But two goals from Leandro Andrade and Marko Jankovic gave Qarabag a first-half lead against Maresca’s side.
Alejandro Garnacho then scored in the second half as Chelsea got a point against the hosts.
“I feel sorry for young Hato and the fact that he made two mistakes that allowed Qarabag to score, but it wasn’t only about that,” Leboeuf told ESPN FC.
Speaking on Maresca’s decision to rotate players, Leboeuf added, “It’s nice to rotate, it’s nice to give some rest to some players, but you have to be able to make sure you can win in Azerbaijan.
“They played well for the first 15 minutes, and they scored a good goal from Estevao. But after that I didn’t see the difference between the two teams, so I feel frustrated.
“Let’s say that the players were not convinced it was an important game to play, and a draw would be enough to get through, but I was not convinced by anything today.”