LISBON: Benfica let slip an early two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to Qarabag in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday, with Oleksiy Kashchuk netting the Azerbaijani side’s winner four minutes from time.
The hosts looked in control when Enzo Barrenechea put them ahead in the sixth minute with a glancing header from a corner and Vangelis Pavlidis shot on the turn to double the lead 10 minutes later.
Leandro Andrade smashed a first-time shot past keeper Anatoliy Trubin, however, and Qarabag came close to drawing level when Kady Borges hit the post and Trubin made an excellent save from Marko Jankovic’s follow-up effort.
Qarabag were level three minutes after the interval when Camilo Duran ran on to a defence-splitting pass from Marko Jankovic and smacked a first-time shot into the far corner but the visitors were not done yet.
A long punt forward from the Qarabag keeper found Kashchuk just outside the area and he played a one-two with Abdellah Zoubir before stroking a shot past Trubin to stun the Estadio da Luz.
Benfica, who reached the last 16 last season, travel to Chelsea on September 30 with Qarabag hosting FC Copenhagen the next day.–Reuters
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