“Riga” played a draw 1: 1 (0: 1) at home with “Malmo”, which won 2: 1 in the sum of two games.
The people of Riga will continue the Eurocup season in the newly formed UEFA Conference League, where they will have to meet in the second round of qualifying with the Northern Macedonia club Tetova “Škendija”. “Riga” ‘s next opponents “Škendija” lost “Mura” from Slovenia in the first round of UEFA Champions League qualification in the sum of two games with 0: 5.
The first 15 minutes went without dangerous scoring moments, but there were more opportunities in the attack “Malmo”, who also controlled the ball much more often. In the 18th minute Roberts Ozols left the field and played safely in a situation where Antonio Mirko Čolaks could score the first goal of “Malmo”.
The guests also actively attacked in the middle of the half, but Ritvars Rugins, Antonijs Chernomordijs and several other “Riga” players regularly blocked or knocked out the balls in the center of the field, which the guests were trying to deliver to the penalty area.
Ozols capitulated for the first time in the 33rd minute. “Malmo” took advantage of several quick passes from his defensive zone to Cholaka. Chernomordy did not reach the pass, which allowed Čolak to take a precise shot in the lower left corner of the goal. Four minutes later, on the other side of the field, with a shot from the narrow angle of the “Malmo” goal, the man of “Riga” from Finland, Mikael Soisalo, was looking to beat him.
Six minutes before the end of the first half, the Rigans managed to successfully defend after a free kick near their penalty area. The home team also tried to jeopardize the opponents’ goal in the last minutes, but the first 45 minutes ended with a minimal loss.
Jean Baptist Leo came in to finish the match. 53 minutes into the game, Jean Baptist Leo came close to leveling the score with a dangerous shot from the center of the area that went just over the bar. The attacker was ahead of the defender, who stumbled upon him later, but the head referee of the game decided that no penalty should be awarded.
57 minutes into the match Soisalo’s Ivans Paurevičs head butted an opponent nastily, and so the referee sent him off immediately. Later, adjustments were made to the game protocol, declaring Chernomoridy the author of the “gola”. Three minutes later, “Malmo” went on the attack. Čolaks came close to extending their lead as Ozolu delivered a low effort on goal from the right after 80 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting.
At the beginning of the last 30 minutes, Malmo were awarded a penalty that kicked the ball into the net and put the ball into the back of the net without any difficulty. The oak remained unbeatable. In the 70th minute, Ozols jumped to the left side of the “Malmo” player’s shot and was able to repel the dangerous shot.
Just over ten minutes into the game, Edgars Babajans was a hair’s breadth away from giving Leo the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by Leo saved the home team that time. Kulem Mbombo’s fine footwork caused nothing but headaches for Kulem Mbombo. The keeper wasn’t fooled however, and confidently scooped up the ball. Thus, the Rigans had the best opportunity to pull out extra time.
In the first match in Sweden “Riga” after the rejection of Junusa Muritala in the 41st minute gave way to the Swedish champion “Malmo” with 0: 1 (0: 0). Antonio Mirko Čolaks was the scorer.
In the meantime, between the two games, “Riga” have been without matches, while “Malmo” beat the bottom end of the tournament table from Uppsala “Sirius” on their field 4: 0 on Saturday. Cholak, Sirens Riks, Veljko Birmančevičs and Anders Kristiansen scored one goal each.
Malmo is in first place with 23 points in 11 games, although Stockholm’s Djurgarden has fewer points to lose, scoring 21 points in ten games.
Meanwhile, “Riga” takes the second place in the Latvian championship with 32 points in 16 games, two points behind the RFS, which has two fewer matches. “Valmiera” also has 32 points, but the game is reserved.
“Malmo” has won the Swedish championship for the 21st time in general, winning the last cup last year. The team also has 14 Swedish Cups and two Super Cups. Meanwhile, “Riga” is the Latvian champion of the last three seasons and the winner of the 2018 National Cup.
On Monday, “Riga” announced that they had strengthened their line-up with 26-year-old Kosovo national team midfielder Besar Halimi, but he was not yet allowed to represent the new club in this match. If a footballer had joined the “Riga” team before the first match with “Malmo”, he would have had the opportunity to go on the field on Tuesday.
The Malmö team has played a total of 78 games in the UEFA Champions League in various phases, with 28 victories. Last season, the Swedish club reached the last round of the qualifying tournament in the UEFA Europa League, in which it lost 1: 3 to the Spanish team “Granada”.
“Riga” has participated in UEFA tournaments in a total of 14 games, winning four of them.
Last season, Riga lost 0: 2 to the Israeli club Maccabi in the first round of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, but then lost to Glasgow’s Celtic 0: 1 in the third round of the European League qualifiers.
Before this season, the two teams had not played against each other.
A month ago, the reins of the “Riga” team were taken over by the former “Metta” co-driver Andris Riherts. Malmo has been run by Jonas Dāle Tomasons since last year.
The next round of the qualifying tournament will be reached by the team that wins the sum of two games.
The first round of the qualifying tournament will take place on July 13 and 14. The teams that lose in the first round of the qualifying tournament will continue to participate in the Eurocups in the second round of the recently established UEFA European Conference League qualifying tournament.
The UEFA Champions League Main Event will feature 32 teams, some of which will have won four qualifying rounds.
–
