Garnacho Strikes to Rescue Chelsea from Embarrassing Defeat in Qarabag Draw

Alejandro Garnacho came to Chelsea’s rescue on Wednesday night, scoring a vital equaliser that secured a 2-2 draw against Qarabag in the Champions League.

Enzo Maresca’s men looked set for an embarrassing defeat at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku after surrendering an early lead in the first half.

Teen sensation Estevão Willian had put Chelsea ahead with a confident 16th-minute finish, but the Azerbaijani champions hit back through Leandro Andrade before Marko Jankovic converted a penalty to complete a first-half turnaround.

Garnacho, a former Manchester United winger, was introduced after the break and made an immediate impact, firing home from the edge of the box to salvage a point for the visitors.

The draw leaves both Chelsea and Qarabag on seven points from four games, keeping them in the hunt for a top-eight finish that guarantees automatic progression to the last 16.

Despite Chelsea’s staggering £1.5 billion transfer spend over the past three seasons, Maresca’s side struggled to impose themselves against a Qarabag team assembled for less than £7 million since 2020.

The spirited hosts, once mockingly dubbed “Carrier Bag” during their debut Champions League campaign eight years ago, have become one of this season’s surprise packages — defeating Copenhagen and Benfica before holding the two-time European champions.

Chelsea, still without a Champions League away win since October 2022, travelled to Baku under a tight schedule. To minimise fatigue ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Wolves, Maresca kept his players on UK time and made seven changes from the weekend’s victory over Tottenham.

Estevão’s opener — his fourth goal of the season — underlined the 18-year-old’s growing reputation. He’s now the third-youngest player in Champions League history to score in his first two starts, behind Ethan Nwaneri and Kylian Mbappé.

But defensive lapses proved costly. Jorrel Hato’s mistake gifted Qarabag possession for Andrade’s leveller, before another error led to the penalty that Jankovic converted to make it 2-1.

Maresca’s second-half substitutions — Garnacho, Enzo Fernández, and Liam Delap — revitalised Chelsea. Garnacho’s powerful strike drew them level, while Fernández came close to grabbing a late winner with two long-range efforts that were narrowly off target.

In the end, Garnacho’s goal spared Chelsea’s blushes, but the performance raised fresh questions about their consistency and composure on European nights.

Opinion Nigeria News