Back-up goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov made three saves in a penalty shootout as Kairat edged past Celtic in Almaty to become the second Kazakh club in history to reach the Champions League proper.
After a forgettable tie that ended 0-0 on aggregate, 21-year-old Anarbekov stopped spot kicks from Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda to send the reigning Kazakhstan Premier League champions through.
Maeda had the best chance of regular time when the forward fired over the bar after being played through by Callum McGregor with four minutes remaining.
Was that their moment? 😱
Daizen Maeda misses a HUGE late chance to send Celtic into the UCL league phase 🫣 pic.twitter.com/xGKu12D7dV
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) August 26, 2025
Celtic vs Kairat: Champions League shootout
The first half was a drab one amid an electric atmosphere at Almaty’s Central Stadium, where most of the crowd of almost 23,000 were hoping to see Kairat emulate Astana’s achievement in 2015.
Anarbekov tipped James Forrest’s header over the bar in the only incident of note during the first half, which ended with an expected goals tally of 0.06 for Kairat and 0.1 for Celtic.
Kairat appealed for a penalty shortly after the break when Kasper Schmeichel punched Callum McGregor’s backpass at the expense of a free-kick that led to Maeda blocking Jorginho’s fierce shot, although the Japan international was adjudged to have done so legitimately.
Anarbekov made excellent saves to keep out shots by Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren during extra times as the Hoops missed out on qualification for the first time in four seasons.
Nearly a calamity for Celtic 😬
They survive a close-range indirect free kick and subsequent penalty appeal to remain level on aggregate against Almaty 👀 pic.twitter.com/pDkgY3ongh
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) August 26, 2025
Celtic starting team vs Kairat
Celtic made six changes, bringing in captain McGregor, Kieran Tierney, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Maeda and Forrest.
Celtic starting XI: Schmeichel, Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Nygren, Forrest, Maeda, Yang.
Substitutes: Sinisalo, Doohan, Simpson-Pusey, Idah, McCowan, Yamada, Osmand, Kenny, Engels, Bernardo, Murray, Donovan.
Kairat: Anarbekov, Luis Mata, Jorginho, Martynovich, Arad, D Glazer, Tapalov, Mrynskiy, Gromyko, Sorokin, Ricardinho
Substitutes: Reimov, Kalmurza, Kassabulat, Kurgin, Sadybekov, Baibek, Shirobokov, Stanojev, Gadrani, Bekbolat, Tuyakbayev, Bagdat
When is the Champions League league phase draw?
The draw will take place on Thursday, August 28 – a day after the play-off ties come to a close to decide the last teams to qualify.
The draw ceremony will start at 17:00 BST / 12:00 ET / 09:00 PT.
How to watch the Champions League draw: TV channel, live stream
The draw will be shown live and for free on UEFA.com, as well as on UEFA’s YouTube channel and BBC Sport’s website and iPlayer.
TNT Sports will also broadcast the draw via Discovery+ and YouTube.
Champions League format
In a change from the previous group stage format conducted until 2023/24, each team now plays eight matches in the league phase, all against different opponents.
Four of those matches will be at home and four away, with the opponents determined according to four seeding pots split by rankings.
Teams will play two opponents from each of those pots – one against a team from each pot at home and one away. The results decide the overall standings in one league.
The top eight sides in the table qualify automatically for the round of 16. The teams finishing in ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to reach the last 16.
Teams finishing 25th or lower are out of Europe for the season.
Champions League schedule, fixtures 2025/26
The new league phase runs until the end of January, with the play-offs in February and the rest of the knockout stage before the final taking place between March and early May.
Matchday 1: September 16-18 2025
Matchday 2: September 30 – October 1 2025
Matchday 3: October 21/22 2025
Matchday 4: November 4/5 2025
Matchday 5: November 25/26 2025
Matchday 6: December 9/10 2025
Matchday 7: January 20/21 2026
Matchday 8: January 28 2026
When is the Champions League knockout phase?
Knockout phase play-offs: February 17/18 & 24/25 2026
Round of 16: March 10/11 & 17/18 2026
Quarter-finals: April 7/8 & 14/15 2026
Semi-finals: April 28/29 and May 5/6 2026
Final: May 30 2026 (Budapest)
When are the Champions League draws?
League phase: August 28 2025
Knockout phase play-offs: January 30 2026
Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final: February 27 2026
When is the Champions League final?
The final will take place on May 30 2026 at the The Puskas Arena in Budapest, which opened in 2019 and is home to Hungary’s national team.
The arena hosted a dramatic 2022/23 Europa League final, when Sevilla beat Roma on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
