Strange Phenomena in the Champions League

Pafos FC (Cyprus), Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan), Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium), and Bodo/Glimt (Norway) are the four newcomers making their debut in this season's Champions League.

In the very first round of this season’s Champions League, surprises occurred when Bodo/Glimt drew 2-2 with Slavia Prague, and Pafos earned a commendable 0-0 draw against Olympiakos. These were the first points for the two debutant clubs this season. Qarabag (Azerbaijan) caused an even bigger upset by winning 3-2 away against Benfica (Portugal), a team with a squad valued many times higher. This victory also led to the dismissal of Benfica’s head coach.

Following Qarabag’s first group stage win in Europe’s most prestigious competition, the President of Azerbaijan posted a congratulatory message on social media celebrating this historic triumph. It truly marks a landmark achievement for Azerbaijani football and sports. Qarabag’s remarkable comeback victory against one of Europe’s most traditional clubs demonstrated the team’s indomitable spirit and fierce fighting desire.

Making their first appearance in Europe’s top tournament after eight years, Qarabag quickly faced adversity by conceding two goals within 16 minutes. However, the Azerbaijani champions never gave up and came back to win 3-2. They became the first Azerbaijani club to secure a victory in the Champions League group stage.

In the next match, coach Gurban Gurbanov’s squad will host Copenhagen (Denmark) at home. Since Copenhagen is not highly rated in the Champions League, Qarabag has the potential to cause another upset.

Meanwhile, despite playing most of the match with a man down, Pafos (Cyprus) still managed an impressive 0-0 draw away against Olympiakos.

Even to global football fans, the name Pafos FC is quite unfamiliar. The club was only established just over a decade ago through the merger of two local teams, AEP Paphos and AEK Kouklia.

In the recent Champions League qualifying rounds, Pafos wrote a modern fairy tale. They successively overcame prominent clubs like Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dinamo Kiev, and Crvena Zvezda to earn a spot in the 2025–2026 Champions League qualifying round. This can be considered a miracle for the young Cypriot team.

With a rise from the Cypriot First Division to Europe’s elite competition in just 11 years, Pafos is regarded as a "strangely tinted fairy tale" in world football.

After their historic draw with Olympiakos, Pafos faces a challenging schedule, meeting very strong teams such as Bayern Munich, Juventus, Villarreal, Slavia Prague, and Monaco.

Another surprise in this round was Bodo/Glimt. The Norwegian club impressively held Slavia Prague to a 2-2 draw on the opponent’s turf.