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"Qarabag" showed a great game in Naples. However, the players could not take advantage of some scoring opportunities."
These words were said by Fuzuli Mammadov, the former head coach of "Neftchi" and "Mingachevir", while talking about the V round match in which "Qarabag" lost to "Napoli" 0:2 in Italy in the main stage of the UEFA Champions League.
According to him, the Naples representative is a fairly high-quality and balanced team: "This team is the last Italian champion. The level of the players in the squad, the quality of the game is known to everyone. It is a strong team that applies dynamic, intense pressing, and plays tactically correctly. "Napoli" head coach Antonio Conte is also a well-known expert in world football and has his own game philosophy. Nevertheless, "Qarabag" made an excellent impression in the first half. They analyzed the opponent very well, and did not allow the hosts to play comfortably. They applied pressing in all zones of the field, controlled the ball and built good attacks. Even in the first half, there was an impression that the game was held not in Naples, but in Baku," he said in an interview with AZERTAC.
The expert called the injury of "Qarabag" defender Kevin Medina and his leaving the field the "breaking point" of the match: "In the second half, the team felt tired. This also caused some minor mistakes, and the opponent took advantage of this. The most affecting moment for "Qarabag" in the match was Kevin Medina's injury. His game in defense with Bahlul Mustafazade was very good. In the first half, the Italian team had almost no real scoring chances, and Medina played a big role in this. His leaving the field after the injury had a negative psychological impact on the team members."
F. Mammadov pointed out that one of the reasons for the defeat was that "Qarabag" could not take advantage of the scoring opportunities: "Emmanuel Addai and Nariman Akhundzade had scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, they could not take advantage of them. Nevertheless, "Qarabag" showed a great game on the field. We have three more matches ahead. I believe that they will perform well in these matches as well."
It should be noted that "Qarabag" is currently in the 16th place in the tournament table with 7 points. The Aghdam club will hold its next match in the Champions League against the Dutch team "Ajax" in Baku on December 10.
