Celtic Collapse at LASK in Painful Champions League Exit

McGregor broke the deadlock with a deflected effort, putting his side 4-0 ahead on aggregate.

LASK had made an encouraging start, but conceding appeared to knock the wind out of them. They had created opportunities in Glasgow and again during the opening stages in Linz, yet still found themselves four goals behind overall.

It seemed reasonable to wonder how many setbacks they could endure before giving up. The answer proved to be far more than expected.

Celtic helped their opponents back into the contest. Their elegant finishing and ambitious football from the previous week had earned plenty of praise, but the assumption that they also possessed the necessary resolve proved mistaken.

The first hint of uncertainty emerged when Benjamin Nygren’s careless pass directly resulted in LASK’s equaliser on the night.

Only 32 minutes had passed, yet Celtic already appeared uneasy despite retaining a 4-1 aggregate advantage. It seemed absurd, but it was unmistakable.

Three minutes after the restart, LASK struck again and Celtic’s confidence began to disappear. Auston Trusty was at fault, too easily forced off the ball as the overall score moved to 4-2.

Trusty struggled badly. He was not alone in performing poorly, but LASK identified him as a vulnerable point and repeatedly targeted that area.

The hosts added a third goal 10 minutes later. Panic had spread through much of the Celtic side, and what had initially been a gradual collapse was now accelerating.

Camilo Duran, so influential in the opening leg, barely featured in the contest. Kasper Hogh put in considerable effort without making a difference. Passes repeatedly missed their targets, Celtic lost their structure, and the performance unravelled.

Once the pressure intensified, Celtic looked completely bewildered and unable to find a response.

McGregor attempted to calm the growing chaos within his team, but he could not ease the anxiety or restore control.

Martin O’Neill watched with the strain clearly visible on his face. He later described it as one of the darkest nights of his football career and accepted responsibility, although the blame could not rest solely with him.

In an urgent effort to halt LASK’s momentum, he used all his available options. However, making five substitutions during a chaotic 12-minute spell changed nothing.

Celtic failed to register a shot on target throughout the second half or during extra time. They were merely clinging on, and the eventual outcome felt increasingly inevitable.

LASK did not score their fourth until the 90th minute, but their performance fully merited it.

By then, the hosts had attempted 33 shots against Celtic and would eventually finish with 40, following the 20 efforts they produced in the first leg. The contest had become overwhelmingly one-sided.

Cameron Carter-Vickers was struggling to move freely, while Hogh was in a similar condition. LASK continued attacking in waves as Celtic tried to resist with a defensive line consisting of Anthony Ralston, Dane Murray, Trusty and Liam Scales.

The fifth goal merely brought the ordeal to an end, arriving after yet another Celtic mistake at a crucial moment. Following the errors from Nygren and Trusty, Luke McCowan became the latest player to falter, confirming Celtic’s elimination from the Champions League.