President Aliyev congratulates Qarabağ FC on Champions League success

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has publicly congratulated Qarabağ football club following their convincing victory over Denmark’s FC Copenhagen in the second round of the UEFA Champions League group stage.

In a message posted on his official X page, Aliyev praised the team for their impressive performance, noting that Qarabağ had secured two brilliant wins in their first two group-stage matches. He highlighted that the club’s success continues to bring pride and joy to the Azerbaijani people while sharing the top positions with some of world football’s elite teams.

“I sincerely congratulate the Qarabağ football club and the entire Azerbaijani football community on their confident victory over the Danish champion, FC Copenhagen. Having achieved two brilliant wins in two matches of the main stage of the planet’s strongest club tournament, Qarabağ continues to make our people proud by sharing the top positions with the giants of world football,” Aliyev wrote.

Qarabağ entered their Champions League campaign with a strong start, securing a dramatic 3:2 away victory over Portuguese side Benfica in the opening round. Building on that momentum, the Azerbaijani club hosted Denmark’s FC Copenhagen at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku and earned a 2:0 win to register their second consecutive victory in the group stage.

Abdellah Zoubir opened the scoring in the 28th minute by capitalising on a rebound after Pedro Bicalho’s shot struck the post, while Emmanuel Addai sealed the win in the 83rd minute with a powerful long-range strike.

The win leaves Qarabağ with six points from two matches, placing them among the leaders of their group and reinforcing their growing reputation in Europe. Copenhagen, who had drawn 2:2 at home against Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen in their first match, struggled to respond to Qarabağ’s intensity in Baku.

Qarabağ will next face Spain’s Athletic Bilbao away on 22 October, aiming to continue their impressive run in the Champions League.

By Vugar Khalilov