Ararat-Armenia beat Riga in the first Champions League qualifying match

Ararat-Armenia made a successful start to the 2026/27 Champions League qualifying campaign. In the first leg of the first qualifying round, the Armenian club defeated Latvia’s Riga 2-0 at home.

Hugo Oliveira and team debutant Carlos França scored the goals for the Armenian champions.

Ararat-Armenia’s head coach chose a 4-3-3 formation. One of the unexpected decisions was to use Hugo Oliveira in central midfield, although he usually plays as a full-back. The Portuguese player handled his new role very well and opened the scoring in the second half.

The first half was evenly contested and ended without goals. After the break, Ararat-Armenia improved, pressed more actively, moved better without the ball and created more pressure near the opponent’s goal. This led to a series of corner kicks, one of which resulted in a goal in the 63rd minute: after a delivery and a battle inside the box, Hugo Oliveira sent the ball into Riga’s net.

The key moment came in the 72nd minute. After a clearance from an Ararat-Armenia defender, the ball flew toward the Latvian side’s goal, and Riga goalkeeper Frenks Orols misjudged his run out and handled the ball outside the penalty area. The referee showed the goalkeeper a red card, leaving the visitors with ten men.

With a numerical advantage, Ararat-Armenia continued to press and scored their second goal late in the match. New signing Carlos França finished the attack technically after a pass from Edgar Grigoryan and sealed the final score — 2-0.

This victory gives Ararat-Armenia a solid advantage ahead of the return leg, which will take place on July 14 in Riga. The winner of this tie will face the winner of Floriana of Malta vs Shamrock Rovers of Ireland in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

Champions League, first qualifying round

First leg

Ararat-Armenia — Riga — 2-0

Goals: Hugo Oliveira, 63; Carlos França, 86.
Red card: Frenks Orols, 72.

Ararat-Armenia lineup
Two new players and Sandro Lima started the match, while Carlos França and Bruno Wilson made their debuts as substitutes.

Joao Bravim — Kamo Hovhannisyan, Junior Bueno, Alexandru Malis, 44 Bruno Wilson, Edgar Grigoryan — Hugo Oliveira, Alvin Tera, Karen Muradyan — Artur Serobyan, Zhirayr Shaghoyan, Sandro Lima.