Aris march on in Champions League

Aris Limassol added another five goals to their tally against BATE Borisov for an aggregate 11-5 victory as they progressed to the third round of the Champions League qualifiers.

Aris defeated BATE Borisov 5-3 in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday evening in their debut appearance.

The Cypriots held a 6-2 advantage from the first leg when they had played at home, and the reverse fixture was played in Hungary as Belarusian teams must play at neutral venues due to their country’s involvement in the invasion of Ukraine.

The nominal home team’s three goals came from Valerie Gromyko and Denis Laptev, who both scored from the spot and Aleksandr Martynov.

Aris scored three in the first half with goals from Shavy Babicka, Yannick Gomis, and Caju before Leo Bengtsson and Mariusz Stepinksi added two more after the break.

Apart from qualifying for the next round of the Champions League, Aris secured a spot in the group stage of the UEFA Leagues.

It is a historic moment for the Limassol club, representing Cyprus in Europe for the first time ever.

Aris will face Qarabaq from Azerbaijan in the next round, with the first match away on August 9.