By SCM SPORT WRITER in Baku
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT’S European dreams were left in tatters last night as Azerbaijani kings Qarabag snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory in the freezing cauldron of Baku.
In a night of pure Champions League chaos, the German giants—playing their first game since the brutal axing of boss Dino Toppmöller—fell victim to a 94th-minute sucker punch that sent the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium into absolute meltdown.
Interim boss Dennis Schmitt thought his side had rescued a point when sub Farès Chaïbi coolly dispatched a controversial 77th-minute penalty. But the scriptwriters in Azerbaijan had other ideas.
The hosts exploded out of the blocks, needing just four minutes to draw blood.
Camilo Duran was the man on the spot, bundling home after a slick interchange between Elvin Jafarguliyev and the talismanic Abdellah Zoubir.
Frankfurt, looking leggy after a late-night arrival in the capital, hit back instantly.
Turkish sensation Can Uzun reminded everyone why he’s one of Europe’s hottest properties, curling a delicious 16-yard effort into the bottom corner just seven minutes later.
After a cagey second half that saw Nathaniel Brown limp off with a nasty-looking knee injury, the game caught fire in the final fifteen minutes.
77 min: Chaïbi drills home from the spot to give Frankfurt a 2-1 lead they barely deserved. 80 min: Duran again!
The Colombian striker silenced the travelling Germans just three minutes later, bursting into the box to smash home his second of the night.
94 min: With the referee’s whistle practically in his mouth, Bahlul Mustafazada became the national hero.
The defender rose highest to meeting Matheus Silva’s desperate cross, nodding home to seal a historic win.
The result leaves Frankfurt rooted to the bottom of the table and searching for a permanent manager to sweep up the mess of a disastrous continental campaign. For Qarabag, the “Horsemen” ride on, their knockout dreams very much alive.
