K Almaty 0 – 0 Celtic

Daizen Maeda missed a sitter and a penalty as woeful Celtic crashed out of the Champions League to Kairat Almaty.

The Hoops failed to score over 210 minutes against a team ranked 311th in Europe as they are left to settle for a place in the Europa League.

Maeda passed up a brilliant chance to win it as extra-time loomed in a disappointing display in Kazakhstan, with the Japan international then missing the Hoops’ decisive spot kick after Adam Idah and Luke McCowan also missed from the spot.

The fans chanted ‘Sack the Board’ after the first leg in frustration at the lack of summer signings, with this latest failure likely to see the apathy increase ahead of transfer deadline day.

Failure to strengthen is Celtic’s £20m mistake

Celtic have failed to add any wingers following Jota’s long-term injury in May and the sale of Nicolas Kuhn to Como more than six weeks ago. And Shin Yamada, the only experienced striker to arrive since Kyogo Furuhashi left in January, stayed on the bench throughout the second leg.

Rodgers’ desire to build on last season’s run to the knockout phase play-offs, when they suffered a late defeat to Bayern Munich, have been undermined by an as-yet-unexplained delay in crucial transfer activity.

They will now miss out on an estimated £20m in income after dropping into the Europa League.

Celtic were uninspiring in the first leg but Kairat had troubles of their own. On top of losing their first-choice goalkeeper Alexandr Zarutskiy to injury and 17-year-old Chelsea-bound attacker Dastan Satpaev to suspension at Parkhead, Brazilian winger Edmilson picked up an injury in training on Monday.

Kairat started on the front foot without troubling Kasper Schmeichel.

The visitors were struggling to make any inroads and Yang Hyun-jun in particular was struggling, giving the ball away, passing it straight off the pitch and failing to keep hold of it.

The South Korean was involved in Celtic’s best first-half moment though when he laid the ball back for Reo Hatate to cross. James Forrest saw his header tipped over.

The sloppiness continued after the break. Nygren saw a promising move falter when he dallied on the ball with options either side and Callum McGregor gave Schmeichel little option but to handle a bouncing back-pass on his goal-line.

From the resulting indirect free-kick on the six-yard line, Maeda appeared to block Jorginho’s shot with both hands but got the VAR decision in his favour given they were right in front of his body.

Celtic continued to face danger, needing a Cameron Carter-Vickers block and a Schmeichel save to keep them level.

Maeda should have won it in the 86th minute when McGregor’s pass sent him clean through. But with a defender close on his trail, the Japan attacker shot over from 18 yards.

Hatate had a shot blocked after substitute Idah’s cutback presented him with a good chance and both McGregor and Nygren tested the home goalkeeper from long range.

Celtic increased the pressure in the second period and sub McCowan forced a scrambling save before Nygren was twice denied from near-post efforts. And the home goalkeeper continued to foil the Hoops as the game ended in penalties.

Rodgers: ‘It’s a huge blow’

“Very disappointed. There was plenty of endeavour there, the players worked hard, but over the two legs we’re disappointed not to have scored.

“We just have to reflect on opportunities we had that we didn’t take. We have to settle for the Europa League.

“It’s very frustrating, we showed a glimpse of what we can do at this level [last season], but we haven’t showed that over these two games. It’s a huge blow for us.

“We all know the consequence. We want to be in the Champions League, we aren’t. Europa League is still a prestigious competition but we’ve missed a massive opportunity across these two games.

“There is a long journey home. There isn’t a lot to say to the players now, they are bitterly disappointed.”

Wilson: ‘Celtic gamble backfires’

“It’s tough to explain, there will be a lot of questions and fallout with a narrative of a lack of investment.

“There’s a young right-back that finishes the game, a young centre-back, a centre-back at left-back.

“There are questions that need to be answered.

“Did the Celtic board gamble on the players that they’ve got to get them through? It’s backfired dramatically and they pay the price. They’ve been poor over 210 minutes of football; created very little.

“Kairat were robust, made it difficult and they’ve got their reward. It’s a real sobering moment for Celtic.”

What’s next for Celtic?

Sunday 31st August 11:00am


Kick off 12:00pm

Up next for Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic is the first Old Firm derby of the season as they face Rangers at Ibrox this Sunday.

Celtic go into the game with a six-point lead in the Scottish Premiership table. You can watch the game live on Sky Sports on Sky Sports Football, with kick-off at 12 noon.