Ararat-Armenia Lose to Jagiellonia in Europa League Despite Early Goal as Tulipa Takes Responsibility for Defeat

Yerevan-based Ararat-Armenia suffered their second consecutive defeat in the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The Armenian champions lost 3-1 away to Poland's Jagiellonia Białystok on Matchday 2. Following the match, head coach Manuel Tulipa admitted that individual mistakes had determined the outcome and took full responsibility for the defeat.

The match took place on October 15 at Chorten Arena in Białystok. Despite playing away from home, Ararat-Armenia started brightly, looked to control possession and opened the scoring in the 11th minute.

Zidane Banjaki reacted quickly inside the opposition penalty area and found the back of the net to put the Armenian side ahead, 0-1.

However, Manuel Tulipa's team were unable to hold on to their advantage. Just two minutes later, Kamil Jóźwiak capitalized on defensive mistakes to equalize for the hosts.

Towards the end of the first half, Jagiellonia launched a successful counterattack. Defender Rodrigo Conceição scored to give the Polish side a 2-1 lead.

Ararat-Armenia's situation became even more difficult early in the second half when Ousmane Sow added a third goal for Jagiellonia, establishing the final score of 3-1.

Despite Ararat-Armenia's attempts to get back into the game, they were unable to change the result.

The Armenian champions therefore remain without a point after two matches. In their opening league-phase fixture, they suffered a 4-1 home defeat against Sparta Prague.

Manuel Tulipa: "We Should Not Have Lost This Match"

Speaking after the game, Ararat-Armenia head coach Manuel Tulipa expressed his disappointment with the result, emphasizing that his team had not been inferior to their opponents in terms of overall performance but had made costly mistakes at crucial moments.

"We were the team trying to play good football. We had more shots and more possession. But small mistakes in the details proved decisive. We lost because we made errors at key moments.

I am convinced that we should not have lost this match. Our opponents were no better than us. However, at this level, mistakes are not forgiven, and ultimately we suffered a defeat.

I am not going to shift the blame onto anyone else. I take full responsibility for this defeat. But these kinds of individual mistakes must not happen again," the Portuguese coach said.

"After Our Goal, the Players Couldn't Hear Me Because of the Stadium Noise"

Tulipa also discussed the moments following Banjaki's early goal. According to the coach, his players should have adopted a more pragmatic approach, particularly during a period when they were temporarily down to ten men.

"Today, when we were leading 1-0, I was trying to give instructions to the players, but the stadium was so noisy that they couldn't hear me.

I always emphasize how important it is to maintain our playing identity and control possession. However, there are situations when you simply need to clear the ball into the opposition's half instead of making things unnecessarily complicated.

After scoring, we played with ten men for a while. In that situation, we needed to keep things simple and clear the ball as far away from our goal as possible."

The coach also acknowledged that his team had struggled to play out from the back under pressure from Jagiellonia.

"I particularly want to highlight the period when we found it extremely difficult to get past the opponent's first line of pressing. That cost us dearly."

"This Is Another Lesson That Will Help Us Become Stronger"

Despite the disappointing result, Tulipa believes his players must use the experience to continue developing as a team.

"First of all, I was watching the players because I wanted to assess their reaction to what was happening.

This is another important lesson that will help us grow and develop as a team. The players need to analyze what we did well and what didn't go according to plan.

We must make the most of this experience and apply the lessons we have learned when we play in Yerevan.

Playing every three days is not easy. Physical fatigue builds up. But both the players and I will do everything possible to make sure these mistakes are not repeated."

Tulipa Explains Ararat-Armenia's Starting Lineup Changes

The Portuguese coach also commented on his selection decisions, particularly the choice between Carlier and Muradyan, as well as Malis's absence from the starting lineup.

"With such a demanding schedule, squad rotation is inevitable. We have to consider not only the Europa League matches but also the Armenian league.

Carlier and Muradyan have different playing characteristics. Carlier is particularly good at delivering long passes from deep positions, while Muradyan plays more aggressively and is strong in physical duels.

For this particular match, Carlier was better suited to our tactical objectives.

As for Malis, he had been ill and participated in only one of our last five training sessions. That is why he was not included in the starting lineup."

Ararat-Armenia's Next Europa League Match

Ararat-Armenia will return to Yerevan for Matchday 3 of the Europa League league phase, where they will host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar on October 22.

After two consecutive defeats, the Armenian champions need to start collecting points to improve their position in the overall standings.

2026/27 UEFA Europa League — League Phase, Matchday 2

Jagiellonia Białystok (Poland) 3-1 Ararat-Armenia (Armenia)

Goals: Kamil Jóźwiak (13'), Rodrigo Conceição, Ousmane Sow — Zidane Banjaki (11').

Venue: Chorten Arena, Białystok, Poland.