Sport24.az
"Anything can be expected from Qarabag in the game against Newcastle." Shahriyar Mammadyarov said in an interview with the press service of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation, Sport24.az reports.
The famous grandmaster shared his thoughts on the Qarabag-Newcastle (England) match, which will be held in the play-off stage of the UEFA Champions League:
"It would be a lie if I said there was no chance. Newcastle is a big favorite. It is a team with rich experience. They are performing unstably this year. But they always fight. Everyone knows it will be difficult. But Qarabag is not an ordinary team. They were losing 0-2 to Benfica, but in the end they won 3-2. They were losing 1-2 to Eintracht, and in the end they made the score 3-2. They drew with a team like Chelsea. So anything can be expected from Qarabag. Even if it's during the competition, I'll try to go to the stadium."
Mammadyarov said that he watched Qarabag's game against Eintracht at the stadium with his father last month:
"It was a very good game. My father believed in Qarabag terribly. From the first minute, he said it would be good. I looked differently. The Germans seemed to be the superior side in terms of both budget and experience. Qarabag showed an incredible fight and wanted the victory more. The weather was very cold. Nevertheless, we stayed at the stadium until the last minute. I am very happy that I watched the Qarabag-Eintracht match at the stadium. It was a terrible feeling."
It should be noted that the first match between Qarabag and Newcastle will take place on February 18 at 21:45 in Baku, and the return match will take place on the night of February 24-25 at 00:00 in England.
