Club Brugge Secures Crucial Win Against Kairat for Champions League Play-off Push

Club Brugge kept alive their Champions League play-offs hopes with a comfortable win at Kairat Almaty. First-half goals from Aleksandar Stankovic and Hans Vanaken put the Belgian side in control and Kairat never threatened to get back into the game. Romeo Vermant extended the lead after the break and Brandon Mechele headed in the fourth late on. Kairat's Adilet Sadybekov gave the home fans something to shout about with a superb volley in added time but it was no more than a consolation as the away side stay in contention for a top 24 finish. A second win of the league phase puts Club Brugge on seven points while Kairat stay bottom of the table with just one point from seven matches. While the Kazakh fans made their presence felt early on, Brugge's superiority soon began to tell and lively left-winger Mamadou Diakhon came close to open the scoring with a low, curling effort that came back off the post. The breakthrough came after 32 minutes when Kairat goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov could only punch a cross to the edge of the box, where Stankovic was waiting to thump the ball into the unguarded net. Ivan Leko's side doubled their lead six minutes later as a back-post cross was nodded into the six-yard box by Joaquin Seys for captain Vanaken to shin the ball home from close range. Carlos Forbs had the chance to make it three in the second half but was denied by Anarbekov with just the keeper to beat. The result was put beyond doubt in the 74th minute as Diakhon went past his full-back again and squared for Vermant to finish from a couple of yards out. With Kairat tiring, centre-back Mechele stole in to head home Vanaken's cross five minutes from time before Sadybekov's fine effort from 20 yards out reduced the deficit in the 92nd minute. Brugge now face Marseille in a crucial final group match on 28 January, while Kairat, now officially eliminated, finish their European campaign away at Arsenal. Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.