Aghdam-based Qarabag are showing strong scoring efficiency at the beginnings and ends of halves in the current Champions League main stage.
According to Idman.Biz, out of 13 goals scored by the team coached by Gurban Gurbanov in the Champions League main stage, five came within the first ten minutes of a half. This accounts for more than 38 percent of all goals scored by Qarabag in the competition.
In addition, the Azerbaijani champions scored four times in the closing stages of matches. As a result, nine of Qarabag’s 13 goals were netted either at the start or at the end of halves, representing more than 69 percent of their total goals.
In the home victory over Eintracht Frankfurt (3:2), Camilo Duran found the net in the 4th minute. Against Benfica (3:2), the same player scored in the 48th minute. In the away match versus Athletic Club (1:3), Leandro Andrade opened the scoring in the very first minute.
Qarabag added two more early-half goals in the game against Ajax (2:4), with Duran scoring in the 10th minute and Mateus Silva netting in the 47th.
At the same time, Qarabag also struck after the 80th minute in several matches. In the same clash with Eintracht Frankfurt, Duran equalized (2:2) in the 80th minute, before Bakhlul Mustafazade scored the winning goal in stoppage time, in the 90+4th minute. Against Benfica, Aleksey Kashchuk scored the decisive goal in the 88th minute, while in the match with Copenhagen (2:0) Emmanuel Addai scored the second goal in the 83rd minute.
The remaining four goals in the Champions League main stage were scored in the middle phases of halves. The match against Italian side Napoli (0:2) remains the only game in which the Aghdam club failed to find the net.
It should be recalled that Qarabag will play their final match of the Champions League main stage away against Liverpool on January 28. After seven rounds, the Aghdam club have collected ten points and currently sit 18th in the standings.
Teymur Tushiyev
