It wasn’t supposed that the highlight of Wednesday’s Champions League would be Qarabag, but there’s no way around that. The Azerbaijani team beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 and reached ten points in the competition, after having also won at Estádio da Luz, against Benfica. Perhaps not even the rosiest dreams of the club’s fans predicted this record after seven games, with the Azerbaijan team going from a probable “punching bag” to the big surprise of the competition – they are almost guaranteed a place in the play-off access to the round of 16.
Does this paragraph of text – as well as the title – suggest anything to you, even if vague? If yes, that’s right. It is an almost exact copy of what was written here on October 1, 2025, when Qarabag had two wins in two games in the Champions League.
Logic would dictate that this record was a statistical anomaly that would eventually be reversed, but at that time there was, on the other hand, some data that suggested the now confirmed outcome. “With matches scheduled against Bilbao, Ajax and Eintracht – far from being “bogeymen” –, it is not unlikely that the Azerbaijani team will gain enough points to be well within the fight for qualification”, it was written here.
Sporting and Benfica
The combination of results this European Wednesday also dictated that in the last round there will be a commonality of interests between Benfica and Sporting. The “lions” will face Bilbao and a victory against the Basques will help rival Benfica, who are in a direct fight with the Spanish team – Benfica remain with six points and Bilbao with eight, after the victory (3-2) against Atalanta. The Italians experienced a “rollercoaster” in this round, as while they were winning they were in third place in the standings, far from 13th in which they will approach their last game.
Qarabag writing his ??????????´?????? ??
With seconds to go, he guarantees his 3rd victory and is one step away from guaranteeing passage from the League/Group Stage for the 1st time ??????#DAZNChampions #DAZNBetano pic.twitter.com/CKeftvnCVs
— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) January 21, 2026
Otherwise, there were no surprises, with Bayern beating Saint-Gilloise (2-0), Chelsea beating Paphos (1-0), Liverpool beating Marseille (3-0), Newcastle beating PSV (3-0) and Barcelona beating Slavia Prague (4-2).
This Champions League model provides the test with tremendous uncertainty until the last seconds of the final round, as there is a great balance. There are eight teams out of places play-offbut with the possibility of entering. And there are ten instead of play-offbut still hoping to enter the direct qualifying zone.
