ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — The Champions League is coming to Kazakhstan for just the second time, and newcomers from Norway and Cyprus also advanced Tuesday to the elite league phase.
Kairat Almaty goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov saved three penalties in the shootout to lift the Kazakh champion over Celtic in the qualifying playoffs after the teams played out a second straight 0-0 draw. Almaty won the shootout 3-2.
Bodo/Glimt of Norway eased past Sturm Graz — winning 6-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 loss Tuesday in Austria — to bring Champions League games to its stadium inside the Arctic Circle this season.
Unheralded Cypriot champion Pafos stunned Red Star Belgrade, the European champion in 1991, with an 89th-minute goal by Brazilian forward Jajá to draw 1-1 at home and advance 3-2 on aggregate.
All three winners will take their places alongside title holder Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and a stellar list of European powers in the draw ceremony in Monaco on Thursday.
Kairat advanced 10 years after Astana played in the old group stage as the only other Kazakh team to compete with the European elite.
Almaty is four time zones and thousands of kilometers (miles) east of potential opponents from England and Portugal.
Celtic, the 1967 European Cup winner, drops into the second-tier Europa League with Red Star and Sturm Graz, one year after all three played in the Champions League.
Four more Champions League qualifying playoffs will be decided Wednesday to complete the 36-team lineup.
Jose Mourinho takes Fenerbahce to his former club Benfica with the teams tied at 0-0. Club Brugge starts 3-1 up at home to Rangers while Qarabag leads by the same score against visiting Ferencvaros. Copenhagen hosts Basel tied at 1-1.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
