The third round of the league phase of the 2025-2026 UEFA Champions League season has started. The Azerbaijani representative "Qarabağ" will play away against Spain's "Athletic" team on October 22.
Medianews.az reports that having won the first two games, the team from Agdam is in 8th place among 36 teams with 6 points. If they defeat the Spaniards, "Qarabağ" can equal the trio of PSG (France), Inter (Italy), and Arsenal, all with 9 points. If this happens and "Bayern" (Germany) and "Real" (Spain), who have the same points as Agdam’s team, do not win today, it is also possible for "Qarabağ" to move up to 4th place.
In the event of a draw, it is not unlikely for the Azerbaijani representative to reach the top eight.
Last season’s experience shows that it is possible to advance to the next stage with 11 points. It seems realistic for "Qarabağ" to accumulate even more points by the end.
"Qarabağ" will face England’s "Chelsea", Netherlands' "Ajax", and Germany’s "Eintracht" (Frankfurt) teams at home, and Italy’s "Napoli" and England’s "Liverpool" teams away.
According to the eight-round format, the top 8 teams qualify directly to the round of 16, while those in 9th to 24th place compete in the round of 32. When points are equal, the following criteria are used in order: goal difference, number of goals scored, number of away goals scored, number of wins, number of away wins, the indicators of the team’s round opponents (points, goal difference, goals scored), penalty points (yellow and red cards), and the team’s ranking.
Toğrul Əli,
Medianews.az
