Celtic still have plenty of work to do to reach the Champions League after drawing a blank in the first leg of their playoff against Kairat at Parkhead.
In Brendan Rodgers’s 800th match as a manager, there was no traditional early onslaught by the hosts as the accomplished Kazakhstani side more than matched their hosts. However, with Yang Hyun-jun on for Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda moving to centre-forward at the start of the second half, Celtic stepped up the pace and piled on the pressure in the later stages but could not find a way through despite 10 added minutes.
After the home league game against Livingston on Saturday, Celtic will get ready for the return leg in Kazakhstan on Tuesday night – which involves a 7,000-mile round trip – knowing qualification requires perhaps more work than many anticipated.
Much of the buildup to the game was centred on whether Rodgers would add to his squad for the European campaign. There were no late signings, but Rodgers made six changes to his side, with Kasper Schmeichel, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales, Reo Hatate, Benjamin Nygren and Idah returning and Viljami Sinisalo, Dane Murray, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels, Luke McCowan and Johnny Kenny dropping out.
