Kairat bow out of Europa League following Anderlecht defeat
Kazakhstan's Kairat suffered a 3-0 away defeat to Belgian side Anderlecht in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League qualifying playoffs, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The Almaty club bowed out of the competition 6-0 on aggregate, with the return leg played at Lotto Park in Brussels.
Having suffered a 3-0 defeat in the first leg, Kairat faced a difficult task of overturning the deficit. However, Anderlecht took control from the outset and eventually found the breakthrough just before halftime.
Mihajlo Cvetković opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 45+3rd minute after a VAR review.
The Belgian side strengthened their grip on the match after the break, as Danylo Sikan doubled the lead in the 53rd minute before Giulian Biancone made it 3-0 in the 71st.
Rafael Urazbakhtin's side introduced several substitutes in the second half in an effort to change the course of the game, but were unable to find a way through Anderlecht's defense.
With identical 3-0 defeats in both legs, Kairat ended their Europa League campaign with a 6-0 aggregate loss, while Anderlecht progressed to the next stage.
Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan pocketed 26 medals at the Central Asian Athletics Championships.
