Athletic Club - Qarabağ FK

Athletic Club finally taste victory in this Champions League. The 3-1 win over an Qarabag that, as expected, never gave up puts the Lions back in contention to reach the next round.

It was a golden, heart-stopping victory. Ernesto Valverde's men had to recover from a mistake which gave the Azerbaijanis the advantage from the first minute. Gorka Guruzeta, with a brace, and Robert Navarro, with a curling shot into the top corner, secured the Lions' first three points of the tournament.

With San Mamés behind them, and having gone through moments of real fear, like Yuri Berchiche's clearance off the line, the Lions did what big sides usually do at key moments: they got it right.

The night got off to a bad start. In the first minute, Leandro Andrade took advantage of a defensive mix-up to put the visitors ahad. Athletic were rattled and Unai Simón had to prevent Matheus Silva from making it 0-2.

From that moment onwards, Valverde's Lions composed themselves and put their foot on the gas.

Oihan Sancet sent a shot over the bar after being played through by Alejandro Rego, and shortly afterwards, the attacking midfielder set up Guruzeta in front of goal. Kochalski's save with his right leg foreshadowed trouble, but Gorka appeared time and time again to be decisive. Rightfully earning his man-of-the-match award.

Nico Williams, Guru and Sancet came close to scoring again. To make matters worse, Iñaki Williams went off injured in the 35th minute. Four minutes later, Mikel Jauregizar split the Azerbaijani defence with a pass to Guruzeta. This time, the striker made no mistake. San Mamés went wild.

There were two further chances for Sancet and a potential penalty for Nico Williams before half-time arrived.

Athletic continued in the same vein after the break. The omnipresent Guruzeta had another opportunity and Aitor Paredes failed to score from close range.

The team was running out of steam and Valverde made a decisive triple substitution. After some magnificent passing, Robert Navarro conjured up a superb goal, curling a stunner into the top corner.

Pure quality. Navarro had struck the same shot in Dortmund, only to see it miss by millimetres.

Nerves began to get the better of Athletic, but Yuri Berchiche denied Qarabag with a goal line clearance.

Guruzeta delivered the final blow in the 87th minute, his third Champions League goal of the season.

There was only time for one more chance. Alex Berenguer was thwarted by the Polish goalkeeper.

Athletic celebrated in style with their fans.