The latest UEFA Champions League match report Japanese players lose points Asian national teams enter the main game for the first time, Premier League 6 teams La Liga 5 teams

In the early morning of August 27, the second leg of the 2025-26 Champions League playoff kicked, and today I took the lead in the competition for three games. After a fierce battle, Paphos drew 1:1 with Belgrade Red Star at home (Pades advanced 3:2 in two rounds), Bode Shining lost 1:2 to Graz Storm away (Bad Shining 6:2 in two rounds), Almaty Keilat drew 0:0 at home (2 rounds, 0:0 in overtime, Keilat eliminated the Celtics 3:2 in penalty shootout).

Kazakhstan has been with the AFC and joined UEFA for more than 20 years. They have made great progress in recent years. As the champion of the Kazakhstan Super League last season, Almaty Keilat won the ticket to the qualifying round of the Champions League this season. They eliminated Ljubljana Olympics, Gubis, and Bratislava to enter the final playoffs. In the first leg, Keirat tied the Celtics away. He returned to home today and played back and forth with the Celtics. In the 4th minute, Keirat made a strong attack in the middle. Jorginho's shot from the top of the penalty area was blocked. Gromiko followed up and grabbed the ball. After a slight adjustment, a change of direction broke away from the defense and shot hard. The ball rubbed against the outside of the far post and went out of the baseline.

In the 8th minute, Keirat got a free kick opportunity on the right side of the midfield. Gromiko took the penalty kick and passed it in the penalty area. Goalkeeper Schmeichel attacked and grabbed the ball. In the 23rd minute, Keirat intercepted the ball in the midfield and counterattacked. Jorginho made a subtle pass. Ricciardo inserted into the penalty area and got a good opportunity to score a single shot. However, his last step was still half a beat slower after following up. Schmeichel attacked in time to block the ball. One minute later, the Celtics counterattack on the left also created murderous intent. Yang Xianjun broke through and made a comeback from the bottom. Flagkeeper Lianyang responded to the penalty area and crossed the top. Forrest jumped high and headed the ball at the front of the small penalty area. Goalkeeper Anabekov struggled to lift the ball out of the baseline. In the 27th minute, Kerat had a corner kick from the right, Gromiko took the penalty kick in front of the goal, and Glazer headed the ball from a very close range was blocked. The two sides played in a stalemate after the change of sides. In just 6 minutes of the game, Keirat pressed in the frontcourt, McGreg passed back, and the ball suddenly bounced to the goal after hitting the ground. Schmeichel had no choice but to hit the ball with his hand to violate the rules, and Keirat got a free kick opportunity at the front of the small penalty area. With a tactical cooperation, Ricardo made the ball, and Jorginho made a strong shot. The ball was suspected to hit the hand of Japanese player Maeda Daran, and the referee did not call a penalty. In the 85th minute, the Celtic intercepted the ball in the backcourt to counterattack, McGreg made an accurate pass from long distance, Maeda Daran inserted the ball at high speed to get a good opportunity to take the ball, but he finally broke into the penalty area and shot and kicked away, missing the excellent chance to kill.

The two teams tied again in 0:0 in 90 minutes, and the game was dragged into overtime. The Celtics had a stronger offensive in overtime, and they also created a good opportunity, but Nigren's extremely close shot was saved by Anabekov. In the end, the two teams were still unable to score in overtime, and the game entered a penalty shootout. Ida and McCorwan, who were the first to be punished, were all saved by Anabekov, while Gromiko from Kerat was also saved by Schmeichel, and Matinovic took the penalty. Then Sorokin, Arad, McGregor and Engels all made free throws, and Keirat led 3:2. The last Celtics played was Maeda Daran. He took the penalty and was saved by Anabekov in the middle. In the end, Almaty Keira defeated the Celtics 3:2 in the ball game, and entered the Champions League for the first time in the team's history. After today's game, 32 teams have already secured the qualification for the main game, including up to 6 Premier League teams, and 5 teams in La Liga have entered the main game.