Kairat Almaty vs Levski Sofia

Levski Sofia finished the job in Kazakhstan, beating Kairat Almaty 0-1 at the Turkistan Arena to seal a 2-0 aggregate win in their Champions League third qualifying round tie. The Bulgarian champions struck early and then dug in, weathering a one-sided second half to advance. Reinaldo settled it early, converting in the 13th minute to give the visitors an away-goal cushion they never relinquished. Kairat Almaty threw everything at Levski afterward, dominating possession and forcing plenty of shots, but goalkeeper Svetoslav Vutsov stood tall and claimed the man-of-the-match honors. Bookings piled up for both sides late on, including cautions for Aldair and Nikola Serafimov, but no one saw red. The result sends Levski Sofia through to the Champions League playoff round, where Greek side AEK Athens await. For Kairat Almaty, the loss ends their European run at this stage despite a dominant statistical showing, leaving them to regroup for a lower continental competition.