Shattered reputations A look at the Premier League’s second round

After the Premier League expanded from ten to twelve clubs, each round of matches has started to stretch over 3–4 days. I’m not sure whether this stems from the addition of two teams or some other factors, but it puts clubs in unequal conditions, creating fertile ground for match-fixing. However, at least for now, let’s not dwell on the “criminal topics” and move on to football.

In the second round, the 12-time national champion, Aghdam’s Qarabağ FK, entered the competition, having skipped the league opener due to their participation in European tournaments.

Gurban Gurbanov’s men hosted Sumgayit and clearly underestimated their opponent, aiming to secure victory with minimal effort ahead of the crucial clash with Ferencváros. Although some media outlets and individual journalists tried to portray the situation as if Qarabağ had fielded a “second-string squad,” the reality was quite different. From the opening minutes, the pitch featured Badavi Huseynov, Toral Bayramov, Musa Gurbanli, and Aleksey Kashchuk… and after the break, the attacking trio of Kady – Zoubir – Janković came on. Nevertheless, Sumgayit clinched the win thanks to Ronaldo Vasquez’s lone strike in the 72nd minute.

By the way, thanks to this victory, Sumgayit became the only club to win both of their opening matches and took sole possession of the top spot in the league table.

If Qarabağ’s defeat can still be excused by the anticipation of their upcoming Champions League battle, Neftchi’s sluggish performance has no justification. The “oilmen” somehow managed only a goalless draw against Premier League newcomers Imishli. The legendary Banishevsky was probably “turning in his grave” at such a display from the club to which he dedicated his entire career.

Things are no better for another once-formidable domestic club — Ganja’s Kapaz — who suffered yet another defeat, this time against Karvan Yevlakh (2:3). Despite the Premier League having only just kicked off, the Ganja side already look like the main contenders for relegation at the end of the season.

In their first match, Sabah also secured a win, having skipped the opening round of the championship due to their involvement in European competitions. The capital side defeated a solid yet highly inconsistent Shamakhi away (2:1). The same score was recorded in the Turan-Tovuz vs. Araz-Nakhchivan clash, where Elmar Bakhshiyev’s men proved stronger than the team of the renowned Kurban Berdyev, who still hasn’t managed to make his mark in Azerbaijani football. Then again, who knows — only two rounds have been played so far, and every coach still has time to improve and bring their team to the desired level.

Vugar Vugarli, specially for Caliber.Az