SPORTSWORLD.AM
In the second leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, Armenian champions Ararat-Armenia played away against Slovenian Celje. The team led by Manuel Tulipa won 2:1 over their opponent at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan a week ago.
At the start of the match, Alexandros Malis could have scored the opponent's goal. The attack began after a pass from Artur Serobyan, where the Celje defender tripped, but the ball did not appear in the goal defended by Jean-Luc Kendan.
Let's add that for "Ararat-Armenia" it is enough to say even a draw or not to lose, but the one-goal advantage in the overall confrontation does not ensure victory. In the first half, "Celeje" had a territorial advantage, at the same time "Ararat-Armenia" controlled the course of the game and the confrontation, after the first half the score was not opened. Let's add that Karen Muradyan and his teammates had more real moments than "Celeje".
In the second half, “Celeje” attacks became more dangerous, developing mainly on the left flank. It seemed that “Ararat-Armenia” showed more passive football in the second half, but they learned from the confrontations with “Riga” and “Shamrock Rovers”. In the final part of the match, “Ararat-Armenia” had several moments that failed to achieve their goal and in the 83rd minute of the match, “Celeje” equalized the score of the confrontation thanks to Yaya Dukul's goal, after which two minutes later, Benjamin Verbic doubled his team's advantage in the current match (2:0) and advanced in the overall confrontation (3:2).
Thus, the champion of Armenia will continue the fight in the play-off round of the Europa League qualification. According to sportsworld.am, with its performance, Ararat-Armenia showed that Armenian clubs can compete in UEFA's most prestigious tournament.