Ararat-Armenia Advance to the Champions League Third Qualifying Round

Ararat-Armenia have progressed from the second qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League. Manuel Tulipa’s side lost the second leg 2-1 to Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers but secured a 3-2 aggregate victory.

The result guarantees Ararat-Armenia at least a place in the league phase of the UEFA Conference League. The Armenian club also remain in contention for a place in the main stages of either the Champions League or the Europa League. The team have therefore secured European football for the autumn.

The second leg proved extremely difficult for the Armenian representatives. Ararat-Armenia had won the first match at home 2-0, but they were already two goals behind by the 35th minute of the away fixture. Shamrock Rovers pressed aggressively from the opening minutes and levelled the aggregate score through goals from Matthew Healy and Aaron Greene.

The match became more balanced after the break, with Ararat-Armenia gradually taking control. Manuel Tulipa’s first substitution produced an immediate result: Carlos França replaced Artur Serobyan, made an excellent run and set up Sandro Lima, who scored the crucial goal.

It was the 35-year-old striker’s third goal in the current Champions League campaign. Lima has now scored in three consecutive matches. His goal in the tie against Riga had also proved decisive.

In the third qualifying round, Ararat-Armenia will face Slovenian champions Celje. After two draws, the Slovenian club defeated Albania’s Egnatia in a penalty shootout.

Shamrock Rovers will continue their European campaign in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, where they will face Egnatia.

Ararat-Armenia Line-up

João Bravim — Hugo Oliveira (Luis Felipe, 90+2), Júnior Bueno, Bruno Wilson, Alexandros Malis, Edgar Grigoryan — Maxence Carlier (Ayvazyan, 86), Karen Muradyan — Artur Serobyan (Carlos França, 73), Zidan Banjaki (Shaghoyan, 86) — Sandro Lima (Ndour, 90+2).