Exhausted and fragile - how Celtic's capitulation unfolded

ByJack Herrall

BBC Sport Scotland

Catastrophe, capitulation, calamity.

All applicable, all too familiar, all can be levied at Celtic after their Champions League qualification blunder away to LASK.

A night that started full of hope and optimism as Celtic edged four goals clear on aggregate after 21 minutes ended in deep humiliation in a 5-4 aggregate defeat after extra time.

At the same stage last season, their disastrous loss to Kairat Almaty ultimately cast a long shadow over their season and was the nexus point for an overflow of negative fan sentiment towards the club.

Here's how Celtic's nightmare evening unfolded.

LASK started strongly but nowhere near as well as they finished it.

A few chances passed them by before Yang Hyun-jun showed great poise wide on the left to drive forward, cut inside, and pull it back for captain Callum McGregor to step on to.

His strike was deflected past a helpless goalkeeper and gave his side a 4-0 aggregate lead after 21 minutes.

"We're having a party in the Champions League" was the chant coming from the pocket of Celtic fans over on the far side.

Their passage to the Champions League seemed nigh on inevitable.

Samuel Adeniran nodded off target just after the restart and then pulled one wide - the warning signs were there.

LASK had passed up a glut of chances but didn't need to work hard to draw level on the night.

Moses Usor pounced on Benjamin Nygren's pass straight into his path and coolly finished to spark a little bit of hope inside the Raiffeisen Arena.

Surely Celtic had banished their Kairat demons? Surely this would be scant consolation for the hosts?

"It's a lovely composed finish, but that is an absolute gift," James McFadden said on BBC Radio Scotland.

An uneventful opening few minutes to the second half came and went without note.

Then Robert Ljubicic gave the home fans an almighty dose of confidence.

Defender Auston Trusty was caught lacking, and Ljubicic was afforded far too much time to shape and shoot on the edge of the area.

Viljami Sinisalo was beaten low to his left, and Celtic were utterly stunned.

"That is unacceptable," McFadden said on BBC Radio Scotland when describing Trusty's defending.

Major cracks were exposed in Celtic's ability to deal with LASK's rampant press and front-foot football.

LASK took the lead on the night. 48 minutes, 2-1.

LASK pulled further into the lead on the night and were only one goal back on aggregate thanks to a sensational Adeniran strike.

Alarm bells were blaring for the visitors.

Sascha Horvath did ever so well to advance the ball, lift his head, and roll it into his team-mate's path, who stepped on to the ball and curled it in from 25 yards with a sumptuous first-time effort.

Celtic had no response. The hosts were the only side looking likely to score.

The team were flat-footed and bereft of all confidence; from this point on, the game was played almost exclusively in their half.

For all of LASK's huffing and puffing, they were unable to find the all-important leveller in the tie.

The bar was struck, crosses whizzed across the goal, and chance after chance was spurned.

The home side chucked everything they had at Celtic. Corners were whipped in, headers glanced wide, and through balls drilled into the area.

They couldn't get it over the line, though. That one final bounce of the ball didn't drop in their favour.

Sinisalo pulled off a terrific stop to slap Alemao's close-range header away, but no-one had picked up Florian Flecker, who nodded in the equaliser as the time ticked into the four added minutes shown by the fourth official.

McFadden said: "Credit LASK because they haven't given in, but Celtic have created problems for themselves."

Celtic had come so close to the Champions League proper, they were now clinging on.

Extra time loomed.

Often, extra time is a damp squib these days, particularly in big games.

Neither side wants to lose, and both will be happy to take a chance on penalties.

LASK were not in this mood.

With 11 minutes still to play, Luke McCowan won the ball back for his side, but he was far too pedestrian in his decision-making, and he was dispossessed.

Another Adeniran goal from outside the box punished Celtic yet again.

The Champions League now felt like a distant dream, in stark contrast to the tangible next step of earlier on.

Sinisalo got down to make a huge save to deny Adeniran a hat-trick from the spot, but a few minutes later it meant nothing.

120 minutes. 5-4 on aggregate. Celtic's humiliation complete.

"It looked to me as if Celtic were exhausted," former Celtic manager Neil Lennon told Amazon Prime. "Fragile in duels. It only looked like there would be one winner.

"Huge credit to LASK. They battered Celtic tonight, physically and on the football side. It could have been more."