Celtic were knocked out of the Champions League after losing 3-2 on penalties to Kairat Almaty. Here are five things 67 Hail Hail learned from the embarrassing defeat.
Kairat hold their nerve during penalty shootout
It should never have got to the lottery of a penalty shootout given the difference in quality between the two sides – but it did.
Kairat scored three penalties to Celtic’s two and thus progressed to the league phase of the Champions League, while the Hoops will be in the hat for the Europa League draw.
Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda missed the spot-kicks which ultimately sent Celtic out, but victory should have been wrapped up well before that.
Awful game devoid of Champions League quality
Kairat should be applauded for getting into the Champions League. They were resolute, resilient and organised. However, they are a very poor team in an attacking sense.
For most of the second leg, they sat in and soaked up a lot of Celtic pressure. But again, like the first leg, the Bhoys were far too slow in their movement and passing to break them down.
Yang started and was ineffective, while Maeda is having a shocking start to the season. The Japanese star had the best chance of the 90 minutes but skied the effort over the bar.
Celtic were feeble and meek, despite having the players on the park to beat Kairat across both legs.
Kairat Almaty missed indirect free-kick from six yards out
The craziest moment of the game in Almaty was Callum McGregor’s back-pass to Kasper Schmeichel, which resulted in an indirect free-kick six yards from the goal line.
Schmeichel punched the ball twice as he could do nothing else to clear the ball away from goal, so the referee – by the laws of the game – had to make the decision.
Kairat missed their opportunity as Maeda rushed out to make a block, but it was a scary and almost embarrassing moment for Celtic.
Celtic board and Brendan Rodgers equally culpable
One shot on target for the whole 90 minutes was just completely unacceptable from Celtic. They offered more of a threat in extra-time by making the Kairat goalkeeper work, but it wasn’t to be.
Fans will direct most of their anger to the board, and that is justified, because the current squad were underprepared for this, particularly in the attacking department.
But Brendan Rodgers had enough at his disposal to win this tie. He told the press on Monday that Celtic have no excuses if they don’t go through. It falls on him and the board equally.
Celtic have regressed across 2025
This was Celtic’s worst performance of the year by a mile. Almost 190 days ago, the team were going toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich in the knockout phase play-offs of the Champions League.
Now, they can’t beat a side who are sat 311th in the UEFA club coefficient rankings. The squad is far worse than it was last season and that has been proven tonight.
Celtic are about to sign Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Marcelo Saracchi, but it’s far too late. How will this impact the last few days of the transfer market?
Celtic will now play in the Europa League, so will potential targets be put off joining?
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
