Athletic Club 3-1 Qarabağ: Basque giants stop the rot with first Champions League win of the season | OneFootball

Athletic Club gained their first three points of the Champions League season, running out 3-1 victors against Qarabağ of Azerbaijan.

Leandro Andrade’s early goal for the visitors did not deter Bilbao, as the hosts fought back with a brace from Gorka Guruzeta and one from Robert Navarro to gain a desperately needed win.

Ernesto Valverde’s men began the match with one win from their last nine games, having started poorly in both the domestic and European campaigns. The Basque side are now back in the hunt to qualify from the league phase as they move into the playoff zone, while Qarabağ also remain in contention, sitting comfortably in 13th place.

As it happened

Athletic could not have made a worse start in their efforts to remedy a poor run of form. With nearly 40 seconds on the clock, a hopeful Qarabağ long-throw induced a panic-stricken clearance from centre back Aitor Paredes as he played it off teammate Aymeric Laporte to send the ball into the path of Qarabağ’s Andrade. In the blink of an eye, the Cape Verde international nipped into the box, took a touch to set himself and coolly dispatched a low strike past Athletic keeper Unai Simón.

In what was meant to be the night which kickstarted Athletic’s season, they now faced a great challenge against a team who were chasing three wins from as many games.

The Athletic fans were not silenced. The home support got behind Valverde’s team as they began to dominate possession. Brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams found pockets of space on both wings and looked menacing.

Qarabağ had not come just to score an early goal and sit in. The away side were courageous in attack at the right moments, and equally resolute in defence, while frustration crept into Athletic’s play. With just under 10 minutes gone, Iñaki Williams found Oihan Sancet with time and space in the box, but the midfielder lost his footing and only managed a panic shot high and wide of the mark.

The away side showed themselves to be a free-flowing football team, working fast moves down the right wing and frequently testing Simón. At the other end, Nico Williams curled a shot from outside the box that deflected and flew a whisker wide of the far right post.

The dynamic Williams brothers tried to keep the spark of momentum alive, but Quarabağ played without fear, drawing jeers from the home support with their slick passing around the Athletic box.

Another long range effort from Sancet failed to hit the target, and in the 38th minute, Athletic suffered another huge blow. Talisman Iñaki Williams pulled up with a groin strain and the Ghanaian international’s race was run, replaced by Álex Berenguer.

Just two minutes later, promising midfielder Mikel Jauregizar turned and arched a pass over the Qarabağ defence, perfectly playing Guruzeta in on goal. The striker, unfazed by the one-on-one situation, took two touches and smashed the ball low under the grasp of goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski. After a brief VAR check for offside, the goal stood and Athletic were back in the game just before half-time.

Athletic started the second half fast with Guruzeta registering another shot on target. Berenguer was proving a worthy replacement for the injured Iñaki Williams. The winger caused havoc down the left side and delivered an inch perfect cross, but Paredes, yards from the net, panicked again and let the ball bounce off his chest instead of directing it towards goal.

With an hour gone, Athletic were creating fewer chances and needed fresh legs on to revitalise the game. Valverde’s triple substitution in the 65th minute included Navarro replacing Nico Williams.

Five minutes later, Berenguer combined well, gliding through midfield before picking out Navarro at the edge of the Qarabağ box. The substitute took delicate half touches, smoothly moving into the left side of the box before shifting the ball and bending a shot into the top right corner as the San Mamés erupted.

Athletic had turned the game on its head with 20 minutes to go, but Qarabağ were not out of the fight. In the 85th minute, the away team worked a delicate move between the lines and threaded a pass through to Oleksiy Kashchuk. The Ukrainian winger, from an acute angle, chipped the ball over the advancing Simón, only for his effort to be cleared off the line by the last gasp heroics of Yuri Berchiche.

The game was on a knife edge for Athletic. Then, with two minutes to go of regulation time, Guruzeta spun at the edge of the box and instinctively smashed a thunderous right foot volley into the bottom left corner to win the game.

Valverde’s men at last had a win in the Champions League which they hope will help them build momentum for their clash with Newcastle on matchday four. Quarabağ have greatly impressed across the first three games and will play Chelsea in their next Champions League fixture.

The lineups

ATH: Simón; Gorosabel, Paredes, Laporte, Berchiche; Jauregizar, Mora; Williams, Sancet, Williams; Guruzeta

QAR: Kochalski; Silva, Mustafazada, Medina, Jafarguliyev; Bicalho, Borges; Durán, Andrade, Zoubir; Akhundzade