Kairat Almaty denied moment of Real Madrid glory by VAR as Kylian Mbappe takes down Celtic slayers

Kairat Almaty’s travails in the Champions League continued after Celtic’s conquerors were soundly beaten 5-0 by Real Madrid.

In what was billed as one of the biggest games in the history of Kazakh football, the visit of Real Madrid to the Central Stadium - the arena where Celtic were eliminated in the play-off round on penalties - saw a sell-out crowd dazzled by the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe, with the French striker bagging a hat-trick.

Eduardo Camavinga added a fourth and Brahim Diaz netted a fifth in the last action of the game in stoppage time as Xavi Alonso’s Spanish giants flexed their muscle 4000 miles away from the Spanish capital.

Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid as they defeated Kairat Almaty 5-0. | AP

The defeat came hot on the heels of Kairat Almaty’s 4-1 opening defeat in the tournament away at Sporting CP and while they started brightly enough against their exalted opponents, Real Madrid quickly assumed control of the match and peppered the goal of the hosts’ 18-year-old Serkhan Kalmyrza.

Kairat were denied a potential moment of glory on 67 minutes when they were awarded a penalty following Dani Ceballos’ challenge on Valeri Gromyko. However, following a VAR check, the award was overturned and Kazakh hopes were ended of a consolation goal.

In the other early kick-off on Tuesday night, Club Brugge - who defeated Rangers in the play-off round - lost 2-1 away at Atalanta.

The Belgians took the lead through Christos Tzolis, but the Italian side battled back and levelled through Lazar Samardzic’s penalty before Mario Pasalic found a winner on 87 minutes.

Celtic and Rangers have to make do with Europa League football this season and they face Braga at home and Sturm Graz away respectively on Thursday night.