Last year, it was Qarabag doing the job; now Sabah are flying the flag for Azerbaijani football. And they are doing so without giving any Azerbaijani a reason to hang their head in shame. Although there are not many Azerbaijanis in Sabah’s squad, at least not in the starting XI. The legion of foreign players from the Masazir-based club welcomed Borussia Dortmund, put them through their paces and even frightened them in the third round of the Champions League. Sabah took the game to the German giants, played bravely and refused to accept defeat, but eventually succumbed — 1–2.Serhou Guirassy vs Sabah: 2 goals (most) 4 shots on target (most) 8 shots (most) 8 touches in opp. box (t-most) Only Mbappé and Kane have more goals than him over the last 3 UCL seasons. https://t.co/rMbQWPYQ9X— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) October 20, 2026 The Black and Yellows were playing with fire but escaped unscathed. It would have been a problem had they lost another match in which they were favourites, following their defeat to Bodo/Glimt. Niko Kovač’s men created a host of chances, but at the end of the day, they had Serhou Guirassy, their two-goal hero, to thank. He could have scored four or even five goals. However, no one will hold his misses against the Guinean, as he has scored four of Borussia’s five goals in Europe’s elite competition and secured the team’s current tally of six points. As for the hosts, they also had one African scorer, South Africa’s Aiden McCarthy.When the commenter says “ Aden McCarthy from Kaizer Chiefs ✌️, the best team in South Africa 🇿🇦…” Congratulations 🥳 to Sabah defender who scored his first goal 🥅 for Champions League against Dortmund ✌️ https://t.co/Q8G9cvIWib— Siya (@SiyaMagwaza) October 20, 2026 However, had Sabah taken their chances, Dortmund would have been left to mourn. The team, which started a Champions League match with 11 players of different nationalities for the third consecutive time, put in an excellent performance against a vastly more powerful opponent. By way of comparison, Sabah’s entire squad is valued at 19 million euros, while Dortmund have as many as 15 players worth more than that amount in their squad, not to mention Ethan Nwaneri, who is on loan from Arsenal. That did not stop Sabah from tearing around the pitch and refusing to give up, even after Guirassy opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the game, following a poor reaction from goalkeeper Pokatilov to a shot by Ramy Bensebaini. The visitors created chances both before and after taking the lead, with Guirassy usually at the centre of attention. He scored four Champions League goals last season and no fewer than 13 the season before. However, the finishing was lacking, and the home side sent the crowd at Baku’s Olympic Stadium into raptures in the 39th minute, when Timothee Puchacz delivered a free-kick straight onto the head of Aiden McCarthy.What a goal from Guirassy to give Borussia Dortmund the lead again. This makes brace for Guirassy in the game tonight, can he make it an hattrick let’s hope and see https://t.co/JbnKXCs5d7— CORTEZ (@CORTEZ__XI) October 20, 2026 Borussia Dortmund started the second half authoritatively, creating a string of chances, and in the 53rd minute, a perfect ball from Jobe Bellingham tore Sabah’s defence apart. Guirassy could not have asked for a better cross, and with his fourth goal since the start of the Champions League, he moved into a tie at the top of the scoring charts with Erling Haaland, Nicolo Tresoldi and Ermedin Demirović. Sabah still refused to give up and created one more big chance to snatch a point before the final whistle, but Orphe Mbina wasted it. The Gabonese forward found himself one-on-one with Kobel but fired an uncontrolled shot. The Black and Yellows breathed a sigh of relief, only to tremble again in the 79th minute, when Veljko Simić failed to make proper contact with the ball.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 3TuesdayFenerbahce – Slavia Praha 2-2 (2-1)/Aydin 4, Greenwood 11 – Provod 15, Kacor 90/Sabah – Dortmund 1-2 (1-1)/McCarthey 39 – Guirassy 10, 53/22.00: (1.50) Liverpool (4.80) Villareal (5.45)22.00: (1.08) Man.City (12.0) AEK (24.0)22.00: (1.75) Napoli (4.00) Bodo (4.30)22.00: (2.40) PSG (4.70) Barcelona (2.40)22.00: (1.55) Porto (4.20) PSV (5.90)22.00: (1.15) Roma (7.75) Slovan B. (16.0)22.00: (3.35) Stuttgart (3.60) Atl.Madrid (2.10)
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