“Leandro Godoy was cautioned for holding, sparking a tetchy spell that would define the tone of the contest.”
“Marko Jankovic received a yellow card for roughing just two minutes after Godoy's booking, with both teams now skating on thin ice in a fractious midfield battle.”
“Kady Borges was flagged for offside, cutting short what looked like a promising CSKA Sofia attack and typifying the visitors' inability to breach Qarabağ's defensive line.”
“Facundo Rodríguez was booked for roughing, the third yellow card of the match, as frustrations boiled over with both sides unable to find a breakthrough.”
Qarabağ
CSKA Sofia
Qarabağ and CSKA Sofia played out a cautious, attritional Europa League qualifier that ended goalless, with neither side able to convert their respective moments of pressure into anything meaningful. Qarabağ were the more industrious side in many respects — they generated 86 dangerous attacks to CSKA's 66 and forced eight corners — but their five shots on target were never clinical enough to trouble the visitors' backline decisively. CSKA Sofia, controlling 52% of possession, were disciplined and pragmatic, though they too lacked a cutting edge in the final third, managing just four shots on target and running into the offside trap three times. The match's flashpoint came in a feisty spell either side of the 35th minute when both Leandro Godoy and Marko Jankovic were booked in quick succession, injecting some needle into proceedings, before a flurry of second-half substitutions — ten in total — disrupted any rhythm either team had built. Kady Borges' offside call at 59 minutes summed up CSKA's blunted attack. With a second leg to come, the tie remains very much alive, but both sides will need to find considerably more quality in the final third if this Europa League adventure is to progress.
How entertaining was this match?
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Petko Panayotov comes on for Stefano Sensi.
On comes Mohamed Brahimi, off goes David Samuel Custodio Lima.
Corner awarded.
Tamimou Ouorou is on, and Angelo Martino is off.
Corner awarded.
Jonatan Montiel Caballero is on, and Abdellah Zoubir is off.
Facundo RodríguezYellow CardYellow card for Facundo Rodriguez.
Corner awarded.
Cebrail Makreckis comes on for Badavi Huseynov.
On Jaly Mouaddib, off Oleksii Kashchuk.
Isaac Solet is on, and Max Ebong Ngome is off.
On comes Joel Zwarts, off goes Santiago Leandro Godoy.
VAR decision: Goal disallowed for offside against Kady Iuri Borges Malinowski.
Goal! The score is now 1-0.
Corner awarded.
Renaldo Cephas replaces Marko Jankovic.
Elvin Dzhafarquliyev comes on for Bruno Alberto Langa.
Corner awarded.
The first half ends with a score of 0-0.
Marko JankovicYellow CardMarko Jankovic receives a yellow card.
Leandro GodoyYellow CardYellow card issued to Santiago Leandro Godoy.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Kick-off! The referee is Daniele Chiffi.
Qarabağ welcome CSKA Sofia to the Bakı Olimpiya Stadionu in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie, riding high after a dominant 6-0 aggregate demolition of Vestri. The Azerbaijani side hold historical supremacy over their Bulgarian visitors and will be looking to press that home advantage to build a commanding lead ahead of the return leg.
