LASK Eliminate Celtic in Dramatic Champions League Play-off Comeback
Ended in a stunning turnaround in Austria, with Celtic losing a 3-0 first-leg cushion and Martin O'Neill calling it a “massive disappointment.” LASK go into…
VIENNA — lask vs celtic ended in a dramatic turnaround in Austria on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, as LASK came from behind in the tie and sent Celtic out of the Champions League play-off round. Celtic had taken a 3-0 lead from the first leg, but the second leg swung sharply and left the Scottish side heading into the Europa League.
The result carries immediate consequences for both clubs. LASK move on to the Champions League, while Celtic’s European route changes after a night that manager Martin O'Neill called a “massive disappointment.”
LASK’s comeback started to take shape after Callum McGregor deflected in the opener, before Nygren gave the Austrian side a lifeline before half-time. Then came the response O'Neill said Celtic never fully controlled.
“We scored a goal, missed two great opportunities, and then we gave them a lifeline before half-time, then one after it and they came roaring back,” O'Neill told Amazon Prime.
He added: “That’s my team and that’s my responsibility.”
The Celtic manager said his side still felt in command at the break, even after conceding a poor goal, but the match slipped away after the interval. “It’s hard to stem it when they are chasing the game, we can’t get out for 10 minutes,” he said. “We seemed to have weathered the storm then they scored to take it to extra time.”
Pressure builds after Celtic’s early edge
Celtic had arrived in Austria with a significant advantage after last week’s first leg, and the visitors were expected to control the tie. Instead, LASK found openings, forced errors and kept the pressure on until the momentum changed completely.
O'Neill did not hide from the scale of the setback. “I’m disappointed that we’ve conceded goals in the manner we did,” he said. “It’s my team, I’m responsible for it.”
He described the fixture as one of the toughest European nights of his Celtic spell. “These are tough games. I know it was a qualifier, but it felt like a Champions League game tonight,” he said. “They’re a fine side, but that doesn’t matter. We should have been able to see it through.”
Celtic captain Callum McGregor also gave a blunt assessment after the collapse. “When you play like that you can’t have any excuses whatsoever,” he told Amazon Prime.
The defeat matters well beyond one night in Austria. Celtic had carried a three-goal cushion into the second leg, which made the outcome a major blow to their European plans. For LASK, the win delivers a place in the Champions League and a chance to build on a night that started with pressure and ended with a place in the competition’s main path.
Sky Sports’ live blog for the tie listed the match on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 23:07 UK time, while Yahoo Sports reported the kickoff as 8pm BST / 3pm ET and published the starting XIs. LASK’s lineup included Jungwirth, Mbuyamba, Tornich, Andrade, Jorgensen, Ljubicic, Bogarde, Horvath, Bello, Usor and Adeniran, while Celtic named Sinisalo, Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Tierney, McGregor, Baur, Nygren, Yang, Duran and Hogh.
LASK also had a spot kick chance during the match, but Adeniran missed it, adding another painful moment for Celtic as the tie slipped further from their reach.
“The players will be massively disappointed,” O'Neill said. “There was a feel-good factor about and it’s become a real disappointment tonight.”
He finished by drawing a sharp line under the scale of the night: “It is absolutely.”
