Qarabag's Perfect Champions League Start Ends With Athletic Club And Galatasaray Victories

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Qarabag's perfect run in the Champions League was interrupted by Athletic Club, who secured a 3-1 victory with goals from Gorka Guruzeta and Robert Navarro. The Azerbaijani team had an ideal start when Leandro Andrade capitalised on a defensive error to score within the first minute at San Mames. However, their advantage was short-lived.

Athletic Club equalised in the 38th minute when Guruzeta converted Mikel Jauregizar's precise pass with his left foot. Although Guruzeta missed a chance just before halftime, Navarro put Athletic ahead in the 70th minute with a superb shot from near the box's left corner. Later, Guruzeta sealed the win by scoring from outside the area in the 88th minute.

Despite this defeat, Qarabag remains competitive with six points after previous victories over Benfica and Copenhagen. Meanwhile, Athletic Club earned their first three points following losses to Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund. Galatasaray also accumulated six points after defeating Bodo/Glimt 3-1 at home, thanks to Victor Osimhen's two goals.

Osimhen gave Galatasaray an early lead by scoring in the third minute and added another goal half an hour later after intercepting Fredrik Bjorkan's poor pass. Although he missed chances for a hat-trick, Yunus Akgun extended Galatasaray's lead to three goals before Andreas Helmersen scored a consolation goal for Bodo/Glimt.

Leandro Andrade made history by becoming the first player to score in the opening minute of three different major UEFA competition matches. His previous quick goals were against Hacken in December 2023 and FCSB earlier this year. Meanwhile, Osimhen set a new record for Galatasaray by scoring in seven consecutive European matches, surpassing Burak Yilmaz's previous record of six consecutive games between October 2012 and March 2013.

Qarabag's journey continues as they aim to build on their strong start despite this setback. Their performance so far demonstrates their potential to compete at this level, while Athletic Club looks to use this victory as momentum for future matches.