Kairat Eliminated From Champions League Following Defeat to Bulgaria’s Levski

Kazakhstan’s FC Kairat Almaty has missed out on reaching the UEFA Champions League main stage after suffering a defeat to Bulgarian side Levski in the second leg of the third qualifying round.

The match, hosted at the Turkistan Arena, ended 1–0 in favor of the visitors, with Reynaldo scoring the decisive goal in the 13th minute. Levski had also secured a victory in the opening leg.

Kairat’s European Campaign & Next Steps:

The Almaty club began their campaign by knocking out Montenegrin side Sutjeska in the first qualifying round, before overcoming Cyprus’s Omonia 6–5 in a penalty shootout in the second.

Following this exit, the Kazakh champions will transition to the UEFA Europa League, where they are set to face either Anderlecht or PAOK. Additionally, Kairat has officially guaranteed at least a spot in the main stage of the UEFA Conference League this season.

Last season, Kairat made history by eliminating Scotland’s Celtic to reach the Champions League main stage for the very first time, becoming only the second Kazakhstani club after FC Astana to achieve the feat.