The first legs of the UEFA Europa League play-off round have kicked off.

Axar.az reports that Kazakhstan’s Kairat hosted Belgian side Anderlecht. The match, held in Almaty, ended in a convincing 3-0 victory for the visitors.

Kairat made a poor start to the match, falling behind in the second minute after midfielder Jaakko Oksanen scored an own goal. In the 24th minute, Lukas Ambros doubled Anderlecht’s lead. Things became even more difficult for the Kazakhstan side in the 38th minute when defender Aleksandr Shirobokov was sent off with a red card. In stoppage time of the first half, Danylo Sikan scored to put the final score at 3-0.