AZE.US
Qarabağ made a convincing start to their 2026/27 UEFA Europa League campaign with a 3-0 victory over Iceland’s Vestri in Baku.
The first-leg match in the opening qualifying round was played at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium.
Zakaria Sawo opened the scoring in the 30th minute before Abdellah Zoubir doubled Qarabağ’s lead in first-half stoppage time. Renaldo Cephas sealed the win with a third goal in the 86th minute.
Gol del #Qarabag a los 30 minutos, que manera de llegar Zakaria Sawo para anotar de cabeza
1.T | FK Qarabağ Agdam 1-0 Vestri | 1° Ronda Clasificación #EuropaLeague | Tofiq Bahramov Stadium
🔴En vivo en #ToñitoDigitalRadio Webhttps://t.co/4zBYarHcbw pic.twitter.com/zONpe88Fut
— Toñito Digital Radio (@tdradio_) July 9, 2026
Vestri head coach Daniel Osafo-Badu admitted that the Azerbaijani side had demonstrated its quality.
“It was a difficult match. Qarabağ showed their quality. I am satisfied with the effort of my players, but not with the result. They defended well and fought hard,” he said.
Osafo-Badu added that Qarabağ had produced an excellent performance and was a difficult opponent to face.
“Some people predicted that Qarabağ would score 10 goals against us,” he said.
Qarabağ head coach Gurban Gurbanov praised the supporters but said he was not fully satisfied with every aspect of his team’s performance.
“The fans created an atmosphere like a Champions League match. I thank every one of them,” Gurbanov said.
He noted that Vestri had defended well and had studied Qarabağ carefully.
“I had some concerns about our play. The players are at different levels of fitness, and there was some fatigue late in the second half. We must remain very responsible in the return match,” he said.
Gurbanov also confirmed that Elvin Jafarguliyev had returned to the squad following discussions with the club.
The second leg will be played on July 17.
AZE.US