Celtic have been consigned to the Europa League following a Champions League play-off shoot-out defeat against Kairat Almaty.
Elsewhere, West Ham manager Graham Potter is under increasing pressure following his side’s latest defeat – a 3-2 loss to Wolves in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
Manchester United travel to Grimsby in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, while Rangers face Club Brugge in the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie.
Celtic’s Champions League story is over
Kairat players celebrate their play-off victory against Celtic (Alikhan Sariyev/AP)
Kairat players celebrate their play-off victory against Celtic (Alikhan Sariyev/AP)(Alikhan Sariyev/AP)
Celtic’s failure to strengthen their attacking options came back to haunt them as they missed out on the Champions League following a goalless 210 minutes against Kairat Almaty.
Kenny Archer: Gary Neville lacks credibility about Manchester United and LiverpoolCambridge through to EFL Cup third round for the first time since 1998
The Scottish champions lost 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out in Almaty, an eastern Kazakhstan city 250 miles from the Chinese border, as Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda’s kicks were all saved.
Celtic will miss out on an estimated £20million in income after dropping into the Europa League and manager Brendan Rodgers, who has been calling for attacking reinforcements since July, said: “It’s very frustrating.
“We all know where we want to get to. We showed last year, the strides I felt we took. But you have to build on that. The last thing you want to do in football is manufacture your own stress.”
Pressure intensifies on Potter
Full-time at Molineux. pic.twitter.com/PBzEQiOc8a
— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 26, 2025
Two goals in three minutes from Newcastle target Jorgen Strand Larsen completed a stirring Wolves comeback as they beat West Ham 3-2 in the Carabao Cup second round.
The Norwegian striker stepped off the bench to provide a pair of unstoppable finishes eight and six minutes from time to get Molineux rocking and increase the pressure on Hammers boss Graham Potter after 3-0 and 5-1 Premier League defeats against Sunderland and Chelsea respectively.
Elsewhere, Sheffield Wednesday knocked Yorkshire rivals Leeds out after winning 3-0 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at a virtually empty Hillsborough.
Wednesday fans answered the call of the club’s Supporters Trust to boycott the tie in protest against owner Dejphon Chansiri and only a half-full South Stand was in use at Hillsborough apart from the away end.
Race hots up for Chelsea forward Jackson
Nicolas Jackson looks set to leave Chelsea during the transfer window
Nicolas Jackson looks set to leave Chelsea during the transfer window(Rafal Oleksiewicz/PA)
Newcastle and Aston Villa remain in the race to sign Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea despite a loan bid having been received for the striker from Bayern Munich, the PA news agency understands.
The 24-year-old has been told he can leave Stamford Bridge with the Blues favouring a permanent transfer ahead of next week’s deadline, though the only bid so far has come from the Bundesliga champions for a season-long arrangement.
Should Jackson, who has scored 31 goals in 80 games since a £22.5million move from Villarreal in 2023, remain in the Premier League it will likely be either at St James’ Park or Villa Park, though obstacles remain in both cases.
Hojlund available for United’s cup tie
Rasmus Hojlund could feature against Grimsby for Manchester United
Rasmus Hojlund could feature against Grimsby for Manchester United(Adam Davy/PA)
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim says Rasmus Hojlund is available to face Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.
Hojlund, whose days at Old Trafford look numbered following the big-money arrivals of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, was absent from the United squad for their opening two Premier League matches of the season amid speculation linking him with a move to Napoli.
However, when quizzed whether Hojlund could figure in Wednesday night’s trip to Blundell Park, Amorim said: “All the players are available. Then we will make the choice to try to get the best starting XI to win the game.”
What’s on today?
🇧🇪 #UCL pic.twitter.com/YMWRJbX1J9
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 26, 2025
Manchester United travel to Grimsby in the second round of the Carabao Cup, while Everton, Fulham and Brighton are also in action.
In Europe, Rangers are in Belgium for the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie against Club Brugge, who lead 3-1 from the first game at Ibrox.