Kairat edge Celtic on penalties to reach Champions League for the first time

Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty and Scotland’s Celtic played the return match of the playoff round in Almaty, which ended 0–0, just like the first leg in Glasgow. However, the penalty shootout went in Kairat’s favor, with goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov saving three kicks and paving the way to the main Eurocup.

Among the highlights by the Almaty team is the indirect free kick near Celtic’s goal in the 52nd minute, thanks to a mistake by Celtic’s defender Cameron Carter-Vickers. However, the opportunity was wasted, as forward Jorginho’s shot lacked power. The episode concluded with the ball striking a Celtic defender’s hand, but Italian referee Maurizio Mariani did not consider it penalty-worthy.

The visitors, by the way, stood out with more episodes. Before the break, Anarbekov pulled the ball out from under the crossbar after a header by James Forrest. Nevertheless, the clearest opportunity to decide the outcome of the two-legged tie in the second half was wasted by Daizen Maeda, who fired over Kairat’s goal from a perfect scoring position.

Kairat’s lineup was far from ideal. Alexandr Zarutskiy and Giorgi Zaria were sidelined with injuries, Dastan Satpayev was suspended, and Edmilson got injured during training. The absence of Satpayev and Edmilson was especially noticeable in overtime. When Almaty’s team ran out of energy, the visitors pinned them in their own half, leaving a load of work to Anarbekov.

Kairat’s main objective was to hold out until the penalty shootout, which they managed to do. In the decisive series, Anarbekov saved three attempts, securing a 3–2 victory.

Exactly ten years to the day after Astana reached the Champions League group stage, Kairat achieved the same feat. The group stage draw will take place on Aug. 28 in Monaco.