UCL: Chelsea held as Maresca’s side falter against Qarabag
Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Azerbaijan champions Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, as Enzo Maresca’s youthful side once again struggled for consistency.
The result dents Chelsea’s hopes of securing automatic qualification for the last 16, with both sides now sitting on seven points from four matches in the league phase.
Chelsea took an early lead through Estevao Willian, but Qarabag hit back with Leandro Andrade’s equaliser before Marko Jankovic converted a penalty to put the hosts ahead.
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Substitute Alejandro Garnacho salvaged a point for the Blues after the break with a calm finish.
Despite spending over £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) on new signings in the past three seasons, Chelsea were second-best for much of the game against a Qarabag side whose total transfer spend since 2020 is less than £7 million.
Manager Enzo Maresca admitted his team’s defending and finishing were not good enough.
“We conceded silly goals that we could have avoided and probably should have finished better with the chances we created,” Maresca said. “We need to defend better inside the box and attack better in the other box.”
The draw means Chelsea’s away winless run in the Champions League stretches back to October 2022. Qarabag, meanwhile, continue to impress in this season’s competition after earlier wins against Benfica and Copenhagen.
Chelsea’s trip to Baku was far from ideal. The squad arrived in the early hours of Wednesday morning, prompting Maresca to make seven changes from the weekend’s win over Tottenham.
