarabağ’s hopes of a truly miraculous result in the second half, there were over 30,000 fans in Baku who left the ground that night knowing they had witnessed a result that meant so much more than a single point.
“It was an incredible match. Chelsea are a great team and Club World Cup champions. For us, that was an extra motivation. We started the match where we conceded a goal, and then scored two goals. Honestly, what we experienced was incredible. We are really happy,” said a clearly moved club captain Adellah Zoubir after the game.
“My whole family was here today. The fans pushed us. Everything was good: the atmosphere, the match, and how the game went. Honestly, it was incredible. I hope that the fans enjoyed it and that my family did, too. I hope that I have a good time with them before they go back to France.”
But as much as holding the Blues showed just how far Qarabağ have come in just a few years, it wasn’t just about getting one over on an old rival, as the skipper made abundantly clear.
“I hope that for the future, it will be a positive thing that we will learn from this match and get even more points, and why not, aim to qualify for the next round.
“Qualifying will be one of our goals now. In the past years, we lost twice at the Europa League knockout phase, in the last matches,” said captain Zoubir of his hopes for this season.
“But today, having taken part and gotten a taste of the Champions League, I think it will naturally become a goal for both the club and the players. After such an experience, you just want to do it again.”
They’ve been a long time coming, those first victories, but coach Gurbanov has quite literally been there every step of the way. Following his arrival in 2008, the former Azerbaijan international led the club to their first ever continental tournament appearance in 2014-15.
Having overseen over 700 games and counting, nobody knows more about what’s gone into taking Qarabağ from Europa League pushovers to genuine Champions League knockout contenders, but as he explains, it’s all about mindset.
“The nature of our work is such that if we don’t try to perform better than what we’re doing now, we’ll not be able to achieve success. We constantly communicate that to our players.
“They should not feel content with what they have achieved up until now or feel like this is sufficient for us. Everyone needs to set goals. Regardless of the opponent’s quality, we will walk out onto the pitch and think only about how to get the better of our opponents. It could be that we come short in the first three or four games, but it will all work out in the fifth.”
With four matches to come, Qarabağ now find themselves in unprecedented territory. In 15th place at the time of writing, they are not only in with a shout of qualifying from the league phase, but possibly even being seeded in the draw for the play-offs.
With Napoli, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool to come, fans will already be doing some mental arithmetic to work out where the points are most likely to come from, and just how many they’ll need. But having impressed so far, Qarabağ are riding a wave of belief.
It’s taken eight seasons to get here, but Qarabağ are finally back in the Champions League and flourishing in the limelight. Having already recorded their first wins, and gone some way to shedding the weight of history along the way, Gurbanov’s men are already upsetting the applecart – and they don’t look like stopping any time soon.
On a night where Barcelona shared six goals with Club Brugge, Pafos picked up their first ever Champions League win, and Inter Milan narrowly avoided a shock against Kairat Almaty, it was easy to overlook the significance of Qarabağ FK’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
See, back in 2017-18, on their tournament debut no less, Qarabağ were thrashed 4-0 and 6-0 by Chelsea in the group stage, finishing dead last. Despite picking up two draws home and away against Atlético Madrid, it was that bruising double blow by the Blues that lived longer in the memory.
While they are the undisputed kings of Azerbaijan with 11 titles since 2013-14, they had only won 17 of 80 games across 11 European campaigns. But now, after a comparatively blistering start with two wins and a draw from four outings, these domestic giants are re-writing their own continental script.
After three games, Qarabağ had already sprung shocks on Benfica and Copenhagen for their first ever competition wins before a defeat by Athletic Club; but ahead of the Chelsea clash, even long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov was remaining realistic about his club’s prospects.
“In games against these kinds of teams, our experience really helps us. But we must admit that Chelsea play a different, faster and more dynamic brand of football, which could clash with our style of play. We’ll be playing against a big club, and my players will experience elite football,” Gurbanov admitted.
After just 16 minutes, Estêvão’s opener for the Blues will have had some fans dreading a repeat of the 2017-18 nightmare, but not Gurbanov and his squad. Within 23 dramatic minutes the hosts turned things round and, against all the odds, taken the lead from the penalty spot, Marko Jankovic coolly converting into the bottom corner to spark jubilant scenes.
Though Chelsea would dash Qarabağ’s hopes of a truly miraculous result in the second half, there were over 30,000 fans in Baku who left the ground that night knowing they had witnessed a result that meant so much more than a single point.
“It was an incredible match. Chelsea are a great team and Club World Cup champions. For us, that was an extra motivation. We started the match where we conceded a goal, and then scored two goals. Honestly, what we experienced was incredible. We are really happy,” said a clearly moved club captain Adellah Zoubir after the game.
“My whole family was here today. The fans pushed us. Everything was good: the atmosphere, the match, and how the game went. Honestly, it was incredible. I hope that the fans enjoyed it and that my family did, too. I hope that I have a good time with them before they go back to France.”
But as much as holding the Blues showed just how far Qarabağ have come in just a few years, it wasn’t just about getting one over on an old rival, as the skipper made abundantly clear.
“I hope that for the future, it will be a positive thing that we will learn from this match and get even more points, and why not, aim to qualify for the next round.
“Qualifying will be one of our goals now. In the past years, we lost twice at the Europa League knockout phase, in the last matches,” said captain Zoubir of his hopes for this season.
“But today, having taken part and gotten a taste of the Champions League, I think it will naturally become a goal for both the club and the players. After such an experience, you just want to do it again.”
They’ve been a long time coming, those first victories, but coach Gurbanov has quite literally been there every step of the way. Following his arrival in 2008, the former Azerbaijan international led the club to their first ever continental tournament appearance in 2014-15.
Having overseen over 700 games and counting, nobody knows more about what’s gone into taking Qarabağ from Europa League pushovers to genuine Champions League knockout contenders, but as he explains, it’s all about mindset.
“The nature of our work is such that if we don’t try to perform better than what we’re doing now, we’ll not be able to achieve success. We constantly communicate that to our players.
“They should not feel content with what they have achieved up until now or feel like this is sufficient for us. Everyone needs to set goals. Regardless of the opponent’s quality, we will walk out onto the pitch and think only about how to get the better of our opponents. It could be that we come short in the first three or four games, but it will all work out in the fifth.”
With four matches to come, Qarabağ now find themselves in unprecedented territory. In 15th place at the time of writing, they are not only in with a shout of qualifying from the league phase, but possibly even being seeded in the draw for the play-offs.
With Napoli, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool to come, fans will already be doing some mental arithmetic to work out where the points are most likely to come from, and just how many they’ll need. But having impressed so far, Qarabağ are riding a wave of belief.
It’s taken eight seasons to get here, but Qarabağ are finally back in the Champions League and flourishing in the limelight. Having already recorded their first wins, and gone some way to shedding the weight of history along the way, Gurbanov’s men are already upsetting the applecart – and they don’t look like stopping any time soon.
On a night where Barcelona shared six goals with Club Brugge, Pafos picked up their first ever Champions League win, and Inter Milan narrowly avoided a shock against Kairat Almaty, it was easy to overlook the significance of Qarabağ FK’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
See, back in 2017-18, on their tournament debut no less, Qarabağ were thrashed 4-0 and 6-0 by Chelsea in the group stage, finishing dead last. Despite picking up two draws home and away against Atlético Madrid, it was that bruising double blow by the Blues that lived longer in the memory.
While they are the undisputed kings of Azerbaijan with 11 titles since 2013-14, they had only won 17 of 80 games across 11 European campaigns. But now, after a comparatively blistering start with two wins and a draw from four outings, these domestic giants are re-writing their own continental script.
After three games, Qarabağ had already sprung shocks on Benfica and Copenhagen for their first ever competition wins before a defeat by Athletic Club; but ahead of the Chelsea clash, even long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov was remaining realistic about his club’s prospects.
“In games against these kinds of teams, our experience really helps us. But we must admit that Chelsea play a different, faster and more dynamic brand of football, which could clash with our style of play. We’ll be playing against a big club, and my players will experience elite football,” Gurbanov admitted.
After just 16 minutes, Estêvão’s opener for the Blues will have had some fans dreading a repeat of the 2017-18 nightmare, but not Gurbanov and his squad. Within 23 dramatic minutes the hosts turned things round and, against all the odds, taken the lead from the penalty spot, Marko Jankovic coolly converting into the bottom corner to spark jubilant scenes.
Though Chelsea would dash Qarabağ’s hopes of a truly miraculous result in the second half, there were over 30,000 fans in Baku who left the ground that night knowing they had witnessed a result that meant so much more than a single point.
“It was an incredible match. Chelsea are a great team and Club World Cup champions. For us, that was an extra motivation. We started the match where we conceded a goal, and then scored two goals. Honestly, what we experienced was incredible. We are really happy,” said a clearly moved club captain Adellah Zoubir after the game.
“My whole family was here today. The fans pushed us. Everything was good: the atmosphere, the match, and how the game went. Honestly, it was incredible. I hope that the fans enjoyed it and that my family did, too. I hope that I have a good time with them before they go back to France.”
But as much as holding the Blues showed just how far Qarabağ have come in just a few years, it wasn’t just about getting one over on an old rival, as the skipper made abundantly clear.
“I hope that for the future, it will be a positive thing that we will learn from this match and get even more points, and why not, aim to qualify for the next round.
“Qualifying will be one of our goals now. In the past years, we lost twice at the Europa League knockout phase, in the last matches,” said captain Zoubir of his hopes for this season.
“But today, having taken part and gotten a taste of the Champions League, I think it will naturally become a goal for both the club and the players. After such an experience, you just want to do it again.”
They’ve been a long time coming, those first victories, but coach Gurbanov has quite literally been there every step of the way. Following his arrival in 2008, the former Azerbaijan international led the club to their first ever continental tournament appearance in 2014-15.
Having overseen over 700 games and counting, nobody knows more about what’s gone into taking Qarabağ from Europa League pushovers to genuine Champions League knockout contenders, but as he explains, it’s all about mindset.
“The nature of our work is such that if we don’t try to perform better than what we’re doing now, we’ll not be able to achieve success. We constantly communicate that to our players.
“They should not feel content with what they have achieved up until now or feel like this is sufficient for us. Everyone needs to set goals. Regardless of the opponent’s quality, we will walk out onto the pitch and think only about how to get the better of our opponents. It could be that we come short in the first three or four games, but it will all work out in the fifth.”
With four matches to come, Qarabağ now find themselves in unprecedented territory. In 15th place at the time of writing, they are not only in with a shout of qualifying from the league phase, but possibly even being seeded in the draw for the play-offs.
With Napoli, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool to come, fans will already be doing some mental arithmetic to work out where the points are most likely to come from, and just how many they’ll need. But having impressed so far, Qarabağ are riding a wave of belief.
It’s taken eight seasons to get here, but Qarabağ are finally back in the Champions League and flourishing in the limelight. Having already recorded their first wins, and gone some way to shedding the weight of history along the way, Gurbanov’s men are already upsetting the applecart – and they don’t look like stopping any time soon.
On a night where Barcelona shared six goals with Club Brugge, Pafos picked up their first ever Champions League win, and Inter Milan narrowly avoided a shock against Kairat Almaty, it was easy to overlook the significance of Qarabağ FK’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
See, back in 2017-18, on their tournament debut no less, Qarabağ were thrashed 4-0 and 6-0 by Chelsea in the group stage, finishing dead last. Despite picking up two draws home and away against Atlético Madrid, it was that bruising double blow by the Blues that lived longer in the memory.
While they are the undisputed kings of Azerbaijan with 11 titles since 2013-14, they had only won 17 of 80 games across 11 European campaigns. But now, after a comparatively blistering start with two wins and a draw from four outings, these domestic giants are re-writing their own continental script.
After three games, Qarabağ had already sprung shocks on Benfica and Copenhagen for their first ever competition wins before a defeat by Athletic Club; but ahead of the Chelsea clash, even long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov was remaining realistic about his club’s prospects.
“In games against these kinds of teams, our experience really helps us. But we must admit that Chelsea play a different, faster and more dynamic brand of football, which could clash with our style of play. We’ll be playing against a big club, and my players will experience elite football,” Gurbanov admitted.
After just 16 minutes, Estêvão’s opener for the Blues will have had some fans dreading a repeat of the 2017-18 nightmare, but not Gurbanov and his squad. Within 23 dramatic minutes the hosts turned things round and, against all the odds, taken the lead from the penalty spot, Marko Jankovic coolly converting into the bottom corner to spark jubilant scenes.
Though Chelsea would dash Qarabağ’s hopes of a truly miraculous result in the second half, there were over 30,000 fans in Baku who left the ground that night knowing they had witnessed a result that meant so much more than a single point.
“It was an incredible match. Chelsea are a great team and Club World Cup champions. For us, that was an extra motivation. We started the match where we conceded a goal, and then scored two goals. Honestly, what we experienced was incredible. We are really happy,” said a clearly moved club captain Adellah Zoubir after the game.
“My whole family was here today. The fans pushed us. Everything was good: the atmosphere, the match, and how the game went. Honestly, it was incredible. I hope that the fans enjoyed it and that my family did, too. I hope that I have a good time with them before they go back to France.”
But as much as holding the Blues showed just how far Qarabağ have come in just a few years, it wasn’t just about getting one over on an old rival, as the skipper made abundantly clear.
“I hope that for the future, it will be a positive thing that we will learn from this match and get even more points, and why not, aim to qualify for the next round.
“Qualifying will be one of our goals now. In the past years, we lost twice at the Europa League knockout phase, in the last matches,” said captain Zoubir of his hopes for this season.
“But today, having taken part and gotten a taste of the Champions League, I think it will naturally become a goal for both the club and the players. After such an experience, you just want to do it again.”
They’ve been a long time coming, those first victories, but coach Gurbanov has quite literally been there every step of the way. Following his arrival in 2008, the former Azerbaijan international led the club to their first ever continental tournament appearance in 2014-15.
Having overseen over 700 games and counting, nobody knows more about what’s gone into taking Qarabağ from Europa League pushovers to genuine Champions League knockout contenders, but as he explains, it’s all about mindset.
“The nature of our work is such that if we don’t try to perform better than what we’re doing now, we’ll not be able to achieve success. We constantly communicate that to our players.
“They should not feel content with what they have achieved up until now or feel like this is sufficient for us. Everyone needs to set goals. Regardless of the opponent’s quality, we will walk out onto the pitch and think only about how to get the better of our opponents. It could be that we come short in the first three or four games, but it will all work out in the fifth.”
With four matches to come, Qarabağ now find themselves in unprecedented territory. In 15th place at the time of writing, they are not only in with a shout of qualifying from the league phase, but possibly even being seeded in the draw for the play-offs.
With Napoli, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool to come, fans will already be doing some mental arithmetic to work out where the points are most likely to come from, and just how many they’ll need. But having impressed so far, Qarabağ are riding a wave of belief.
It’s taken eight seasons to get here, but Qarabağ are finally back in the Champions League and flourishing in the limelight. Having already recorded their first wins, and gone some way to shedding the weight of history along the way, Gurbanov’s men are already upsetting the applecart – and they don’t look like stopping any time soon.
On a night where Barcelona shared six goals with Club Brugge, Pafos picked up their first ever Champions League win, and Inter Milan narrowly avoided a shock against Kairat Almaty, it was easy to overlook the significance of Qarabağ FK’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
See, back in 2017-18, on their tournament debut no less, Qarabağ were thrashed 4-0 and 6-0 by Chelsea in the group stage, finishing dead last. Despite picking up two draws home and away against Atlético Madrid, it was that bruising double blow by the Blues that lived longer in the memory.
While they are the undisputed kings of Azerbaijan with 11 titles since 2013-14, they had only won 17 of 80 games across 11 European campaigns. But now, after a comparatively blistering start with two wins and a draw from four outings, these domestic giants are re-writing their own continental script.
After three games, Qarabağ had already sprung shocks on Benfica and Copenhagen for their first ever competition wins before a defeat by Athletic Club; but ahead of the Chelsea clash, even long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov was remaining realistic about his club’s prospects.
“In games against these kinds of teams, our experience really helps us. But we must admit that Chelsea play a different, faster and more dynamic brand of football, which could clash with our style of play. We’ll be playing against a big club, and my players will experience elite football,” Gurbanov admitted.
After just 16 minutes, Estêvão’s opener for the Blues will have had some fans dreading a repeat of the 2017-18 nightmare, but not Gurbanov and his squad. Within 23 dramatic minutes the hosts turned things round and, against all the odds, taken the lead from the penalty spot, Marko Jankovic coolly converting into the bottom corner to spark jubilant scenes.
Though Chelsea would dash Qarabağ’s hopes of a truly miraculous result in the second half, there were over 30,000 fans in Baku who left the ground that night knowing they had witnessed a result that meant so much more than a single point.
“It was an incredible match. Chelsea are a great team and Club World Cup champions. For us, that was an extra motivation. We started the match where we conceded a goal, and then scored two goals. Honestly, what we experienced was incredible. We are really happy,” said a clearly moved club captain Adellah Zoubir after the game.
“My whole family was here today. The fans pushed us. Everything was good: the atmosphere, the match, and how the game went. Honestly, it was incredible. I hope that the fans enjoyed it and that my family did, too. I hope that I have a good time with them before they go back to France.”
But as much as holding the Blues showed just how far Qarabağ have come in just a few years, it wasn’t just about getting one over on an old rival, as the skipper made abundantly clear.
“I hope that for the future, it will be a positive thing that we will learn from this match and get even more points, and why not, aim to qualify for the next round.
“Qualifying will be one of our goals now. In the past years, we lost twice at the Europa League knockout phase, in the last matches,” said captain Zoubir of his hopes for this season.
“But today, having taken part and gotten a taste of the Champions League, I think it will naturally become a goal for both the club and the players. After such an experience, you just want to do it again.”
They’ve been a long time coming, those first victories, but coach Gurbanov has quite literally been there every step of the way. Following his arrival in 2008, the former Azerbaijan international led the club to their first ever continental tournament appearance in 2014-15.
Having overseen over 700 games and counting, nobody knows more about what’s gone into taking Qarabağ from Europa League pushovers to genuine Champions League knockout contenders, but as he explains, it’s all about mindset.
“The nature of our work is such that if we don’t try to perform better than what we’re doing now, we’ll not be able to achieve success. We constantly communicate that to our players.
“They should not feel content with what they have achieved up until now or feel like this is sufficient for us. Everyone needs to set goals. Regardless of the opponent’s quality, we will walk out onto the pitch and think only about how to get the better of our opponents. It could be that we come short in the first three or four games, but it will all work out in the fifth.”
With four matches to come, Qarabağ now find themselves in unprecedented territory. In 15th place at the time of writing, they are not only in with a shout of qualifying from the league phase, but possibly even being seeded in the draw for the play-offs.
With Napoli, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool to come, fans will already be doing some mental arithmetic to work out where the points are most likely to come from, and just how many they’ll need. But having impressed so far, Qarabağ are riding a wave of belief.
It’s taken eight seasons to get here, but Qarabağ are finally back in the Champions League and flourishing in the limelight. Having already recorded their first wins, and gone some way to shedding the weight of history along the way, Gurbanov’s men are already upsetting the applecart – and they don’t look like stopping any time soon.
On a night where Barcelona shared six goals with Club Brugge, Pafos picked up their first ever Champions League win, and Inter Milan narrowly avoided a shock against Kairat Almaty, it was easy to overlook the significance of Qarabağ FK’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
See, back in 2017-18, on their tournament debut no less, Qarabağ were thrashed 4-0 and 6-0 by Chelsea in the group stage, finishing dead last. Despite picking up two draws home and away against Atlético Madrid, it was that bruising double blow by the Blues that lived longer in the memory.
While they are the undisputed kings of Azerbaijan with 11 titles since 2013-14, they had only won 17 of 80 games across 11 European campaigns. But now, after a comparatively blistering start with two wins and a draw from four outings, these domestic giants are re-writing their own continental script.
After three games, Qarabağ had already sprung shocks on Benfica and Copenhagen for their first ever competition wins before a defeat by Athletic Club; but ahead of the Chelsea clash, even long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov was remaining realistic about his club’s prospects.
“In games against these kinds of teams, our experience really helps us. But we must admit that Chelsea play a different, faster and more dynamic brand of football, which could clash with our style of play. We’ll be playing against a big club, and my players will experience elite football,” Gurbanov admitted.
After just 16 minutes, Estêvão’s opener for the Blues will have had some fans dreading a repeat of the 2017-18 nightmare, but not Gurbanov and his squad. Within 23 dramatic minutes the hosts turned things round and, against all the odds, taken the lead from the penalty spot, Marko Jankovic coolly converting into the bottom corner to spark jubilant scenes.
Though Chelsea would dash Qarabağ’s hopes of a truly miraculous result in the second half, there were over 30,000 fans in Baku who left the ground that night knowing they had witnessed a result that meant so much more than a single point.
“It was an incredible match. Chelsea are a great team and Club World Cup champions. For us, that was an extra motivation. We started the match where we conceded a goal, and then scored two goals. Honestly, what we experienced was incredible. We are really happy,” said a clearly moved club captain Adellah Zoubir after the game.
“My whole family was here today. The fans pushed us. Everything was good: the atmosphere, the match, and how the game went. Honestly, it was incredible. I hope that the fans enjoyed it and that my family did, too. I hope that I have a good time with them before they go back to France.”
But as much as holding the Blues showed just how far Qarabağ have come in just a few years, it wasn’t just about getting one over on an old rival, as the skipper made abundantly clear.
“I hope that for the future, it will be a positive thing that we will learn from this match and get even more points, and why not, aim to qualify for the next round.
“Qualifying will be one of our goals now. In the past years, we lost twice at the Europa League knockout phase, in the last matches,” said captain Zoubir of his hopes for this season.
“But today, having taken part and gotten a taste of the Champions League, I think it will naturally become a goal for both the club and the players. After such an experience, you just want to do it again.”
They’ve been a long time coming, those first victories, but coach Gurbanov has quite literally been there every step of the way. Following his arrival in 2008, the former Azerbaijan international led the club to their first ever continental tournament appearance in 2014-15.
Having overseen over 700 games and counting, nobody knows more about what’s gone into taking Qarabağ from Europa League pushovers to genuine Champions League knockout contenders, but as he explains, it’s all about mindset.
“The nature of our work is such that if we don’t try to perform better than what we’re doing now, we’ll not be able to achieve success. We constantly communicate that to our players.
“They should not feel content with what they have achieved up until now or feel like this is sufficient for us. Everyone needs to set goals. Regardless of the opponent’s quality, we will walk out onto the pitch and think only about how to get the better of our opponents. It could be that we come short in the first three or four games, but it will all work out in the fifth.”
With four matches to come, Qarabağ now find themselves in unprecedented territory. In 15th place at the time of writing, they are not only in with a shout of qualifying from the league phase, but possibly even being seeded in the draw for the play-offs.
With Napoli, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool to come, fans will already be doing some mental arithmetic to work out where the points are most likely to come from, and just how many they’ll need. But having impressed so far, Qarabağ are riding a wave of belief.
It’s taken eight seasons to get here, but Qarabağ are finally back in the Champions League and flourishing in the limelight. Having already recorded their first wins, and gone some way to shedding the weight of history along the way, Gurbanov’s men are already upsetting the applecart – and they don’t look like stopping any time soon.
