Riga fails to advance past first Champions League qualifying round

In the second leg of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, Latvian champions Riga defeated Armenian side Ararat-Armenia 3-2 at home on Tuesday, but the aggregate score of 3-4 meant the Riga side were eliminated and will now continue in the UEFA Conference League.

Riga got off to a strong start in the return leg: Yago Siqueira opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a pass from Orlando Galo, and ten minutes later Ahmed Ankr leveled the tie on aggregate with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area. Before half-time, Galo and Salah Oulad received yellow cards.

Early in the second half, Riga goalkeeper Krisjanis Zviedris made a mistake which Zhirayr Shahoyan capitalized on to reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the match. In the 63rd minute, Sandro Lima restored the Armenian team's two-goal lead on aggregate.

With about ten minutes left in regulation time, Riga earned four consecutive corners but the visitors defended well. At the start of stoppage time, the referee awarded a penalty to Riga after a video review, which Reginaldo Ramirez converted to make it 3-2 on the night, but it wasn't enough to force extra time or win on aggregate.

In the first leg in Yerevan, Riga lost 0-2 and played a man down from the 72nd minute. As a result, Riga will drop into the UEFA Conference League Champions Path, starting from the second qualifying round.

Notably, Ararat-Armenia won the Armenian league last season for the first time since 2020, but lost the Armenian Super Cup final this spring. In the previous European season, they competed in the Conference League, beating Universitatea Cluj 2-1 on aggregate in the second round before losing 1-6 to Sparta Prague in the third round.

The Armenian domestic season has not yet started for 2026/27, while Riga are currently second in the Latvian Virsliga, one point behind leaders RFS.