Celtic Crash Out of Champions League as LASK Complete Extra-Time Comeback in Linz
Celtic are out of the Champions League. A 3-0 first-leg lead, built at home on 19 August, vanished in the Austrian city of Linz as LASK won the second leg 5-1 after extra time, taking the play-off tie 5-4 on aggregate (The Independent).
The first leg had gone as well as Celtic could have hoped. Camilo Duran scored twice in a 3-0 win at Celtic Park that left the Scottish side firmly in control (BBC Sport). To reach the group stage of Europe's premier club competition — where Champions League sides share tens of millions in broadcast and prize money — Celtic needed only to protect that advantage over 90 minutes in Linz on 20 August (Celtic FC).
They could not. LASK, the reigning Austrian Bundesliga champions after finishing two points ahead of Sturm Graz (Celtic FC), tore into the tie from the start. The momentum shifted across 90 minutes and then through extra time, the additional 30-minute period played when a two-leg tie is level on aggregate. By the final whistle LASK had scored five on the night.
Adeniran was at the centre of it. The LASK forward scored from outside the box in extra time and looked certain to complete a hat-trick when he stepped up to take a penalty. Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo denied him, saving the spot-kick — but the reprieve changed nothing (BBC Sport).
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon, watching on, was blunt in his assessment. He said Celtic looked "exhausted and fragile" in duels, and that LASK had "battered them physically and on the football side" (BBC Sport). For a side that beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in the 2024/25 Champions League campaign (UEFA), surrendering a three-goal cushion in this manner will sting.
LASK and Celtic do have a European history. In a previous meeting between the clubs, Celtic won 2-1 in Austria thanks to goals from Billy Kirkwood and an Eamonn Bannon penalty (Celtic FC). This time, there was no such joy on Austrian soil.
For Celtic, the Champions League group stage — the league phase that follows these qualifying rounds, featuring Europe's top clubs playing in a mini-league format — is gone for another year. LASK, instead, take their place among the elite.
