Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Qarabag v Eintracht Frankfurt - Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan - January 21, 2026 Qarabag players celebrate after the match REUTERS/Aziz Karimov
BAKU, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Qarabag's Bahlul Mustafazade scored a late winner to keep his side's hopes of a Champions League playoff place very much alive in a 3-2 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday, while the German side are out of the competition.
Qarabag are 17th in the standings on 10 points while Frankfurt, who sacked manager Dino Toppmoeller at the weekend, are 33rd on four points. The top eight in the standings advance to the last 16, with the next 16 going into the playoffs.
The hosts flew into a fourth minute lead after Frankfurt keeper Kaua Santos parried away Leandro Parade's effort from close range and Camilo Duran was there to bundle the rebound over the line.
Frankfurt drew level six minutes later, Can Uzun stealing possession from Pedro Bicalho at the edge of the Qarabag area before advancing into the box and drilling his shot into the bottom corner.
Qarabag had the better of the chances to retake the lead before the break, while the second half was a cagier affair until Frankfurt were awarded a penalty which substitute Fares Chaibi converted 12 minutes from time.
It took Qarabag all of two minutes to equalise, with Elvin Jafarguliyev playing a pass into the six-yard box to give Duran the simplest of tap-ins. With the last kick of the game, Mustafazade smashed home the winner from close range.
Both sides face Premier League opposition on the final matchday of the league phase next Wednesday, with Qarabag away to Liverpool and Frankfurt hosting Tottenham Hotspur.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
