Montenegro rallies late to beat Armenia 3-2 in Nations League

An own goal opened the door for Montenegro, and Aleksa Latkovic slammed it shut late in the game. In Yerevan, Armenia fell 2-3 to Montenegro in a Group C2 matchday of the UEFA Nations League, in a game that had a bit of everything: a home comeback attempt, and a visiting side sharp enough not to let it slip away.

The result leaves Montenegro atop the group with a perfect record, while Armenia sits second, 3 points back. Both sides came in having played two matches: Montenegro with two wins, and Armenia with one win and one loss.

How the scoreline unfolded

The first half was a goal fest. In the 19th minute, a ball that ended up in the wrong net gave Montenegro the lead, an own goal by Erik Piloyan. Armenia wasted no time responding, equalizing in the 33rd minute through Artur Serobyan, who finished with his left foot after a counterattack set up by Ognjen Cancarevic. The home side's joy lasted only four minutes: in the 37th minute, Nikola Krstovic fired a right footed strike from outside the box that curled into the top corner, making it 1-2 at the break.

In the second half, Armenia leveled again. In the 64th minute, Eduard Spertsyan struck a right footed shot from outside the area that slipped through the middle of the goal, off an assist from Georgi Harutyunyan, to make it 2-2. The hosts even had chances to go ahead after that, like Narek Hovhannisyan's shot that rattled the post in the 69th minute. But Montenegro had the final say: in the 88th minute, Aleksa Latkovic finished low, just inside the left post, in a goal confirmed after a VAR review, sealing the final 2-3.

The numbers behind the game

Armenia controlled more of the ball, but Montenegro was sharper in front of goal. The stats reflect a game that was close in terms of clear chances, with Montenegro making slightly better use of its opportunities:

According to our xG estimate calculated from the match's shots, Montenegro generated 1.838 expected goals compared to Armenia's 1.024, a gap that lines up with the final result: the visitors were a bit sharper on each trip into the box.

What the match leaves behind

Armenia had the chance to draw level or even flip the result late on, with Hovhannisyan's post as proof of how close it came, but the hosts lacked precision in the final third. Montenegro, on the other hand, made the most of its chances: an own goal, a stunning strike from outside the box, and a tidy finish in stoppage time were enough to secure all three points and stand alone atop the group. For Armenia, the challenge now is to keep pace with a rival that, so far, hasn't handed anyone else a single point in the standings.