“We never gave up fighting until the end”

After the UEFA Champions League play-off match Newcastle United – Qarabağ (3:2), our head coach Qurban Qurbanov held a press conference and shared his thoughts on the game:

“I want to thank my players because they have had a long and exciting season in the Champions League. I am very satisfied with each of them for their performance, effort, and character. In today’s match against Newcastle, they showed their best. Even though we conceded two early goals, the team managed to regroup and never gave up until the end. I also want to thank the Newcastle fans—they applauded our good attacks and the goal we scored, and sometimes even supported us. I am also grateful to our fans who have supported us throughout this season; we tried to make them proud.”

The head coach also spoke about the valuable experience gained this season in the Champions League:

“Every match was a great experience for us. In the league stage, we played against big clubs with different playing styles. However, the most valuable experience for us came from matches against English clubs. English football is very different in Europe. Of course, I wish we had played even better games, but I believe we managed to show ourselves in the best possible way. The players were very tired both physically and mentally. Nevertheless, our goal is to progress as far as possible. We must recover quickly and plan to achieve better results in upcoming matches.”