Celtic's Champions League hopes ended in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night as they surrendered a four-goal aggregate lead to lose 5-1 to LASK in the play-off second leg in Linz. The Scottish champions had won the first leg 3-0 and even took the lead through Callum McGregor in the 21st minute, but the Austrian side staged a stunning comeback to win 5-1 after extra time and progress 5-4 on aggregate.
Historic collapse in Austria
LASK, who had trailed 0-4 on aggregate, forced extra time with a 4-1 lead on the night and sealed victory with a goal from Samuel Adeniran in the 109th minute. The Austrian champions even missed a penalty in the dying moments but still secured their first-ever place in the Champions League group stage.
The defeat means Celtic will now compete in the Europa League instead. Under-fire CEO Michael Nicholson had spent £27million this summer, including a record £11million signing, but the team's patchwork defence was overwhelmed as LASK racked up 40 shots and an expected goals (xG) of 4.91 in front of around 17,000 spectators at the sold-out Oberösterreich Arena.
World media reaction
Austrian outlet Kurier said: "After a year's absence, Austria is back in the Champions League – and deservedly so, and it didn't take a miracle, just a really good performance. LASK turned around a 0-3 defeat in the first leg of their play-off against Celtic Glasgow with a 5-1 victory after extra time."
Der Standard described it as a "historic football miracle", while ORF called it the "Miracle of Linz" and noted the victory earned LASK €18million in prize money. Krone said LASK had achieved "the seemingly impossible" and would play in the Champions League for the first time in their club history.
O'Neill takes responsibility
Spanish outlet AS said Celtic experienced "one of their darkest episodes in recent years in the most unexpected way", and that manager Martin O'Neill "will need a long time to process what happened to his side". Marca noted LASK "even had time to miss a penalty in the dying moments" and returned to a competition they had not played in since the European Cup of 1965.
Veteran boss Martin O'Neill held his hands up and took responsibility after the game, with his players also in the firing line. The upcoming Europa League campaign could see Celtic Park as flat as it's ever been, given the scale of the collapse.
