Chelsea survived suffering a historic loss to Qarabag through substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s second-half equaliser, avoiding the embarrassment of becoming the first English team to lose to the Azerbaijani side.
Qarabag had lost all seven of their previous matches against English opposition. The last time they played in the Champions League, they faced Chelsea and lost both matches by an aggregate score of 10-0 and secured just two points from six matches.
However, they gave the Blues a real scare at the packed 32,000-seater Tofiq Bahramov Stadium.
Chelsea who Estevao, 18, cut inside and shot low into the near post after linking well with his Brazilian team-mates Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos in the 16th minute.
Yet Enzo Maresca’s side struggled defensively with Jorrel Hato, 19, partly at fault for both first-half goals.
Qarabag striker Camilo Duran overpowered the Dutch defender when competing for a long ball, hit his shot against the post, but winger Leandro Andrade brilliantly volleyed the rebound into the goal to equalise.
Midfielder Marko Jankovic then sent Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez the wrong way from the penalty spot to give Qarabag an unlikely lead – the penalty given after Hato handled Andrade’s cross.
Garnacho equalised having come on as one of three half-time substitutes, latching on to Delap’s long ball, capitalising on a mistake from Kevin Medina and then shooting across goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski and into the corner.
The points shared leave both sides level on seven points in the 36-team league phase of the Champions League after four matches.
