Tiknizyan Loses His Coach and Champions League Hopes, Barseghyan Continues the Fight with Slovan

Armenian footballers Tigran Barseghyan and Nair Tiknizyan had very different outcomes in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Barseghyan's Slovan comfortably overcame Sweden's Mjällby and will continue the fight for a place in Europe's premier club competition, while Tiknizyan's Red Star Belgrade suffered two defeats and were eliminated from Champions League qualifying.

Moreover, following the Serbian club's failure, head coach Dejan Stanković left his post.

Barseghyan and Slovan Reach the Champions League Playoffs

Tigran Barseghyan still has a chance to play in the Champions League for the second time as a Slovan Bratislava player.

The Slovak club won both matches against Sweden's Mjällby. Slovan claimed a 2-0 victory in the first leg before winning the return fixture 2-1. The final aggregate score was 4-1 in favor of the Slovak champions.

Barseghyan recovered from injury, came on after the break and played the entire second half of the return leg.

Slovan will now face Slovenian side Celje in the Champions League qualifying playoffs. It was Celje who ended Ararat-Armenia's European campaign, scoring a late winner in the return leg to advance 3-2 on aggregate.

Barseghyan will therefore face the team that knocked the Armenian representative out of European competition.

Tiknizyan and Red Star Belgrade Eliminated from the Champions League

The third qualifying round ended very differently for Nair Tiknizyan.

Red Star Belgrade lost both matches against Israel's Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The Israeli champions won the second leg 2-0 after claiming a 1-0 victory in the first match despite playing with ten men. The final aggregate score was 3-0.

Armenia national team defender Nair Tiknizyan started both matches for Red Star Belgrade.

As a result, Tiknizyan has lost the opportunity to make his Champions League debut this season.

Dejan Stanković Sacked After Red Star's Champions League Exit

The disappointing qualifying campaign also led to a coaching change at the Serbian club.

Following the two defeats to Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Dejan Stanković was dismissed as Red Star Belgrade's head coach.

Despite their Champions League elimination, the European season is not over for the Belgrade club. Red Star will now continue in Europa League qualifying. In the playoffs, Nair Tiknizyan's team will face Czech side Viktoria Plzeň.

Meanwhile, Ararat-Armenia will face the winner of KuPS (Finland) vs Universitatea Craiova (Romania) in the Europa League playoffs. The winner of the tie will be decided on Thursday after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.

Champions League Third Qualifying Round Results on August 11

On Tuesday, August 11, another set of second-leg matches in the third qualifying round of the Champions League took place.

Aggregate results over the two legs:

• Kairat (Kazakhstan) — Levski (Bulgaria) — 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
• Sabah (Azerbaijan) — Aarhus (Denmark) — 5-2 (4-0, 1-2)
• Bodø/Glimt (Norway) — Union (Belgium) — 6-5 (3-2, 3-3)
• Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania) — Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) — 1-7 (1-2, 0-5)
• NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands) — Olympiacos (Greece) — 2-1 (2-1, 0-0)
• Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) — Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Israel) — 0-3 (0-2, 0-1)
• Slovan (Slovakia) — Mjällby (Sweden) — 4-1 (2-0, 2-1)
• Celje (Slovenia) — Ararat-Armenia (Armenia) — 3-2 (2-0, 1-2)
• Sturm Graz (Austria) — Fenerbahçe (Turkey) — 0-3 (0-1, 0-2)
• Lyon (France) — Sparta (Czech Republic) — 4-2 (3-0, 1-2)

Champions League Qualifying Playoff Ties

Following the conclusion of the third qualifying round, several playoff pairings have been confirmed:

• Levski (Bulgaria) — AEK (Greece)
• Celtic (Scotland) — LASK (Austria)
• Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) — Viking (Norway)
• Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Israel) — Sabah (Azerbaijan)
• NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands) — Bodø/Glimt (Norway)
• Fenerbahçe (Turkey) — Lyon (France)
• Slovan (Slovakia) — Celje (Slovenia)

The final pairing is of particular interest to Armenian football fans. Tigran Barseghyan and Slovan are now just one tie away from the next stage of the Champions League.

Nair Tiknizyan, meanwhile, will continue his European campaign in the Europa League, where Red Star Belgrade are set to face Viktoria Plzeň.