Chelsea's trip to Baku ended in disappointment when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Qarabag FK.
Despite ending a run of three consecutive away defeats in the Champions League, the Blues have yet to regain the image of a "big guy" in European competition.
Enzo Maresca's team had a difficult start when Romeo Lavia was injured after only 8 minutes of play. His replacement, Moises Caicedo, quickly left his mark with a volley going over the bar.
In the 16th minute, Andrey Santos made a smart assist for young talent Estevao to open the score for the away team.
It was thought that an early goal would open up an easy game for The Blues, but Qarabag proved the reason why they are still unbeaten at home this season.
In the 29th minute, Camilo Duran fired a shot that hit the post, creating an opportunity for Leandro Andrade to rush in to score, equalizing for the home team. Not stopping there, just a few minutes later, Jorrel Hato made a silly mistake when the ball touched his hand in the penalty area, helping Marko Jankovic successfully execute a penalty, raising the score to 2-1 for Qarabag.
Entering the second half, Chelsea rose strongly. In the 53rd minute, Alejandro Garnacho took advantage of a mistake by Qarabag's defense to equalize 2-2.
From there, the game became a breathless affair as both teams kept fighting tit for tat. Enzo Fernandez, Liam Delap and Buonanotte all had scoring opportunities but missed a narrow chance.
The extra minutes witnessed a dramatic rise as Garnacho and Kashchuk both could decide the match, but the fifth goal still did not come.
In the end, Chelsea left Qarabag's field with only 1 point and a great disappointment.
