Defeating champions from four countries in a row, Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty reaches the Champions League group stage for the first time in club history; fans say: watching the Champions League from Xinjiang feels very close.

At 00:45 Beijing time on August 27, during the second leg of the Champions League playoff, Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty played at home against Scotland’s Celtic, after a goalless first leg.

In the second leg, neither team managed to score; Daizen Maeda missed a one-on-one opportunity in the 86th minute. The regular time ended 0-0, making the aggregate 0-0 and sending the match into extra time, where goals still failed to come. The game went to penalties, during which Japanese forward Maeda, as well as Idah and McGinn, missed their spot-kicks.

In the end, Kairat Almaty won the penalty shootout 3-2 over Celtic, qualifying for the Champions League group stage for the first time in their history; meanwhile, Celtic, who had reached the Champions League group stage three seasons in a row, will play in the Europa League this season.

Kairat Almaty lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with a starting lineup valued at only €6.2 million; Celtic used a 4-3-3 setup with starters worth €71 million. Kairat’s starting value was less than one-eleventh of Celtic’s. This was originally a match with a huge gap in strength, but Kairat made history by overcoming the odds and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, a truly commendable achievement.

Despite the big difference in squad value, the match was evenly contested. Kairat had only 33% possession but took 12 shots, one more than Celtic. Of those, Kairat had 4 on target, one fewer than Celtic.

Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty has consecutively defeatedchampions from Slovenia, Finland, Slovakia, and Scotlandto reach the Champions League group stage, creating a historic milestone for the club. This is an inspiring story in football. Fans joked, congratulating football supporters in Xinjiang, saying that watching the Champions League is now very close for them.