Chelsea failed to secure victory on their 5,000-mile round trip to Azerbaijan on Wednesday, stumbling to a disappointing 2–2 draw with Qarabağ in the Champions League.
Chelsea found themselves trailing at half time in Baku as they were undone by their indefatigable hosts. Estêvão had offered the Blues an advantage early in the half, but goals from Leandro Andrade and Marko Janković completed a dramatic turnaround before the break.
Enzo Maresca turned to his bench at half-time and it paid immediate dividends as Alejandro Garnacho powered home an equaliser shortly after the restart, but the Blues were unable to find a winning goal as they dropped more points in the league phase.
Chelsea have now won just two of their four European encounters this season, leaving them two places outside the top eight and level on points with Qarabağ.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Qarabağ (4-2-3-1)
GK: Robert Sánchez—6.5: Had very little to do other than collect the ball from the back of his net. Helpless to prevent Andrade’s instinctive finish and leapt the wrong way for Janković’s penalty.
RB: Reece James—7.1: Part of a misfiring Chelsea backline in the first half, but his creative influence was evident after the break as he started to pull the strings from deep. Still not his sharpest display in a blue shirt.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo—7.5: Much like his central defensive partner, Adarabioyo was unconvincing in spells in Azerbaijan. Recovered some pride in the second half as he got his act together.
CB: Jorrel Hato—6.2: A disastrous performance from the summer recruit. Responsible for Qarabağ’s opener as he gifted the hosts possession and was similarly culpable for the second, losing the ball and then conceding a penalty. The only silver lining was that he improved after the restart.
LB: Marc Cucurella—6.9: Tireless down the left-hand side with his forward runs and aggressive tackling approach—the latter sometimes getting him into trouble. Produced one important intervention to cut out a deadly cross early doors.
DM: Andrey Santos—7.2: Teed up his fellow Brazilian for the opening goal of the game and did little wrong during the first half. Regardless, he was substituted at half time as Enzo Fernández entered the fray.
DM: Roméo Lavia—N/A: The unfortunate Belgian suffered another injury setback after just five minutes in Baku and was replaced by Moisés Caicedo. Looked unsurprisingly devastated as he departed the pitch and went immediately down the tunnel.
RW: Estêvão—8.4: Scored his fourth goal of the season as he effortlessly cut inside and drove his strike into the near post. Showed further glimpses of his quality as he used his trickery and agility to unnerve Qarabag’s backline.
AM: João Pedro—6.3: Initially useful in the No.10 position as he dropped deep to knit play together, including an excellent pass which opened space for Estêvão’s early effort. His influence waned as the match progressed, though.
LW: Jamie Gittens—5.8: Presented with countless opportunities to create something, yet consistently disappointed with his final product. Had the better of Matheus Silva in one-v-ones, but underwhelmed with his crossing and shooting.
ST: Tyrique George—6.1: Anonymous throughout the first half, managing just 13 touches as he struggled against Qarabag’s aggressive defence. Unsurprisingly withdrawn at the break.
Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Max Merrick (GK), Josh Acheampong, Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Marc Guiu.
Qarabag (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: Mateusz Kochalski; Matheus Silva, Behlul Mustafazade, Kevin Medina, Elvin Jafarquliyev; Marko Janković, Pedro Bicalho; Leandro Andrade, Kady Malinowski, Abdellah Zoubir; Camilo Durán.
Subs used: Emmanuel Addai, Toral Bayramov, Nariman Akhundzade, Oleksiy Kashchuk, Dani Bolt.
Player of the Match: Estêvão
Qarabağ 2–2 Chelsea—How It Unfolded at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium
Maresca made good on his promise to rotate his starting lineup from the weekend victory at Tottenham Hotspur, making seven changes for the arduous journey to Baku. One of those who entered the team was Roméo Lavia, but the injury-prone midfielder lasted barely any time before trudging off the pitch with a fresh setback.
Chelsea’s mood was lifted in the 17th minute as a cutting move ended with the club’s youngest ever Champions League goalscorer Estêvão adding to his European tally. An attack forged by Chelsea’s Brazilian trio saw João Pedro feed Andrey Santos, who in turn found Estêvão in the penalty area. The 18-year-old cut inside and fired into the near post to offer the Blues a welcome advantage.
Chelsea’s lead didn’t last long, though. Sloppy defending allowed Qarabağ’s Camilo Durán to wriggle into the penalty area and rattle the woodwork, with the ball ricocheting into the path of Andrade. The Cape Verde international, who had already scored twice in the Champions League this term, calmly converted the rebound to level things.
The equaliser sparked Qarabağ into life and 10 minutes later they were ahead. Jorrel Hato, who was to blame for the home side’s equaliser, gifted Andrade possession before conceding a penalty for a handball, with Marko Janković tucking home the subsequent spot kick to turn the match on its head and stun the Blues.
Estevao with the opener! 🇧🇷#CFC | #UCL pic.twitter.com/uCgLTsGk93
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 5, 2025
Maresca made a triple substitution at half-time in an attempt to wrestle back control of the game. Fernández, Liam Delap and Garnacho were tasked with reigning the Blues and the latter did exactly that just eight minutes after the restart as he arrowed a fierce left-footed effort into the bottom corner to equalise.
Chelsea’s substitutes completely swung the fixture back in their favour and a combination between Delap and Fernández almost saw them restore their advantage, the Argentine bringing a fine save out of Mateusz Kochalski in the Qarabağ goal.
Chelsea frantically pushed for a decisive fifth goal of the game and came close through Fernández and Estêvão, but they struggled to create clear-cut opportunities as Qarabağ naturally sunk deeper and deeper. The hosts still posed a threat on the break, too, with Caicedo and Reece James producing crucial interventions to prevent a third for Gurban Gurbanov’s side in the closing ten minutes.
Both sides conjured up excellent chances in the dying embers, Oleksiy Kashchuk firing straight into Robert Sánchez’s hands from close range and Kochalski denying Garnacho a second of the game with a sprawling block.
In the end, Chelsea had to accept an underwhelming point and cannot argue they deserved more.
Qarabağ vs. Chelsea Half Time Stats
Qarabağ vs. Chelsea Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Qarabag: Sub-Par Blues Stunned on 5,000-Mile Trip.
