Champions League will return to Kazakhstan as Kairat Almaty eliminates Celtic in qualifying

ALMATY Kazakhstan AP Champions League soccer is coming to Kazakhstan for just the second time Kairat Almaty goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov saved three penalties in the shootout to eliminate Scottish champion Celtic in the qualifying playoffs on Tuesday after the teams played out a second straight - draw Kairat advances to the -team league phase years after Astana played in the old group stage as the only other Kazakh band to compete with the European elite On Thursday Kairat will take its place alongside title holder Paris Saint-Germain Real Madrid and a stellar list of European powers in the draw ceremony in Monaco Almaty is four time zones and thousands of kilometers miles east of anticipated opponents from England and Portugal Celtic which reached the Champions League knockout stages last season drops into the second-tier Europa League Two more Champions League qualifying playoffs were being decided Tuesday Bodo Glimt took a - lead into the second leg at Sturm Graz and unheralded Pafos of Cyprus starts with a - lead at home to Red Star Belgrade the European champion in AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source