Archive August 26, 2025

“We can only decide where we want to go as a football club at this point.”

Following Tuesday’s eye-opening Champions League defeat to Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan on penalties, Brendan Rodgers was contemplative.

Much has been made of the financial gimmick that sides who make it to the promised land of elite competition in Europe have to be prepared for. Celtic in Kazakhstan was much more than that.

The club had become a regular fixture in the competition over the previous three seasons, and they were just one goal away from the competition’s knockout stages last year.

After his team’s fourth consecutive season, Rodgers remarked, “The Champions League is a wonderful competition.”

“But we will have to work together as a team, as we always do.” We didn’t do enough over the two legs, which is a tough one to take.

You still need that little extra finesse and precision at this level, even with teams that don’t quite have the quality. “From the first day back they’ve been brilliant, domestically we’ve started well.

Each club receives about 18 million euros (15 million) in compensation for qualifying for the top-level competition. Additionally, you can add merchandise, sponsorship opportunities, additional sponsorship, and a ton of corporate cash.

In contrast, entering the Europa League raises that sum from 18 million euros (15 million) to just over 4 million euros (3.46 million). A win is worth 450, 000 euros (£388, 000) instead of 2m euros (£1.73m).

As the game drew to a close, neither team appeared to be scoring the crucial goal, and Celtic’s captain Callum McGregor made the unmistakable admission that neither team should have made progress.

After the defeat, he said, “We didn’t deserve to qualify,” and the penalty was awarded in the goalless draw in both legs of the tie.

We need to “regularize,” because we know Rangers will play a big game on Sunday.

“The club is really struggling financially and with everything else,” the club says in general.

Although Kairat were difficult to break down and offered little going forward, they made a plan to hold Celtic for 210 minutes before the shootout’s inevitable conclusion.

As Celtic’s front three, James Forrest, Yang, and Daizen Maeda showed no signs of being able to find a successful path to the goal. Adam Idah and Arne Engels, both signed for big this summer, did the same, and they both came in with a similar result.

Former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady told BBC Radio Scotland, “I wouldn’t say I’m angry; I just very disappointed with what I’ve seen over the two legs.”

The performances “weren’t good enough.” In the end, planning is essentially done. Prepare to fail, but fail to prepare.

The quality is lacking, according to the reviewer, “it’s been a very difficult watch over the two legs.” Celtic would have been extremely lucky if they had survived.

By contrasting each team’s threat to see who has the highest scoring chance in a given minute, match momentum measures the swing of the game.

The team in the thin sliver of white along the bottom, shown in the above graph, never really a force going forward despite having 67% of the possession and dominating possession.

The Scottish champions failed to push them for the majority of the second leg, and Kairat, who have never played in the Champions League proper, are 311th in Uefa’s coefficient rankings.

With five passes to Kairat’s four in the opposition’s half and a higher percentage of shots on target, Celtic only recorded 0.5% of the game’s goals before the hosts became noticeably worn out in extra time.

Maeda had a great chance to tie the score in the 85th minute, but he blazed his finish past the post because his lack of composure in front of goal summed up how disjointed the team was on both legs.

Former Celtic midfielder John Collins commented on BBC Radio Scotland, “There was a lack of creativity in the final third, poor set-plays, and not enough movement to put pressure on.”

Everyone in the entire nation is shocked that Celtic didn’t make the transition to the top of the pitch.

“The fact that Celtic have been eliminated by a very average team is the biggest disappointment for everyone associated with Celtic.”

In order to bolster the ranks and appease their disgruntled supporters, Celtic have less than a week to go.

The team’s first Old Firm game of the year will be played on Sunday, and they must not let the momentum change before lunchtime, as they must do so in order to avoid the fans’ revolt.

A chance in the Europa League might yield more fruit than a Champions League debut, but it will take time for that perspective to develop, if it even does.

Due to the fact that Jude McAtamney, Charlie Smyth, and Mark McNamee were unable to make the final roster for their respective NFL teams, they are now open to being acquired by another franchise.

The New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers all waived former Gaelic footballers McAtamney, Smyth, and McNamee.

The New York Giants’ 53-man roster was finalized after McAtamney lost to veteran Graham Gano in the draft that will debut next week.

In the second half of the pre-season opener against the Buffalo Bills, the County Derry man played all kicking duties while participating in the victories over the New York Jets and the New England Patriots, scoring 10 more points and making a field goal between the two games.

When Gano injured himself last season and the New York franchise may want to call him back on the practice squad for the upcoming season if his pre-season performance does not result in an offer from another team, McAtamney was called from the practice squad to the Giants team for the regular season game against the Washington Commanders.

Smyth, a County Down player, was not selected for the New Orleans Saints’ final year because Blake Grupe was once again chosen at number one.

Smyth scored field goals in games against the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Los Angeles Chargers during a successful pre-season with the Saints, playing in each of their games in the second half.

Smyth scored from 52 yards in the Broncos’ 28-19 loss on Saturday.

Grupe did, however, choose to use the 26-year-old kicker for the new campaign after head coach Kellen Moore chose to start both of those games.

McNamee is currently available to be picked up by another team or added to the Green Bay practice squad, but he was not chosen for the Packers’ final roster.

Despite landing in the United States the day before, the Dubliner was able to complete the kickoffs in the opening pre-season game against the New York Jets.

In the second game against the Indianapolis Colts, he kicked a 43-yard field goal and two more points, but he also missed a field goal attempt from 39 yards and an extra point.