Twenty-one minutes into the second leg in Linz, Callum McGregor’s finish put Celtic 4-0 up on aggregate. Ninety-nine playing minutes later they were out of the Champions League.

LASK’s response has almost no equivalent at this stage of the competition. Moses Usor pulled one back on 32 minutes, Robert Ljubicic added a second three minutes into the second half, and Samuel Adeniran cut Celtic’s aggregate lead to a single goal on 58. Florian Flecker headed in during second-half stoppage time to force extra time, and Adeniran struck again on 109 minutes to send LASK to the league phase.

Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo saved a further Adeniran penalty in the second period of extra time, denying him a hat-trick that would have made the collapse even starker. It did not matter. LASK finished with 41 shots to Celtic’s eight.

McGregor’s goal and then the unravelling

Celtic had arrived in Linz with a 3-0 first-leg lead from Parkhead. McGregor’s early strike appeared to put the tie beyond even a serious Austrian rally: a 4-0 aggregate margin, an away goal, a captain’s finish.

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Usor’s reply changed the temperature. Ljubicic’s finish on 48 minutes and Adeniran’s on 58 changed the tie. Once the score on the night was 3-1 and the aggregate 4-3, LASK were the side pushing and Celtic were the side chasing back.

Flecker’s header and Adeniran’s winner

Flecker’s headed goal in second-half stoppage time was the moment the impossible turned into the probable. It sent the second leg into extra time at 4-1, drew the tie level at 4-4, and left LASK carrying the momentum into the additional half-hour.

Adeniran needed 19 minutes of extra time to settle it. His second of the night arrived on 109 and made it 5-1 on the night, 5-4 on aggregate. Sinisalo’s save from the follow-up penalty prevented a sixth, but by then the Scottish side were playing out a European elimination, not defending a lead.

Martin O’Neill and what comes next

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill, confirmed on a permanent contract in June after winning the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup as interim, now takes his side into the Europa League league phase. The Irish Times described the night as one of Celtic’s all-time European lows.

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For LASK, the reward is a first appearance in the Champions League group stage. The draw for the league phase is on Thursday.

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