FC Kairat face defeat against Sporting in UEFA Champions League group stage

The match was held at Lisbon’s “José Alvalade” Stadium and was officiated by a referee team led by Polish referee Damian Sylwestrzak.

The opening half was dominated by the Portuguese team, which created several dangerous chances. In the 24th minute, Kairat’s 18-year-old goalkeeper Sherkhan Kalmurza made a remarkable save, denying a penalty attempt by Danish midfielder and Sporting captain Morten Yulmann. However, just before halftime, Francisco Trincão broke the deadlock with a long-range strike in the 44th minute.

At the start of the second half, the Kazakh side created scoring opportunities through Erkin Tapalov and Dastan Satpayev, while Luis Suárez hit the crossbar after a mistake by Kalmurza. Kairat fought hard to equalize, with Jorginho missing a clear one-on-one chance.

In the second half, Trincão completed his brace in the 64th minute after an assist from Spanish defender Iván Fresneda. Sporting quickly extended their lead as Brazilian forward Alisson Santos (66’) and Portuguese midfielder Giovanni Kenda (68’) added goals, with Kenda also recording an assist. Japanese midfielder Hidemasa Morita registered another assist in the sequence.

Kairat managed to pull one back late in the game. Brazilian forward Edmilson, who had come off the bench, scored the team’s only goal in the 86th minute, finishing Ricardinho’s cross with a first-time effort.

The match ended 4:1 in favor of the Portuguese side.

Earlier, it was reported that Real Madrid confirmed its roster for the opening fixtures of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League group stage. The team, led by head coach Xabi Alonso, will travel to Almaty to face Kazakhstan’s FC Kairat on September 30.