[REVISION HISTORY]

Anderlecht takes commanding lead in Europa League play-off

Updated 10 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-20 22:33 UTC → 2026-08-26 05:06 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Kairat Almaty’s Champions League journey ended following losses to Levski Sofia, leading them to the Europa League play-off round. They were scheduled to host Anderlecht at Almaty Central Stadium for the first leg of the play-off, with the winner securing a place in the Europa League league phase. Ahead of the scheduled August 20, 2026, fixture, Anderlecht coach Vitor Bruno noted the difficulty of the match, highlighting Kairat’s strength and the challenging conditions at the Central Stadium, where the pitch was recently affected by a Kanye West concert. In the first leg, RSC Anderlecht secured a commanding ~~3-0~~ away victory against Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan. The Belgian side dominated the first half, with the scoreline aided by an own goal from Jaakko Oksanen and a long-range strike from Lucas Ambros. Kairat faced further setbacks when Aleksandr Shirobokov received a red card. Despite the long journey and concerns regarding the pitch quality, Anderlecht controlled the match, leaving them with a significant advantage heading into the second leg in Brussels. As the second leg approaches at Lotto Park, Anderlecht holds a substantial lead and is close to securing a place in the league phase. Kairat Almaty faces a difficult task, needing at least three goals to force extra time. Regarding squad news, Anderlecht’s new Moroccan striker, Tawfik Bentayeb, is unlikely to debut due to administrative delays regarding his work contract, which have prevented him from training with the full squad.

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