Match Pictures | Matches: 2025 – 2026
Trivia
- KO: 20:00 UK time, TNT Sport TV
- Champions League Playoff 1st leg of 2
- Kairat Almaty are from Kazkhstan; currently top of their league.
- Tickets £39 plus booking fee stuff! Bit steep, but across this comp inflated prices are sadly the standard, and Celtic’s are not the most expensive.
- Bournemouth signed ex-Celt & Liverpool winger Ben Doak for initial £20m with a further £5m in add-ons. Celtic may bank a seven-figure sum acc to certain reports.
- Frustration led some small sections of the support to start singing “Sack the Board”!
- Green Brigade criticise New Stadium Security Clampdown. North Curve Celtic NCC fired back online after new crowd control measures were put in place for the first time during last Friday’s match v Falkirk.
- Inverness CT in talks with Celtic regarding possible cooperation agreement this season.
- Hayato Inamura told by Brendan Rodgers he is not yet ready to play in the Champions League.
- Rodgers reaches 800 games in management milestone
- Reports:
- Celtic-linked striker Giuseppe Ambrosino to remain at Napoli until the seriousness of teammate Romelu Lukaku’s injury is determined.
- Former Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy has his “heart set” on a move to Celtic and a reunion with Brendan Rodgers as he targets playing on until he is 40!
- Feyenoord attacker Calvin Stengs, 26, is of interest to Celtic.
- Celtic have reportedly agreed a 4.5m deal in principle to sign Balikwisha, issues on the player’s side were delaying the transfer.
- Rapid Wien given ‘green light’ to sign Marco Tilio on perm deal.
- Transfers in: Kieran Tierney (free from Arsenal, 27 May 2025); Ross Doohan signed on a three-year deal. Isaac English from Morton; Benjamin Nygren undisclosed fee from Nordsjaelland (est €1.5/£1.3m); Callum Osmand development fee from Fulham; Hayato Inamura from Albirex Niigata fee £~250k; Shin Yamada est £1.2m from Kawasaki Frontal; Jahmai Simpson-Pusey from Man City, 1 year loan (no purchase option);
- Transfers out: Scott Bain released on a free, moved to Falkirk; Daniel Cummings (£300k, pre-contract signed last Jan with West Ham); Joey Dawson (free to Scunthorpe); Matt Anderson to KV Kortrijk (Belgium, Free); Maik Nawrocki year loan deal to German side Hannover 96 with purchase clause; Lagerbielke to Braga (est up to £2.7m with 10% sell on clause); Lenny Agbaire to Rotherham (free); Luis Palma to Lech Poznan on loan with purchase option; Kyle Ure to Ayr Utd on loan; Ben McPherson season-long loan move to Partick Thistle;
Summary
“We’re disappointed with the result and first-half performance. We didn’t start with the intent and mentality we wanted to. We were quite passive.
“We weren’t moving as a team as we would like. The second half was better, we started well but couldn’t find the breakthrough in the final third of the pitch.
“Of course, you want to take the advantage. I’ve been here before, having drawn 0-0 in a qualification game – against Rosenborg, a very good team. We went there to qualify and we did, played very well and won.
“There’s no doubt we can go there and win. Of course, you want to take an advantage with you, it’s still very much in the balance.”
“We need to improve the squad. There’s been clarity around that for a long time. Supporters see that. We do in football. We need to improve.
“This is a performance club. That starts on the field. You do that by getting the very best players you possibly can to allow you to perform. To play a style that excites supporters.
“Hopefully between now and the end of the season, the club will get that and that will support us.
“It’s not my decision in the end. I can prepare the team, the staff, and the players that are here who have been fantastic in pre-season. We are all clear on where we need to improve, and for whatever reason we haven’t been able to do that.
“We’re in this position, we have to accept that and not dwell on it, and try and come through it.”
“What I do know is, over many years, ‘sack the board’ usually means ‘sack the manager’. It’s normally the manager that goes when that starts to be sung,” he says.
“I can only really look at the players we have here, and the performance. We’ve known for a long time what we’ve needed as a squad, so I don’t want to go into that.
“At the end of the game, we have to shuffle things about to try and make it work. But the players’ endeavour in the second half was really good. But at this level, it’s more than that.
“Hopefully we can show that. The boys are a great bunch of lads, really honest. They’ve started the season well, defensively been strong, but tonight offensively we couldn’t show those moments of quality to break through.”Brendan Rodgers post-match
Johan Mjallby
Former Celtic defender and assistant manager on TNT Sports
Celtic didn’t create enough clear-cut chances for me to say they should have won the game, despite having more possession. Kairat defended so well, too.
Rodgers has clearly said this group, playing these two games, are good enough.
They will have another competitive game in their legs [at the weekend] so maybe they will be fitter.
They can take confidence from some of their away games last season – not against Dortmund – and maybe Rodgers needs to be a bit more pragmatic for it.
BBC:
Celtic will need to be a whole lot better in Almaty next week if they’re to make it through to the Champions League.
In truth, the Parkhead side offered little to worry a well-organised Kairat side who showed just why they were able to get the better of three other sides on their qualifying journey thus far.
Will the Scottish champions become their fourth victims?
Almaty had the better of the chances, with the sole exception of the huge opportunity spurned by Daizen Maeda.
It was an effort that summed up Celtic’s night – lacking in conviction, lacking in intensity, lacking in quality.
It will take a big performance next week to get through, and the home fans booed on the full-time whistle. Then came the ‘sack the board’ chants for good measure.
At this stage, are Celtic losing their gamble not to strengthen more before the Champions League play-off?
El Salto of KDS:
No other way to dress that up
It was a fecking embarrassment
No goal threat, no tactical plan, lost every 50/50 ball, players not moving into space to make themselves available especially at throw ins
Defence was a collection of nervous wrecks from minute one, midfield totally lost
I don’t really think anyone is exempt from criticism tonight, but ffs, Idah was just dreadful, as was the captain, Hatate and Maeda.
The manager shouldn’t escape the flak either, he was totally schooled by his counterpart
As for Lawwell and Co, feck knows how they can sleep at night
Tie isn’t over, but clearly we are very unlikely to progress, especially with another performance like that.
Not fecking happy at all.
Inside The SPFL @AgentScotland · 1h Ending a UCL Play-Off first leg that’s hanging by a thread with Scales, Ralston, Yamada, and Yang (who actually played well at LW) highlights how inept Celtic’s recruitment has been over a number of years, it was a piss poor starting XI that had even less quality on the bench.
Teams
Celtic
Manager: Brendan Rodgers
Formation: 4 – 3 – 3
01 K. Schmeichel
63 K. Tierney 31′, Yellow Card at 31mins, subbed for A. Trusty at 76mins
05 L. Scales
20 C. Carter-Vickers
02 A. Johnston, subbed for A. Ralston at 35mins
41 R. Hatate
42 C. McGregor (c), Captain26′, Yellow Card at 26mins
08 B. Nygren, subbed for S. Yamada at 77mins
38 D. Maeda
09 A. Idah, subbed for Yang Hyun-Jun at 46mins
49 J. Forrest, subbed for A. Engels at 70mins
Subs:
27 A. Engels
28 Paulo Bernardo
24 J. Kenny
14 L. McCowan
47 D. Murray
19 C. Osmand
56 A. Ralston
04 J. Simpson-Pusey
12 V. Sinisalo
06 A. Trusty
18 S. Yamada
13 Yang Hyun-Jun
Goals:
Assists:
Kairat
Manager: Rafael Urazbakhtin
Formation: 4 – 2 – 3 – 1
01 A. Zarutskiy, subbed for T. Anarbekov at 75mins
20 E. Tapalov
80 E. Sorokin
14 A. Martynovich (c), Captain6′, Yellow Card at 6mins
24 A. Mrynskiy
18 D. Glazer 31′, Yellow Card at 31mins
15 O. Arad
09 D. Satpaev 90′-10, Yellow Card at 90mins plus 10
07 Jorginho
55 V. Gromyko
26 Edmilson, subbed for Ricardinho at 83mins
Subs:
77 T. Anarbekov
89 R. Bagdat
17 O. Baybek
44 L. Gadrani
82 S. Kalmurza
04 D. Kasabulat
05 L. Kurgin
06 A. Sadybekov
25 A. Shirobokov
33 J. Stanojev
99 Ricardinho
Goals:
Assists:
Referee Espen Eskås
Video Assistant Referee Dennis Higler
Assistant Referee 1 Jan Erik Engan
Assistant Referee 2 Anders Dale
Fourth Official Marius Hansen Grotta
Assistant VAR Official Erwin Blank
Att:
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Overall possession
Celtic 74.6% Kairat 25.4%
Celtic 0.5354 Kairat 0.4776
Shots
Celtic 11 Kairat 8
Shots
Shots on target
Celtic 3 Kairat 0
Shots on target
Total touches inside the opposition box
Celtic 30 Kairat 12
Goalkeeper saves
Celtic 0 Kairat 3
Goalkeeper saves
Fouls committed
Celtic 12 Kairat 9
Fouls committed
Corners
Celtic 15 Kairat 3
Corners
In-depth match stats
Attack
Shots
Celtic 11 Kairat 8
Shots
Shots on target
Celtic 3 Kairat 0
Shots on target
Shots off target
Celtic 3 Kairat 5
Shots off target
Attempts out of box
Celtic 5 Kairat 4
Attempts out of box
Hit woodwork
Celtic 1 Kairat 0
Hit woodwork
Total offsides
Celtic 0 Kairat 3
Total offsides
Expected
Celtic 0.5354 Kairat 0.4776
xG from open play
Celtic 0.216 Kairat 0.331
xG from open play
xG from set play
Celtic 0.3193 Kairat 0.1466
xG from set play
Celtic 1.06223 Kairat 0.451968
Distribution
Total passes
Celtic 698 Kairat 235
Total passes
Pass accuracy %
Celtic 87 Kairat 61.7
Pass accuracy %
Backward passes
Celtic 120 Kairat 35
Backward passes
Forward passes
Celtic 214 Kairat 109
Forward passes
Total long balls
Celtic 19 Kairat 67
Total long balls
Successful final third passes
Celtic 191 Kairat 28
Successful final third passes
Total crosses
Celtic 31 Kairat 8
Total crosses
Defence
Total tackles
Celtic 10 Kairat 17
Total tackles
Won tackle %
Celtic 60 Kairat 70.6
Won tackle %
Fouls committed
Celtic 12 Kairat 9
Fouls committed
Total yellow cards
Celtic 2 Kairat 3
Total yellow cards
Total clearances
Celtic 18 Kairat 33
- Kairat have already played six matches to reach this stage and have travelled 3,500 miles to make their first Celtic Park appearance.
- They defeated Slovan Bratislava on penalties in the previous round – a side Celtic thrashed in the league phase last year.
- Four-time champions of Kazakhstan, they won their division last year and are currently second, only on goal difference, having played 20 games of their league current campaign.
- This is Kairat’s third Champions League campaign and they are yet to qualify. They lost in the first qualifying round in 2005-06 and in the second qualifying round in 2021-22.
- Their only participation in a Uefa group stage/league phase was in the 2021-22 Conference League, when they finished bottom of their section after two draws and four defeats.
- They have never won an away Champions League qualifier (D2, L4) – conceding 14 goals across those six matches.
- Head coach Rafael Urazbakhtin was his hometown club’s assistant manager before taking the top job in September last year.
Articles
Manager: We know we can and will play better
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/august/20/manager–we-know-we-can-and-will-play-better/
First Team
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
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20 Aug 2025, 11:01 pm
It was a night of frustration for Celtic as they drew 0-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off tie against FC Kairat.
The Hoops now face a long and tricky trip to Kazakhstan for the second leg next week, but Brendan Rodgers still believes his side has what it takes to progress to the league phase of the competition.
Speaking after tonight’s game, the Celtic manager said: “We wanted better. It didn’t quite go for us, how we would have planned, but we’re still very much in the tie.
“We defended okay, but I was disappointed with the first-half. We started the game with the belief and the intensity that we would want and we looked like we were waiting on the game too much and weren’t moving as a team, weren’t intense enough – so all the things that we wanted to be.
“The second half was much better but we just lacked that little bit in the final third of the pitch.
“But I’ve been here before when we drew 0-0 with Rosenborg and then went away and played really well and got into the next round, so we’re more than capable of going there and winning the tie, but it would have been nice to take an advantage with us.
“I don’t think we can play any worse than we did in the first-half. I think, second half, we were much better and, of course, you’re going to have little moments, but in the main we could dominate the game and dominate the ball.
“They’re a team who are set up well, they’re organised well and they press in those moments, but we just need to have that belief, especially when we arrive into the final third of the pitch.”
Before that trip to Kazakhstan, however, the Hoops are in domestic action on Saturday when they play host to Livingston.
And having kicked off the defence of their Premiership title with wins over St Mirren and Aberdeen, the aim is to take another three points this weekend.
“We can’t think about Tuesday because we’ve got an important game here on Saturday,” the manager said.
“We’ll make changes – we have to, to have the freshness in the team for Tuesday, but we’ll go into the game looking to get the three points, get the fluency back in the team again, and then we’ll head off on Sunday for a long trek but hopefully a rewarding one at the end.”
Celtic fans in mutiny amid ‘sack the board’ chants as one player hits new low and key injury concern
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/latest-celtic-news/celtic-fans-in-mutiny-amid-sack-the-board-chants-as-one-player-hits-new-low-and-key-injury-concern-5281838
Alan Pattullo
By Alan Pattullo
Specialist Sports Writer
Comments
Published 20th Aug 2025, 22:42 BST
Updated 20th Aug 2025, 23:03 BST
Anarchy in stands as Champions League hopes left hanging in balance
Ibrox is not the repository for all the dismay in Glasgow when it comes to the city’s two biggest football clubs. Celtic are a long way from Rangers’ level of discord but they are also a long way from qualifying for the Champions League group stage, in every sense.
A 7,000 mile round trip to Almaty, 250 miles from the Chinese border, awaits. It has come down to a one-match shootout for a place in the league stage after this goalless draw amid mutinous scenes at Parkhead. Like Rangers, Celtic might wonder if they are even ready for such elite company.
The outcome rendered redundant Brendan Rodgers’ noble attempts to skirt around the issue of Celtic’s transfer policy. This spoke very bluntly indeed about the need for reinforcements, and not just because of the terrible sight of Alistair Johnston falling to the turf clutching the back of his leg ten minutes before half time. The Canadian right-back seems likely to be out for the near future. Anthony Ralston took his place and looks set for an extended period of action.
Celtic’s Daizen Maeda looks dejected after missing a late chance during the goalless draw with Kairat Almaty. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Daizen Maeda looks dejected after missing a late chance during the goalless draw with Kairat Almaty. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Flashbacks to bad old days
Also loud and clear was the unhappiness of the Celtic fans. “Sack the board, sack the board!” rang out from the 67th minute onwards as the home team struggled to make any kind of real inroads on a team who are supposed to be travel weary after recent trips to Finland and Slovakia as well as Glasgow. It must have felt like the bad old days for Celtic great Paul McStay, who sat alongside Roy Aitken in the main stand. Rebelling against the board seemed like a weekly occurrence back then, when, despite his cultured presence in midfield, Celtic seemed constantly in crisis.
Peter Lawwell, the chairman, got it in the neck here, as did chief executive Michael Nicholson. While Rodgers has been cautious with what he’s said when asked specifically about transfers, he has made pointed observations. His comments about understudy left-back Hayato Inamura not yet being up to standard to be included in the European squad left few in doubt about his unhappiness about his resources, particularly when so much money is perceived to be just sitting in the bank. It’s there, waiting to be spent.
It’s not a case of the board praying their ticket comes up in the Paradise Windfall, which, incidentally, was drawn at half-time here by Brian McClair. “One of Celtic’s finest ever goalscorers!” was how he was introduced. What they would do for a McClair now.
Celtic’s Callum McGregor in action during the Champions League play-off first leg against Kairat Almaty. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Callum McGregor in action during the Champions League play-off first leg against Kairat Almaty. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Number 9s catch eye – for different reasons
Adam Idah’s troubles at Celtic dipped to a new low here when he was replaced at half-time by Hyunjun Yang after a fairly anonymous performance, although there were some mitigating factors. His team failing to get the ball to him was one. Nevertheless, it was hard to avoid noting that Yang did more in his first 60 seconds on the pitch than Idah had managed in the entire half. Yang almost immediately set up James Forrest, whose shot was tipped onto the post by goalkeeper Alexandr Zarutskiy. With Daizen Maeda now playing through the middle, it was already much better from Celtic after a curiously listless opening 45 minutes.
Never mind Idah, it was the other No. 9 who caught the eye – and not just because of his red boots. While much was made of Rangers manager Russell Martin’s decision to throw in a player who had just turned 19 for his debut the previous evening against Club Brugge, Kairat manager Rafael Urazabakhtin thought nothing about fielding Dastan Satpayev, who turned 17 earlier this month.
And why would he need to deliberate playing him when the player has already sealed a move to Chelsea next summer. Enjoy him while you can. Celtic would prefer for him to join Chelsea in this transfer window, ideally before the teams meet again next week.
He was a constant thorn in Celtic’s side and seemed to pop up everywhere. He showed Kieran Tierney a clean pair of heels before crossing in the run-up to skipper Aleksandr Martynovich bundling in after ten minutes. Fortunately for Celtic, the scorer had already strayed offside. Kairat had come close to opening the scoring just two minutes in when Edmilson’s header at the back post deflected off Tierney for a corner. It could well have sneaked in.
Celtic’s Alistair Johnston is stretchered off the pitch with an injury and replaced by Anthony Ralston. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Alistair Johnston is stretchered off the pitch with an injury and replaced by Anthony Ralston. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group
As well as Satpayev, Edmilson, their big striker, was a constant menace. The Brazilian nearly scored one of the great European goals at Parkhead after 57 minutes when he latched onto a mistake from Cameron Carter-Vickers and tried his luck from all of 40 yards. Kasper Schmeichel was happy to see the ball land on the roof of his net.
Celtic were meant to roll over the top of the visitors from Kazakhstan. However, Kairat, who are 20 games into their league season, showed they are in the groove, even if their last league game saw them throw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 against Yelimay Semey. They seemed doubly determined to avoid any such mishaps here. They barely allowed Celtic a sniff in the opening half and although the hosts started the second half brightly, a series of stoppages, including a particularly long one when Zarutskiy, the Kairat ‘keeper, stayed down on the turf after challenging Liam Scales at a header, helped disrupt the little momentum they managed.
The stretcher bearers came on and then they went off again. Zarutskiy looked like he might struggle on before he finally limped off. Temirian Anarbekov replaced him but even that took a while. He later needed treatment for a head knock, which contributed to the ten minutes of added time. It wasn’t enough. Celtic hadn’t tested either ‘keeper enough. Even Maeda, when put straight through in the dying moments, failed to make the groggy Anarbekov work when shooting into his midriff. All to play for, then, in Almaty. But it really shouldn’t have come to this.
Celts draw a blank in UCL play-off clash with FC Kairat
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/august/20/celts-draw-a-blank-in-ucl-play-off-clash-with-fc-kairat/
First Team
By Matthew Campbell
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20 Aug 2025, 10:29 pm
UEFA Champions League play-off, first leg
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Celtic Park, Glasgow
CELTIC…0
FC KAIRAT…0
Celtic were held to a goalless draw against FC Kairat at Celtic Park tonight in the first leg of the play-off round for this year’s UEFA Champions League.
As ever, the noise inside Paradise before kick-off was immense as the Celtic faithful made themselves heard over the UCL anthem.
With the atmosphere at fever pitch and a place in the league phase of the competition to play for, the stage was set for what everyone hoped would be another memorable European night at Celtic Park.
FC Kairat started the game brightly and within the first few minutes, they had forced the Celts on to the back foot and had won two corners, both of which the Hoops were able to deal with.
It was clear that Celtic were looking to dominate the play as they so often do, but the visitors were on a mission of their own, and were able to disrupt Celtic’s passing moves as they looked to hit the Hoops on the break.
The Kazakh side had the ball in the net through Edmilson with just over 10 minutes played, but there was an air of relief around Celtic Park when the offside flag went up to deny the visitors the lead.
Brendan Rodgers’ men stuck to their plan and, on several occasions throughout the first 45 minutes were able to break in to the visitors’ box, but a mixture of good defending from the visitors and some slack final passes from the Hoops meant that no opportunities presented themselves.
Whilst the Celts came through the first 45 minutes unscathed in terms of goals conceded, an injury to Alistair Johnston saw the right-back leave the field of play on a stretcher.
75%
Possession
25%
11
Shots
8
3
Shots On Target
0
15
Corners
3
12
Fouls
9
2
0
Cards
3
0
Brendan Rodgers made one change at half time, bringing Yang on for Adam Idah, and the Celts came flying out of the traps in the second half.
Almost immediately from kick-off, James Forrest had a shot on goal after Yang picked him out on the edge of the box, but Kairat’s keeper was equal to the effort and pulled off a good save down to his left.
Reo Hatate then had a shot which drifted just wide as the Hoops kept the pressure on Kairat in the early stages, but the visitors were able to survive the early onslaught in the second half.
As the match wore on, it became apparent that the visitors were happy with the scoreline as it was, and at any opportunity, Kairat’s players went down and wasted as much time as possible.
Celtic continued to hunt for the goal that, on the balance of play over the course of the match, they more than deserved, but they were unable to make their dominance count.
The referee added 10 minutes on at the end of the match, and deep into injury-time, Daizen Maeda had a huge opportunity to clinch victory for the Hoops when he broke through one-on-one against the Kairat keeper, but his shot was comfortably saved by the keeper
With the scoreline in the tie locked at 0-0, it is all to play for in next week’s return leg in Kazakhstan. Before then, however, the Celts will turn their attention to the visit of Livingston to Celtic Park on Saturday.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston (Ralston 35′), Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney (Trusty 76′), Nygren (Yamada 77′), McGregor, Hatate, Forrest (Engels 70′), Idah (Hyunjun Yang 45′), Maeda
Subs: Simpson-Pusey, Trusty, Sinisalo, Hyunjun Yang, McCowan, Yamada, Osmand, Kenny, Engels, Paulo Bernardo, Murray, Ralston
Kairat: Zarutskiy (Anarbekov 75′), Mrynskiy, Martynovich, Sorokin, Tapalov, Arad, Glazer, Gromyko, Jorginho, Satpaev, Edmilson (Ricardinho 83′)
Subs: Kasabulat, Kurgin, Sadybekov, Baybek, Shirobokov, Stanojev, Gadrani, Anarbekov, Kalmurza, Bagdat, Ricardinho
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/clyrdq0w8eet#Report
Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park
Celtic’s Champions League hopes hang very much in the balance after they were held to a goalless draw in Glasgow by enterprising Kazakh side Kairat.
The £40m bounty now lies at the end of a potentially hazardous road for Brendan Rodgers’ side, with the Scottish champions facing a decisive second leg on Tuesday in Almaty, over 3,500 miles and several time zones away near the Chinese border.
The Celtic fans began chanting ‘sack the board’ midway through the second half, such was their displeasure not only with what they were seeing but with the lack of transfer activity ahead of such a season-defining tie.
And it could have been even worse for Rodgers’ men, who watched on with relief as an early Kairat goal was disallowed for offside and then again when Edmilson floated a long-range effort just over the bar after a Cameron Carter-Vickers error.
There was nearly an own goal near the end, too, as Celtic required some desperate last-ditch defending to keep Kairat at bay.
A first half injury to right-back Alastair Johnston – who left on a stretcher with what appeared to be a hamstring injury – seemed to set the tone for a night of frustration.
Celtic only started to look lively when winger Hyun-jun Yang came on at the interval for striker Adam Idah, with Daizen Maeda moved through the middle.
The Japanese striker had the best chance late on, despite all of Celtic’s possession, but the Kazakhs will leave Glasgow feeling they have every chance to finish the job next week and take a place at the top table of European football.
What information do we collect from this quiz?
Celtic analysis: Struggle for width and penetration
It was all too comfortable for Kairat for large chunks of this game.
Celtic tend to play right-sided players on the left and vice-versa. That means, more often than not, Maeda and James Forrest would cut inside to an already congested middle area of the final third.
The Kazakh visitors were very happy about that, apeing a set-up St Mirren used on flag day in the Premiership when only losing late on.
The lack of creativity and intensity in Celtic’s display will have been a worry for Rodgers given what is at stake in these Champions League play-offs.
A lot was made of the need to take a cushion to Kazakhstan.
Celtic didn’t really look like scoring in the first period. The half-time team talk did seem to make a difference, as did Yang’s introduction, but the increase in intensity and energy didn’t equate to the creation of many more chances.
Rodgers has made little secret of his desire for quality reinforcements to compensate for the departures of Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and Greg Taylor and the long-term injury to Jota.
Celtic supporters agree that more players should have been signed and let the directors know exactly what they think of the inaction.
The club have gambled that there is enough in the current squad to qualify for the Champions League.
Rodgers agreed pre-match but says reinforcements will be needed if his side go further. Now he’s faces a perilous journey – in more ways than one – to deliver progression to the competition proper and the accompanying riches that could bring him what he wants.
What they said
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: “We didn’t start with the intent and mentality we wanted to. We were quite passive. We weren’t moving as a team as we would like.
“The second half was better; we started well but couldn’t find the breakthrough.
“I’ve been here before, having drawn 0-0 in a qualifier here – against Rosenborg, a very good team. We went there to qualify and we played very well and won. There’s no doubt we can go there and win.”
Celtic captain Callum McGregor: “The connections weren’t quite there to get us through the middle. It’s on us to go there and qualify now.
“We’ve still got another game. We know how much everyone wants it. It’s our job to work [through the anxiety in the stadium] and keep playing.”
What’s next for these teams?
Celtic host Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday (15:00 BST) before embarking on the long journey to Almaty for the return leg on Tuesday.
The city sits fewer than 400 miles from the border with China, so Celtic will be in the air for at least 10 hours and will cross multiple timezones before arriving at their destination.
Celtic’s lack of deals ‘not my decision’ – Rodgers
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cp94vn1lk0zo
Media caption,
Celtic frustrated at home by Kazakhs Kairat
Published
1 minute ago
Manager Brendan Rodgers insists the failure to strengthen Celtic’s squad for their Champions League play off with Kairat was “not my decision” and concedes that he has to “accept where it’s at”.
The Scottish champions – heavy favourites to progress – were listless in being held to a goalless draw by their Kazakhstan counterparts.
Now must travel more than 3,500 miles for next Tuesday’s second leg just short of the Chinese border, knowing that they need a far better showing if they are to return to the top table of continental competition this season.
Celtic have recruited seven players this summer, paying fees for Benjamin Nygren, Hayato Inamura, Shin Yamada and Callum Osmand, with Kieran Tierney and Ross Doohan arriving on frees and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on loan.
Only Nygren and Tierney started on Wednesday, while the likes of Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi who starred in the Champions League last term have been sold and not replaced, while Jota is out injured long term.
“We need to improve the squad,” Rodgers said. “There’s been clarity around that for a long time. Supporters see that. Hopefully between now and the end of the season, the club will get that and that will support us.
“It’s not my decision in the end. I can prepare the players that are here. We are all clear on where we need to improve, and for whatever reason we haven’t been able to do that.
“We’re in this position, we have to accept that and not dwell on it, and try and come through it.
“There’s only so many ways that I can dress up that we don’t have the players here.
“It was pretty clear. You don’t need to look into the future too far. You know these games are tough and you want to have players in as quick as you can to tackle these situations. It is what it is. I have to accept where it’s at.”
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