Celtic's Champions League dream ended in ruins and shame on a nightmare night in Linz, as LASK overturned a 4-0 aggregate lead to win 5-1 and send the Hoops tumbling into the Europa League. The defeat also saw Celtic wave goodbye to the £40m bounty on offer in the group stage.
Nightmare in Linz
Celtic had a 96 percent chance of making the Champions League after last week's first leg, according to calculations, but the number crunchers were miles out. Martin O'Neill's men even took the lead in Austria to lead 4-0 on aggregate, then hit the self destruct button in shocking fashion.
Callum McGregor's opener should have eased the tension when he drilled in off LASK defender Andres Andrade after Yang dashed down the flank and cut back into his path. But the Austrians were gifted a lifeline when Benjamin Nygren knocked the ball into the path of Moser Usor, who made no mistake.
Second half collapse
Just two minutes into the second half, Robert Ljubicic took advantage of Celtic dropping too deep to tuck into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Samuel Adeniran then whipped into the far corner from 25 yards to make it 3-1 on the night and spark a full on crisis.
Kieran Tierney and Colby Donovan limping off were further blows on the back of another huge scare when LASK hit the bar. Florian Flecker nodded in the rebound from Viljami Sinisalo's save to send the tie to extra time, where Adeniran hammered in the final nail from long range in the second period after Luke McCowan's pocket got picked. LASK could even afford to miss a spot kick.
Five talking points
Celtic have suffered some horrendous Champions League qualifying exits over the years, but this one might be the worst of the lot. To blow a four goal lead was unforgivable. LASK racked up an astonishing 51 shots on goal in 180 minutes, and the litany of shame now includes LASK along with Kairat, Maribor, Malmo and the rest.
Celtic should have had enough to see off LASK, but the club made life hard for themselves. Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran have been quality additions and Mika Baur shows promise, but him and Haissem Hassan needed more time. The squad looked light coming into the clash, and it's no excuse when there's money in the bank and time to sort the squad.
Celtic might believe they are a Champions League club but the stats suggest otherwise. It's another crack at the Europa League and the best part of £40m down the spout. O'Neill still needs to strengthen his squad, but waving goodbye to the big pay off could have a knockout effect on his plans in the remainder of the window.
Arne Engels being sold for £22m was good business, but only if his replacement was lined up to come in the door right away. Callum McGregor can only do so much on his own, and he was completely swamped as Celts suffered for having a soft centre.
Celtic's need for reinforcements was highlighted by the number of players hobbling off. Cameron Carter-Vickers needed eased back in rather than flogged, and Kieran Tierney was hurting long before he was forced to leave the scene. It's another reason new faces will be needed to take off some of the strain.
