Celtic’s Champions League opponents Kairat Almaty will arrive in Glasgow under pressure after a late collapse at home raised fresh questions about their defence.
It’s the kind of performance Brendan Rodgers and his staff will have taken note of. Kairat had the game in their grip, only to fall apart in the closing stages, a scenario that could play right into Celtic’s hands on Wednesday night.
While Celtic cruised through their weekend tie with Falkirk, Kairat’s domestic slip-up threatens to derail their confidence ahead of a massive European night. The Glasgow side will know there are vulnerabilities to target.
Manager Rafael Urakhtin made no attempt to hide his anger at full-time, delivering a blunt assessment of his team’s mistakes. With a £40m prize on the line, Celtic will be ready to pounce on any repeat at Celtic Park.
He said: (RecordSport), “We have no time to grieve about this result because we are preparing for a very important match in Scotland and have a long journey to make.
“But it was a disappointing defeat for us.
“We were a long way from our best defensively and we conceded childish goals.
“If you are fighting for the league title, you cannot concede goals like this.
“The players actually carried out the instructions well….except for losing those goals.
“We knew they would be difficult to break down, but we managed to do it….and then we conceded stupid goals.
“When my players perform well, I praise them, but when we make such basic mistakes like we did, then I have to point it out.”
Celtic will take plenty of positives from both Kairat’s poor showing and their manager’s reaction. The way they fell apart late on will not have gone unnoticed at Lennoxtown, with Rodgers sure to spot areas where his side can do real damage.
Urakhtin’s strong words only add to the pressure now facing the Kazakh side. Coming to Glasgow off the back of that kind of defeat is tough enough, but knowing Celtic are ready to go for the throat makes it even harder.
With a place in the Champions League and a major payday on the line, there’s no room for another slip. Kairat will need to fix their issues quickly if they’re to keep up with a Celtic side that looked sharp last time out.
The Parkhead crowd will expect a fast start, and if Celtic bring that same energy, Kairat could be in trouble again. They’ve already shown signs of weakness, now it’s up to Celtic to take full advantage.
