Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Tuesday, 20 January 2026 22:22 / Updated on Tuesday, 20 January 2026 22:23
In the first ever participation in the main group of the Champions League, Kairat Almaty also became the first team to leave the 2025-2026 edition of the competition.
Coached by Rafael Urazbakhtin (47 years old), Kairat shocked the football world after knocking out Celtic in the play-offs and getting the tickets for the most important interclub competition in Europe.
Kairat Almaty, the first team eliminated from the Champions League
Kairat lost at home to Club Brugge 1-4 on Tuesday and have no chance of qualifying for the round of 16 play-offs.
The Belgians were leading at halftime with 2-0, after the successes signed by Aleksandar Stankovic and Hans Vanaken. Vermant (74') and Mechele (84') gave Brugge an even quieter finish.
Kairat's goal in overtime, scored by Adilet Sadybekov (90+2') counted only for statistics.
After playing 7 out of 8 stages in the main phase of the Champions League, Almaty is in last place (36) with only one point.
Before the games that started at 22:00, Napoli was in 24th place, the last one that ensured qualification in the play-off for the round of 16, with 7 points. Kazakhs can no longer occupy the qualification place.
In the last leg, Kairat will travel to the ground of Arsenal, the leader of the Premier League, on January 28.
The results recorded by Kairat Almaty in the main group of the Champions League
-
Sporting Lisbon – Kairat Almaty 4-1
-
Kairat Almaty – Real Madrid 0-5
-
Kairat Almaty – Paphos 0-0 (only point scored)
-
Inter – Kairat Almaty 2-1
-
FC Copenhagen – Kairat Almaty 3-2
-
Kairat Almaty – Olympiakos 0-1
-
Kairat Almaty – Club Brugge 1-4
Ranking in the main group of the Champions League
