AFCON 2025
Sloppy Chelsea snatch point at Qarabag as Pafos stun Villarreal in Limassol
Chelsea escaped defeat in Azerbaijan on Wednesday night as the Blues forced Qarabag to draw despite taking the lead in the 16th minute.
Having met on two previous occasions in the competition with Chelsea scoring 10 goals without conceding, Enzo Maresca’s men went into the tie as overwhelming favorites.
Estêvão’s opener signalled another nightmare for the home fans as the Brazilian forward received Andrey Santos’s pass in the box before burying it into the bottom corner.
However, Cabo Verde forward Leandro Andrade pounced a rebound to in the box to restore parity for Qarabag just before the half-hour mark.
Less than eight minutes later, the home fans went agog as Marlo Jankovic gave Qarabag the lead from the penalty spot after Dutch defender, Jorrol Hato handled the ball in his box.
Qarabag went into the break leading the World Champions with 45 minutes away from a famous and historic win over the two-time champions of Europe.
However, Former Manchester United came off the bench and made an immediate impact as scored the only goal of the second half to draw Chelsea level.
The 21-year-old Argentine forward pounced on a loose ball in the box and fired a low drive to score his first Champions League for Chelsea.
Garnacho cane close to bagging a late winner for the Blues from point blank range but Mateusz Kochalski made an amazing save as the tie ended two goals apiece.
In the other early kick off of the evening, debutants recorded a famous win over Villarreal in Limassol.
Derrick Luckassen’s goal a minutes into the second half have the host maximum points over the Spanish outfit.
