# 2017–18 FK Qarabağ season

The 2017–18 season was Qarabağ's 25th Azerbaijan Premier League season, of which they were defending champions, and was their tenth season under manager Gurban Gurbanov.

## Season overview
### Transfers

Qarabağ announced their first summer signing on 6 June, Abbas Huseynov from Inter Baku, with Ukrainian goalkeeper Anton Kanibolotskiy signing a two-year contract from Shakhtar Donetsk on 24 June. In July, Qarabağ signed Jakub Rzeźniczak from Legia Warsaw and Wilde-Donald Guerrier from Alanyaspor.
Qarabağ finished off their signings for the summer with loan deals for Ramil Sheydayev, Pedro Henrique and Tarik Elyounoussi, on one-year contract from Trabzonspor, PAOK and Olympiacos respectively.

## Squad

    As of match played 21 May 2018
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Anton Kanibolotskiy | GK | (1988-05-16)16 May 1988 (aged 30) | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2017 | | 8 | 0 |
| 12 | Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev | GK | (1994-06-12)12 June 1994 (aged 23) | Sumgayit | 2015 | | 19 | 0 |
| 13 | Ibrahim Šehić | GK | (1988-09-02)2 September 1988 (aged 29) | Mersin İdmanyurdu | 2013 | 2018 | 180 | 0 |
| 89 | Nijat Mehbaliyev | GK | (2000-09-11)11 September 2000 (aged 17) | Youth team | 2017 | | 0 | 0 |
| 94 | Mammad Huseynov | GK | (1999-05-29)29 May 1999 (aged 18) | Youth team | 2017 | | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 5 | Maksim Medvedev | DF | (1989-09-29)29 September 1989 (aged 28) | Youth team | 2006 | | 359+ | 11+ |
| 14 | Rashad Sadygov | DF | (1982-06-16)16 June 1982 (aged 35) | Eskişehirspor | 2011 | | 272 | 10 |
| 21 | Arif Dashdemirov | DF | (1994-06-12)12 June 1994 (aged 23) | Gabala | 2016 | 2018 | 21 | 0 |
| 23 | Elgun Ulukhanov | DF | (1997-04-02)2 April 1997 (aged 21) | Krasnodar | 2016 | | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Ansi Agolli | DF | (1982-10-11)11 October 1982 (aged 35) | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 2012 | | 290 | 4 |
| 30 | Abbas Huseynov | DF | (1995-06-13)13 June 1995 (aged 22) | Inter Baku | 2017 | | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | Elvin Yunuszade | DF | (1992-08-22)22 August 1992 (aged 25) | Neftchi Baku | 2015 | 2018 | 74 | 3 |
| 33 | Eltun Turabov | DF | (1997-02-18)18 February 1997 (aged 21) | Youth team | 2015 | | 1 | 0 |
| 52 | Jakub Rzeźniczak | DF | (1986-10-26)26 October 1986 (aged 31) | Legia Warsaw | 2017 | | 27 | 0 |
| 55 | Badavi Guseynov | DF | (1991-07-11)11 July 1991 (aged 26) | Anzhi Makhachkala | 2012 | | 272 | 2 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 2 | Gara Garayev | MF | (1992-10-12)12 October 1992 (aged 25) | Youth team | 2008 | 2018 | 280 | 2 |
| 3 | Turan Manafov | MF | (1998-09-19)19 September 1998 (aged 19) | Youth team | 2017 | | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Rahid Amirguliyev | MF | (1989-09-01)1 September 1989 (aged 28) | Khazar Lankaran | 2015 | 2018 | 52 | 5 |
| 8 | Míchel | MF | (1985-11-08)8 November 1985 (aged 32) | Maccabi Haifa | 2015 | | 108 | 21 |
| 10 | Pedro Henrique | MF | (1990-06-16)16 June 1990 (aged 27) | loan from PAOK | 2017 | 2018 | 26 | 6 |
| 20 | Richard Almeida | MF | (1989-03-20)20 March 1989 (aged 29) | Santo André | 2012 | 2018 | 239 | 49 |
| 22 | Afran Ismayilov | MF | (1988-10-08)8 October 1988 (aged 29) | Inter Baku | 2015 | 2018 | 218+ | 30+ |
| 27 | Elçin Rəhimli | MF | (1996-06-17)17 June 1996 (aged 21) | Youth team | 2017 | | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | Nijat Suleymanov | MF | (1998-11-15)15 November 1998 (aged 19) | Youth team | 2017 | | 1 | 0 |
| 77 | Wilde-Donald Guerrier | MF | (1989-03-31)31 March 1989 (aged 29) | Alanyaspor | 2017 | | 30 | 3 |
| 91 | Joshgun Diniyev | MF | (1995-09-13)13 September 1995 (aged 22) | Inter Baku | 2015 | | 99 | 5 |
| 98 | Ruslan Hacıyev | MF | (1998-03-20)20 March 1998 (aged 20) | Youth team | 2017 | | 1 | 0 |
| 99 | Dani Quintana | MF | (1987-03-08)8 March 1987 (aged 31) | Al-Ahli | 2015 | | 104 | 28 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 11 | Mahir Madatov | FW | (1997-07-01)1 July 1997 (aged 20) | Baku | 2015 | | 90 | 23 |
| 19 | Famil Jamalov | FW | (1998-04-08)8 April 1998 (aged 20) | Youth team | 2016 | | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Zaur Fərzəliyev | FW | (1998-10-01)1 October 1998 (aged 19) | Youth team | 2017 | | 1 | 0 |
| 44 | Aghabala Ramazanov | FW | (1993-01-20)20 January 1993 (aged 25) | Inter Baku | 2017 | 2018 | 25 | 0 |
| 90 | Ramil Sheydayev | FW | (1996-03-15)15 March 1996 (aged 22) | loan from Trabzonspor | 2017 | 2018 | 19 | 1 |
| away on loan ||||||||||
| 16 | İbrahim Aslanli | DF | (1996-12-01)1 December 1996 (aged 21) | Gabala | 2016 | | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | Elshan Abdullayev | FW | (1994-02-05)5 February 1994 (aged 24) | Neftchi Baku | 2017 | | 9 | 1 |
| Left during the season ||||||||||
| 9 | Dino Ndlovu | FW | (1990-02-15)15 February 1990 (aged 28) | Anorthosis Famagusta | 2016 | 2018 | 59 | 24 |
| 18 | Tarik Elyounoussi | FW | (1988-02-23)23 February 1988 (aged 30) | loan from Olympiacos | 2017 | 2018 | 8 | 0 |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | AZE | İbrahim Aslanli (at Zira) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | AZE | Elshan Abdullayev (at Zira) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 6 June 2017 | DF | Abbas Huseynov | Inter Baku | Undisclosed |
| 24 June 2017 | GK | Anton Kanibolotskiy | Shakhtar Donetsk | Undisclosed |
| 6 July 2017 | DF | Jakub Rzeźniczak | Legia Warsaw | Undisclosed |
| 6 July 2017 | MF | Wilde-Donald Guerrier | Alanyaspor | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date to |
| 31 August 2017 | FW | Ramil Sheydayev | Trabzonspor | End of Season |
| 1 September 2017 | MF | Pedro Henrique | PAOK | End of Season |
| 1 September 2017 | FW | Tarik Elyounoussi | Olympiacos | 31 January 2018 |

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 5 June 2017 | MF | Vugar Mustafayev | Zira | Undisclosed |
| 20 June 2017 | GK | Emil Balayev | Sabail | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | DF | Azer Salahli | Sumgayit | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | FW | Vüqar Nadirov | Sabail | Undisclosed |
| 7 July 2017 | MF | Muarem Muarem | Aktobe | Undisclosed |
| 10 January 2018 | FW | Dino Ndlovu | Hangzhou Greentown | Undisclosed |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Date to | Ref. |
| 30 December 2017 | DF | | Ibrahim Aslanli | Zira | End of Season | |
| 30 December 2017 | FW | | Elshan Abdullayev | Zira | End of Season | |

### Released

| Date | Position | Name | Joined | Date |
| 20 May 2017 | MF | Ilgar Gurbanov | Gabala | 31 May 2017 |
| 1 June 2017 | GK | Bojan Šaranov | Zemun | 1 September 2017 |
| 24 May 2018 | GK | Ibrahim Šehić | BB Erzurumspor | 5 July 2018 |
| 24 May 2018 | DF | Arif Dashdemirov | Sumgayit | 6 August 2018 |
| 24 May 2018 | DF | Elvin Yunuszade | Sabah | |
| 24 May 2018 | MF | Rahid Amirguliyev | Sabail | 26 May 2018 |
| 24 May 2018 | MF | Richard Almeida | Astana | 4 July 2018 |
| 24 May 2018 | MF | Afran Ismayilov | Sumgayit | 25 June 2018 |
| 24 May 2018 | FW | Aghabala Ramazanov | Sabail | 26 May 2018 |
| 31 May 2018 | GK | Mammad Huseynov | | |
| 31 May 2018 | DF | Eltun Turabov | Sabah | |
| 31 May 2018 | DF | Elgun Ulukhanov | | |
| 31 May 2018 | MF | Turan Manafov | Sumgayit | |
| 31 May 2018 | MF | Elchin Rahimli | Sabail | |
| 31 May 2018 | FW | Elshan Abdullayev | Sabah | |
| 31 May 2018 | FW | Zaur Fərzəliyev | | |
| 31 May 2018 | FW | Famil Jamalov | Zagatala | |

## Competitions
### Premier League
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 21 May 2018. Source: See Results

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Qarabağ (C) | 28 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 65 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Gabala | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 43 | 26 | +17 | 49 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Neftçi Baku | 28 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 46 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Zira | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 44 | |
| 5 | Sumgayit | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 40 | |

### UEFA Champions League
#### Qualifying rounds
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ROM | CHE | ATM | QRB |
| 1 | Roma | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 11 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 11 | Advance to knockout phase | 3–3 | — | 1–1 | 6–0 |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 |
| 4 | Qarabağ | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 2 | | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | — |
* 1 2 Head-to-head results: Chelsea 3–3 Roma, Roma 3–0 Chelsea.

## Squad statistics

    As of Match played 21 May 2018

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Champions League | Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | UKR | Anton Kanibolotskiy | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | AZE | Gara Garayev | 35 | 0 | 16+5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | AZE | Maksim Medvedev | 34 | 1 | 20+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | AZE | Rahid Amirguliyev | 18 | 0 | 13+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Míchel | 37 | 6 | 18+5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Pedro Henrique | 26 | 6 | 15+4 | 3 | 2+1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | AZE | Mahir Madatov | 37 | 9 | 19+5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 9+2 | 1 |
| 12 | GK | AZE | Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev | 5 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | BIH | Ibrahim Šehić | 31 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | AZE | Rashad Sadygov | 26 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | AZE | Richard | 35 | 6 | 17+5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11+1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | AZE | Arif Dashdemirov | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | AZE | Afran Ismayilov | 24 | 4 | 7+6 | 2 | 2+1 | 1 | 3+5 | 1 |
| 25 | DF | ALB | Ansi Agolli | 29 | 0 | 13+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | AZE | Abbas Hüseynov | 13 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | AZE | Elvin Yunuszade | 28 | 2 | 19+1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | AZE | Eltun Turabov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | AZE | Zauer Fərzəliyev | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | FW | AZE | Aghabala Ramazanov | 10 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 |
| 52 | DF | POL | Jakub Rzeźniczak | 27 | 0 | 12+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8+3 | 0 |
| 55 | DF | AZE | Badavi Guseynov | 15 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 70 | MF | AZE | Nijat Suleymanov | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | HAI | Wilde-Donald Guerrier | 30 | 3 | 12+3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9+3 | 2 |
| 90 | FW | AZE | Ramil Sheydayev | 19 | 1 | 9+6 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 91 | MF | AZE | Joshgun Diniyev | 28 | 1 | 16+6 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 98 | MF | AZE | Ruslan Hajiyev | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | MF | ESP | Dani Quintana | 28 | 5 | 17+5 | 5 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||||
| 88 | MF | AZE | Elshan Abdullayev | 6 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left Qarabağ during the season: ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | RSA | Dino Ndlovu | 25 | 9 | 10+3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| 16 | DF | AZE | Ibrahim Aslanli | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | NOR | Tarik Elyounoussi | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 |

### Goal scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Champions League | Total |
| 1 | FW | 11 | Mahir Madatov | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Dino Ndlovu | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | MF | 20 | Richard | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | MF | 10 | Pedro Henrique | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | MF | 8 | Míchel | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | MF | 99 | Dani Quintana | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | MF | 22 | Afran Ismayilov | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | MF | 77 | Wilde-Donald Guerrier | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | DF | 32 | Elvin Yunuszade | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | 91 | Joshgun Diniyev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | DF | 5 | Maksim Medvedev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | 90 | Ramil Sheydayev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 37 | 4 | 12 | 53 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Champions League | Champions League | Total | Total |
| 2 | MF | Gara Garayev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Maksim Medvedev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Rahid Amirguliyev | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Míchel | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | Pedro Henrique | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | Mahir Madatov | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Ibrahim Šehić | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | Rashad Sadygov | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | Richard | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Arif Dashdemirov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Ansi Agolli | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 32 | DF | Elvin Yunuszade | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 44 | FW | Aghabala Ramazanov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 52 | DF | Jakub Rzeźniczak | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 55 | DF | Badavi Guseynov | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | Wilde-Donald Guerrier | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 90 | FW | Ramil Sheydayev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 91 | MF | Joshgun Diniyev | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Players who left Qarabağ during the season: ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | Dino Ndlovu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | Tarik Elyounoussi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 46 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 74 | 6 |