A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn – Georgian champions FC Iberia 1999 (Saburtalo) have won the first leg of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League qualifying round at Estonian record champions Flora Tallinn 3:2 (2:1). Three minutes after the hosts drew level at 2:2, midfielder and captain Bakar Kardava struck in the 75th minute to make it 2:3 and seal the victory. To progress – and set up a second-round tie against Slovan Bratislava – Saburtalo need at least a draw in the return leg.
Saburtalo dominate the opening exchanges
The visitors from Tbilisi dictated the tempo from the outset. In the 18th minute, Zviad Natchkebia broke the deadlock with an assist from Bedoshvili to make it 0:1. Just three minutes later, Jemali-Giorgi Jinjolava converted a penalty to double the advantage – a swift one-two punch that put Flora Tallinn firmly under pressure. The home side, led by manager Konstantin Vassiljev – who in his debut season in 2025 had delivered the club's 16th Estonian title along with the cup – could find no answer to the Georgians' aggressive approach. Vladislav Kreida pulled one back in the 28th minute to make it 1:2, though that was as much as Flora could manage before half-time. Both sides received yellow cards in the 36th minute: Bedoshvili and Demchenko for Saburtalo, Tovstik for Flora.
Red card, equaliser and a bitter counter-attack
The second half brought yet another twist: in the 60th minute, Flora's Kollo was shown a red card, leaving the hosts to see out the final 30 minutes with ten men. That they still managed to level was down to Sander Alamaa, who finished from Zenjov's pass in the 73rd minute to make it 2:2. Hope of a first-leg lead flickered back to life – but only for two minutes. Saburtalo captain and midfield driving force Bakar Kardava latched onto a pass from Kutsia and restored the lead in the 75th minute. The goal came immediately after Kutsia's introduction as a substitute for Bedoshvili in the 71st minute – a change that proved decisive for the Georgian side.
The picture ahead of the second leg
Saburtalo head into the return fixture with a precious away goal in their favour. For a club making only their third appearance in UCL qualifying – having been eliminated in the first round by Malmö last season – reaching the second round would represent a significant step forward. Flora Tallinn – the only Estonian club to have reached the group stage of a UEFA competition (Conference League 2021/22) – must win by two goals in the second leg to progress. Manager Vassiljev and his squad will face that challenge with the added burden of a potential suspension for red-carded Kollo hanging over them.
