Qarabag FK loses to Dnipro

/AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Azerbaijan's Qarabag football club played its next group stage game in the UEFA Europe League on November 6.

Qarabag FK hosted Ukraine's Dnipro Dnipropetrovks at Tofig Bahramov stadium. The first game between the two clubs ended up in Qarabag's 1-0 victory in Kiev.

The game was very dramatic and tense as Qarabag FK tried to gain the next three points and Dnipro pushed all limits to seal its first victory in the tournament.

About 30,000 fans flocked to the stadium to support their favorite club. Despite Qarabag FK's efforts and its good performance, Dnipro's forward Nikola Kalinic scored the opening goal in the 15th minute of the game.

Qarabag FK's Leroy George scored a sensational free kick goal in the 36th minute of the game to pull the level. The Dutchman's fantastic free-kick from a point 25 meters away form the goal found the net despite Dnipro goalkeeper's diving at full stretch.

Unfortunately Qarabag FC couldn't score the winning goal as Nikola Kalinic scored his second goal to clinch the club's first victory in Group F. Dnipro gained three points with the victory over Qarabag FK at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku and leveled its points with Azerbaijani club to share the second place in the group.

The group's other game between Italian FC Internazionale and French St-Etienne ended in 1-1 tie, as the French club sealed its fourth successive draw and FC Internazionale cemented its first place in the group.

Qarabag FK's Manager Gurban Gurbanov said his club did all to win. "We couldn't want to lose. My players did their best to keep the score and fight till the end. But we made several mistakes. Our players need to take serious their rivals in the other games. The next game with St-Etienne will be easier than the match with Dnipro. We still have chances," he noted.

Now, Qarabag FK, Dnipro Dnipropetrovks and St-Etienne have four points while FC Internazionale owns eight points as the group's leader. St-Etienne will host Qarabag FK in France on November 27, while Dnipro will visit Italy to lock horns with Inter.