Chelsea Draws with Qarabag in Champions League Showdown
Chelsea narrowly avoided a historic defeat, thanks to a second-half equalizer from substitute Alejandro Garnacho, preventing the embarrassment of becoming the first English team to lose to Azerbaijani side Qarabag.
Garnacho, who came on as one of three substitutions at halftime, leveled the match after Chelsea fell behind 2-1 due to goals from Leandro Andrade and Marko Jankovic, following an early strike from Estevao Willian that had initially put the Blues in the lead.
Qarabag had previously lost all seven of their matches against English teams. In their last Champions League appearance, they faced Chelsea and suffered a cumulative defeat of 10-0, managing only two points from six matches.
Despite their challenging history, Qarabag put up a strong fight at the packed 32,000-seat Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, fielding a squad valued at just £22 million compared to Chelsea's £1.5 billion, according to Transfermarkt.
Chelsea took the lead in the 16th minute when 18-year-old Estevao cut inside and fired a low shot into the near post after a well-coordinated play with his Brazilian teammates Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos.
However, Chelsea's defense struggled, having made seven changes to the lineup that defeated Tottenham on Saturday. Jorrel Hato, 19, was partly responsible for both of Qarabag's first-half goals.
Qarabag's striker Camilo Duran challenged the Dutch defender for a long ball, hitting his shot off the post, but Leandro Andrade was quick to volley the rebound into the net, equalizing the score.
Midfielder Marko Jankovic then put Qarabag ahead by sending Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez the wrong way from the penalty spot, awarded after Hato handled Andrade's cross.
After losing midfielder Romeo Lavia to injury just six minutes into the match, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca made three additional changes at halftime, bringing on Garnacho, Enzo Fernandez, and Liam Delap for young players Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, and Tyrique George.
Garnacho made an immediate impact, scoring the equalizer seven minutes into the second half. He capitalized on a mistake from Kevin Medina, receiving Delap's long ball and shooting across goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski into the corner of the net.
Both teams had opportunities to secure a win, with Qarabag's substitute Nariman Akhundzade attempting a long-range shot, while Fernandez and Estevao each had multiple chances to clinch the game for Chelsea, along with their final substitute Facundo Buonanotte.
In added time, both sides came close to victory, with Danny Bolt and Garnacho each having shots saved from inside the area.
The draw leaves both teams with seven points in the 36-team league phase of the Champions League after four matches.