On 14 December, one of the matches of the Europa League on football took place. Karabakh (Azerbaijan) and Hecken (Sweden) met.
Europa League
Garabagh (Azerbaijan) - Hecken (Sweden) - 2:1 (2:0)
Goals: Leandro Andrade (1), Y. Benzia (45+4) - B. Benzia (45+4) - B. Benzia (45+4). Benzia (45+4) - B. Huseynov (90+4). Huseynov (90+4)
Warnings: E. Hovland (22), M. Sonko (67)
In an exciting UEFA Europa League match, Karabakh faced BK Haken at the Tofik Bahramov Adına Respublika stadium. Both teams put in strong performances, but it was Qarabag who took a 2-0 lead at half-time and a 2-1 lead in regulation time. The match got off to a blistering start as Leandro Andrade struck the Qarabag goal as early as the first minute, giving the team an early lead.
BK Hacken tried to respond but were dealt a setback when E. Hovland received a yellow card in the 22nd minute. Qarabag continued to dominate the first half and managed to increase their lead just before the half-time whistle. Yu Benzia scored in the 45th minute, giving his team a comfortable 2-0 lead. The second half started with a substitution in BK Haken: M. Raigard replaced P. Dahbo. However, Qarabag soon found themselves in a difficult position when M. Vesovic received a red card in the 56th minute, reducing the squad to ten men. Despite the reduced squad, Qarabag made a substitution in the 60th minute. Y. Benzia came on in place of M. Silva to maintain their advantage. BK Hacken also made a substitution with S. Sandberg replacing I. Abdulrazak in the 63rd minute. As the match progressed, BK Hacken tried to utilise their numerical advantage. In the 67th minute, M. L. Sonko received a yellow card, showing the team's frustration. The team quickly made three more substitutions, releasing A. Youssef, J.P. Dembe and O. Kamara in the 70th, 82nd and 89th minutes respectively. In the final minutes of the game, Qarabag responded with a succession of substitutions. Leandro Andrade was replaced by N. Akhundzadeh in the 85th minute, and Juninho made room for T. Bayramov. In the 89th minute, Karabakh introduced M. Jankovic, P. Andrade, A. Zubir and R. Xhiksha into the game. Just when it seemed that the match would end with a 2-0 victory for Qarabag, BK Haken scored an own goal in the 90th minute. B. Huseynov's bad moment gave "Haken" a glimmer of hope, but it was too late. The whistle blew and "Karabakh" celebrated a heavy victory. Despite the fact that Karabakh played a large part of the match with ten men, they showed great determination and skill. Both teams can be proud of their performance in this UEFA Europa League match. Karabakh's early advantage and solid defence was the decisive factor that brought them a deserved victory on home soil.
| Qarabag | Hecken | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Kicks to the goal | 5 |
| 9 | Hits | 18 |
| 0 | Blocked shots | 2 |
| 7 | Penalty kicks | 14 |
| 2 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 4 |
| 13 | Offences | 11 |
| 1 | Corner | 2 |
| 1 | Offsides | 0 |
| 44% | Ball possession | 56% |
| 0 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 1 | Red cards | 0 |
| 4 | Keeper saves | 1 |
| 368 | Total assists | 467 |
| 305 | Accurate assists | 405 |
| 83% | Accuracy of passes | 87% |