Qarabağ head coach Qurban Qurbanov has commented on his team’s 2:4 home defeat against Ajax in the UEFA Champions League league stage (Matchday 6).

Speaking at the post-match press conference, the experienced coach said he was satisfied with his players’ performance despite the result:

“Congratulations to the opponent. I’m satisfied with my players. It’s rare to see such a fast-paced match in recent years. Teams like this do not forgive mistakes. In the Champions League, you must always expect any outcome. We lost while fighting. We were not thinking about a draw; our goal was to win. I thank the fans — it was a football celebration. We just couldn’t get the victory. We must be ready for such results.”

Qurbanov emphasized that Qarabağ created many scoring opportunities but failed to convert them:

“We had very good chances but couldn’t make use of them. The opponent benefited from their chances better than we did. I wasn’t fully satisfied with the substitutes; they could have done better. It just didn’t work out today.”

“The players were disappointed”

Qurbanov also noted that his players left the pitch and headed to the dressing room visibly upset:

“They also tried to take maximum advantage of the chances, but it wasn’t our day. In the dressing room, we saw they were upset. We’ll have time to bring them back mentally. If we still have a chance, we must make maximum use of it.”

Concerns about youth football

The head coach spoke about Qarabağ’s U-19 performance in the UEFA Youth League and highlighted deeper structural issues in Azerbaijani football:

“This is one of the painful points of our football. If the gap is this big at U-19 level, what will happen in 4–5 years? It’s a big danger. When people talk about youth football in Europe, the first club that comes to mind is Ajax. The difference between their facilities and ours is huge. We must improve our conditions and be more attentive.”

“We were careless in the first goals”

Qurbanov also reflected on the defensive lapses:

“We were a bit careless in the first goals, then the opponent’s quality showed. On the last goal, Elvin Jafarguliyev should have been more attentive. At the end of the match, there was also fatigue and we lost in speed.”

On Nariman Akhundzade

The coach briefly commented on Nariman Akhundzade’s performance:

“There is a lot of discussion around him. I myself don’t know what to say. He could have played better. This also applies to the other substitutes. Maybe being overly motivated tired us out.”