Four ties, and one of the strangest nights Baku has seen
Sabah entered this campaign in the first qualifying round. Four ties later they are in the Champions League league phase, and only one Azerbaijani club had ever managed that before them.
Qarabag had held that distinction alone. Sabah joined them on Tuesday by beating Hapoel Beer-Sheva 5-2 after extra time in Baku, turning a 2-1 first-leg deficit into a 6-4 aggregate win.
The night did not run in a straight line. Igor Zlatanovic put Hapoel ahead after ten minutes, which left Sabah needing three goals. Christian Nwachukwu pulled one back in the 37th. Guy Mizrahi then chipped the home goalkeeper in the 61st to restore a two-goal aggregate cushion for the visitors.
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A volley in the last seconds of normal time
Umarali Rakhmonaliev drove in Sabah’s second with sixteen minutes left, which still left them a goal short. Tellur Mutallimov found it with a volley from a corner, seconds from the end of second-half stoppage time, and the tie went to extra time level at 4-4.
Hapoel lost their discipline after that. Djibril Diop was sent off a minute before Orphe Mbina headed Sabah in front for the first time in the tie. Joy-Lance Mickels struck in the 115th minute, and Eliel Peretz followed Diop down the tunnel.
What the league phase brings to Baku
Sabah are debutants at this level of European football, and the reward is eight fixtures against a pool that already contains Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munchen, Liverpool and Inter. The draw takes place in Monaco on Thursday at 18:00 CET, with the opening round of league phase matches running from 8 to 10 September.
The financial gap those eight games close for a club of Sabah’s size is considerable. Azerbaijani football has spent most of the past decade watching Qarabag alone bank that money.
Bodo/Glimt and LASK also came through on Tuesday. Four places remain, settled on Wednesday.
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