Spanish media warn Real Madrid about Kairat’s Satpayev ahead of historic clash in Almaty
On the eve of the game, Marca published a feature on Satpayev, describing him as a surprising product of Kazakh football.
“It may come as a surprise that a discreet and little-known country like Kazakhstan has produced such a dominant forward with a lethal strike as their No. 9. He remains relatively unknown to the wider public, but Real Madrid should watch out for him,” the newspaper wrote.
Satpayev became the youngest ever scorer in Champions League history at 16 years, 10 months and 26 days with his goal against Olimpija Ljubljana, surpassing records set by Ansu Fati and Lamine Yamal. He is also Kairat’s top scorer this season in both the domestic league and Champions League qualifiers.
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Real Madrid seeking redemption
Mundo Deportivo noted that Real will be highly motivated after their 5:2 defeat to Atlético Madrid in La Liga last week.
“Real Madrid are looking for redemption in Kazakhstan. The Blancos traveled more than 6,500 kilometers to play Kairat in a match they must win after the derby fiasco. With Carvajal, Trent, Militão, Rüdiger and Mendy all unavailable, Xabi Alonso will be forced to experiment in defense,” the outlet reported.
“One step behind in football”
AS added a cultural perspective, writing about Kazakhstan’s traditional sports like kokpar and Kazakh kures, while remarking:
“With a territory 5.7 times larger than Spain and less than half the population, they are still one step behind in football… and not so fearsome.”
Portuguese midfielder Jorginho of Kairat told Marca:
“Everyone expects us to lose 0:10, so we’ll try to surprise them. That’s how we motivate ourselves, because everyone expects humiliation. We are confident, but we also know our place in football.”
The historic Kairat–Real Madrid match kicks off at 21:45 local time at Central Stadium in Almaty. The game will be broadcast live on Qazaqstan and Qazsport TV channels.