Football: Poland’s Raków beat Azerbaijan’s Qarabağ in Champions League qualifier

Polish football champions Raków Częstochowa have defeated Qarabağ Agdam of Azerbaijan 3-2 in the first leg of the second qualifying round for this season’s Champions League.

Raków Częstochowa's Łukasz Zwoliński (right) in action against Quarabag Agdam of Azerbaijan in their Champions League second qualifying round, first leg match in Częstochowa, southern Poland, on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

PAP/Waldemar Deska

Sonny Kittel scored the winning goal for Raków in injury time at their home ground in Częstochowa on Wednesday night, the meczyki.pl website reported.

❗️ WYGRYWAMY W PIERWSZYM MECZU! 🔥

Rewanż za tydzień w Azerbejdżanie!#RCZQAR pic.twitter.com/YyFONfoKDz

— Raków Częstochowa 🥇 (@Rakow1921) July 26, 2023

The Polish champions had taken a two-goal lead thanks to an own goal and a strike from Fabian Piasecki.

Redon Xhixha then scored  twice for the Azerbaijani champions to make it 2-2, before Kittel, making his debut, won the game for Raków in the 91st minute.

Nazywam się Sonny. Sonny Kittel. pic.twitter.com/HXP5WP44UN

— TVP SPORT (@sport_tvppl) July 26, 2023

To qualify for the Champions League group stage, Raków need to eliminate Qarabağ Agdam and two other rivals, Poland's PAP news agency reported.

Raków in May won the Polish premier league championship for the first time, while heavyweights Legia Warsaw, the most successful Polish football club in history, finished runners-up.

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Source: TVP Sport, uefa.com, meczyki.pl