Twente hosted Karabakh at the Grolsch Weste Stadium on Wednesday evening for the UEFA Conference League playoff round, and the visitors took all three points with a 1-0 victory. We had given Twente a 61 per cent chance of winning, but the match went another way entirely. By then you see what happens when a side controls the tempo but lacks the edge to finish.
Karabakh broke the deadlock in the fifty-second minute when Kady Borges found the net. Twente had already seen Robin Pröpper cautioned in the twenty-third minute, and the game grew tighter after half-time. Aske Adelgaard and Matheus Silva both picked up yellows in the twenty-eighth minute, while Daouda Weidmann and Ramiz Zerrouki followed later. Twente threw bodies forward, bringing on Marco Pjaca and Wout Weghorst together in the sixty-first minute.
The numbers tell one story, the outcome another. Twente held 61 per cent of possession and launched 152 attacks, yet their expected goals sat at just 1.07. They managed ten shots, five on target, but could only convert once. Karabakh, with 39 per cent of the ball, created fewer chances but shot with 57 per cent accuracy. Their goalkeeper made five saves against Twente's three, and the visitors registered 37 clearances to eight from the hosts.
Twente dominated in the air with fourteen successful aerial duels, but Karabakh held their ground and took their moment. The away side now advances, having proved that controlling the game doesn't guarantee progress. Twente's recent form—wins against Zwolle and Dunajská Streda, a loss to Herenwen—couldn't carry them through. Karabakh's trip to Sumgait had ended 1-3, but they responded here with something more valuable than a result: a performance that punished complacency.