Dynamo Kyiv played the second leg of the 3rd qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League against Azerbaijani side Qarabag in Baku.
Ihor Kostiuk’s men arrived in the Azerbaijani capital with a one-goal advantage after last week’s game in Lublin, but the hosts showed from the start that they were determined to turn the tie around.
In the 3rd minute Muaddib delivered a fine cross from the right flank to the far post, where Zoubir was waiting, but he shot wide. Then, in the 12th minute, Qarabag opened the scoring. Zoubir beat Sych on the left flank and sent a delicate cross into the penalty area. His teammate failed to get a proper shot away, but the ball fell nicely to Muaddib, who fired precisely into the top corner – 1:0.
Encouraged by their success, the hosts continued attacking and soon could have doubled their advantage. In the 16th minute, following a corner, Jafarquliyev met the ball at the far post but shot wide.
Dynamo subsequently managed to move the game away from their own goal, and in the second half of the first period, chances began to appear at the opponents’ end as well. In particular, in the 31st minute, Guerrero shot from the edge of the penalty area, but the goalkeeper made an excellent save. Shortly afterwards, Ponomarenko attempted to find the far corner following a corner kick, while Bilovar, finding himself in the ball’s path, was unable to redirect it into the net.
Dynamo started the second half even more actively and should have equalized. In the 50th minute, Brazhko had a one-on-one opportunity after intercepting a back pass from a Qarabag defender. However, the Dynamo midfielder could not beat the goalkeeper, with Zlomyslic making a save and turning the ball behind for a corner. In the 54th minute, following a corner from the right flank, the ball reached almost the far corner of the six-yard box, where Ponomarenko escaped his marker and headed toward goal, but unfortunately the ball went wide.
