Celtic’s Champions League dream ended in humiliation as a 3-0 first-leg advantage evaporated in Linz, with LASK completing a stunning 5-1 extra-time victory to progress 5-4 on aggregate.
Callum McGregor’s 21st-minute goal had put the Scottish champions 4-0 up on aggregate and on course for the league phase, but a second-half collapse and a 109th-minute strike from Samuel Adeniran sealed one of the most painful European nights in the club’s history.
Celtic in control, then nerves creep in
Celtic started brightly and almost opened the scoring inside four minutes when Yang Hyun-jun’s cut-in from the left nearly found Kasper Høgh, who was inches away from connecting. The Danish striker tested the LASK keeper again in the 15th minute, surging onto a loose ball and forcing a save, while the home side’s best chance saw a corner flick-on fall to Mbuyamba, who could not tap in from close range.
Any lingering anxiety was dispelled in the 21st minute. Yang’s intelligent work down the left tee’d up Callum McGregor, whose low, deflected left-foot shot beat Jungwirth to make it 1-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate. For a spell, Celtic looked composed and in command, but a slack backpass from Benjamin Nygren in the 32nd minute gifted Moses Usor the chance to slide past Sinisalo and equalise on the night.
LASK turn the tie on its head
LASK emerged with purpose and took the lead just two minutes after the restart when Robert Ljubicic’s powerful strike flew past Sinisalo to make it 2-1 on the night (4-2 on aggregate). The momentum swung decisively in the 58th minute as Samuel Adeniran curled a superb left-foot effort from outside the box into the net, reducing Celtic’s buffer to a single goal at 4-3 on aggregate.
Celtic hung on as LASK pressed for a fourth, with Adeniran’s 70th-minute effort rattling the underside of the bar before Kieran Tierney cleared. But in the 90th minute, substitute Florian Flecker headed home from close range following a rebound after Sinisalo saved Joao Victor Tornich’s initial effort, levelling the tie at 4-4 and forcing extra time.
Adeniran seals the turnaround
Early in the second period of extra time, Adeniran fired a long-range shot past Sinisalo to complete LASK’s remarkable comeback and put them 5-1 up on the night, 5-4 on aggregate. Six minutes later, Sinisalo produced a brilliant penalty save to deny Adeniran a hat-trick, but Celtic could not find the goal needed to take the tie back into extra-time penalties.
LASK progress to the UEFA Champions League league phase for the first time, while Celtic drop into the UEFA Europa League. The defeat marks a second consecutive year that Celtic have reached the Champions League group stage, and it will be remembered as one of their most damaging European collapses in European football history.
LASK: Jungwirth, Mbuyamba, Alemão (Danek 99’), Andrade, Jørgensen (Flecker 86’), Ljubicic (Schöpf 81’), Bogarde, Horvath (Freckleton 99’), Bello, Usor (Lang 99’), Adeniran
Subs: Freckleton, Smakaj, Danek, Schöpf, Verhaeghe, Dibango, Lang, Flecker (Dibango 100’), Schützenauer, Schillinger
Celtic: Sinisalo, Donovan (Murray 74’), Carter-Vickers (Ralston 90’), Trusty, Tierney (Scales 71’), McGregor, Baur (McCowan 71’), Durán, Nygren (Hatate 63’), Hyunjun Yang (Tounekti 63’), Høgh
Subs: Scales, Balikwisha, McCowan, Tounekti, Osmand, Haissem Hassan, Kenny, Doohan, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Ralston