Latvian champion Riga defeated North Macedonia's Vardar 5:2 at home on Tuesday after extra time, winning the tie 8:4 on aggregate. Despite the fact that the visitors were reduced to ten men in the 19th minute after Filip Najdovski's red card, it was Vardar who opened the scoring first. David Babunski scored in the 17th minute, and in the second half, Azer Omeragic doubled the visitors' lead. By the 66th minute, Riga was trailing 0:2, but the aggregate score was equalized. However, the hosts managed to save the match at the very end. In the 87th minute, Abdulrahman Taiwo reduced the deficit to a minimum, keeping the team's hopes alive. This goal proved decisive — it sent the two-legged tie into extra time. In overtime, Riga's advantage became evident. Already in the 92nd minute, Raka Auani equalized, then in the 105th minute, Yagu Siqueira put the hosts ahead, and shortly after that, a mass brawl occurred near the benches, resulting in the ejection of members of both teams' coaching staffs. After the game resumed, Riga definitively settled the question of the winner. In the 109th minute, Reginaldo Ramirez scored, and shortly before the final whistle, Kayo Ferreira struck a beautiful shot from outside the penalty area, establishing the final score at 5:2. The match turned out to be one of the most dramatic for the Latvian club in this year's European cup season. Despite playing with a numerical advantage for almost the entire match, Riga had to come from behind after conceding two goals and only managed to break the opponent's resistance in extra time. The first match in Skopje also ended with a victory for the Latvian club — 3:2, so on aggregate, Riga won 8:4. Now the team will play in the third qualifying round of the Conference League against the winner of the tie between Atert Bissen (Luxembourg) and ETO Győr (Hungary). After the first match, the Hungarian club has a comfortable lead, winning away 6:2. In addition to Riga, three other Latvian clubs — RFS, Auda, and Liepaja — continue to compete in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. They will play their return matches on Thursday. After being eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers, Riga still has a chance to reach the main stage of European cups through the Conference League. The next step for the Latvian champion will be the third qualifying round.