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Caspian Football Clubs Play 1st Qualifying Matches in Champions League

By Timucin Turksoy August 19, 2020

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Qarabağ FK players celebrate the first goal scored by Jaime Romero, August 18, Baku, Azerbaijan / Professional Football League of Azerbaijan

Qarabağ FK and Astana FC football clubs respectively from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have played on Tuesday their first games as part of the first qualifying round of 2020-2021 UEFA Champions League.  

Azerbaijan's defending champion Qarabağ FK outclassed its rival, FK Sileks of Northern Macedonia in the knockout game that took place at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in the capital city Baku of Azerbaijan on August 18. The game saw Azerbaijani club dominating the game since the start whistle. This domination has fairly ended up in scoring 4 goals to win the match 4-0.

Qarabağ FK's Spanish forward Jaime Romero scored the opening goal in the 11th minute of the game. Haitian left-back Donald Guerrier found the net two times the 40th and 51st minutes of the match. Azerbaijan international center forward Mahir Emreli's goal scored ten minutes before the final whistle set down the final score of the game.

"We have won a very important victory. It's nice to win after a long time," Qarabağ FK manager Gurban Gurbanov said in a post-game press conference, according to Report.az. "We must not repeat today's mistakes. Because the team that will advance to the next stage will be in better shape."

Astana FC football club of Kazakhstan could not repeat Qarabağ FK's first-round success. The team lost the one-off match 3-6 to the Belarusian Dinamo Brest at the Brestsky Stadium in the city of Brest on August 18.

According to UEFA regulations, winners of the first qualifying round will advance to the second qualifying round of the Champions League, while the losing teams move down to the Europa League. After Tuesday's games, Qarabağ FK has made it through the Champions League second stage and Astana will continue in the Europa League.