“Kairat” head coach Rafael Urazbakhtin commented on his team reaching the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in the club's history.
The Kazakhstan champions defeated Scotland's Celtic 3-2 in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw in the second leg (first leg also 0-0), Idman.biz reports.
Sports24.kz quoted Urazbakhtin as saying: “Our task was to become champions, win the cup, and qualify for the Champions League group stage. We have accomplished one of these goals. Perhaps we hadn’t thought much about the group stage yet. We assumed that, at worst, we would play in the Conference League. But now I tell the players: we did an amazing job. What our goal will be next, we’ll see, I don’t like making predictions. I prefer to proceed calmly and gradually. Even believing that we made it there is difficult.”
Previously, “Kairat” had only reached the UEFA Conference League group stage in the 2021/22 season, where they lost both matches against “Qarabag” 1-2, 1-2.
Idman.biz
