Callum McGregor delivered the sharpest verdict of the evening — not from the pitch, but from the post-match interview room. In labelling his own teammates "passive" and "scared" while sitting on a 4-0 aggregate lead, Celtic's captain offered a damning self-assessment that no outside critic could have phrased more precisely.

It is rare to see McGregor as openly furious as he was after Celtic's collapse against LASK. He did not shout. He spoke in measured tones, which made every word land harder. He was not simply frustrated — he was raging at a professional humiliation witnessed by the whole of European football.

A collapse that defies logic

Celtic had started the second leg in Linz with McGregor's deflected effort extending their aggregate advantage. At 4-0, LASK appeared broken. What followed should not have been possible.

Benjamin Nygren's careless pass handed LASK a route back into the tie in the 32nd minute. Celtic, already showing nerves at 4-1 on aggregate, then conceded again within three minutes of the second half — Auston Trusty brushed aside too easily for LASK's second. Ten minutes later the hosts had their third, and the Celtic collapse was complete.

Camilo Duran, the standout performer in the first leg, contributed almost nothing. Kasper Hogh ran hard but without effect. Passes broke down, shape dissolved, and Celtic offered nothing going forward. They registered zero shots on target in the second half of normal time and throughout extra-time.

LASK finished the tie with 40 attempts on Celtic's goal across the second leg alone, following 20 in Glasgow. By the time Luke McCowan contributed to the fifth goal, the exit was long confirmed.

Martin O'Neill's worst night

Manager Martin O'Neill aged visibly in the technical area. He called it one of the worst nights of his career in football and accepted responsibility — though the problems on the pitch ran far deeper than any individual decision made in the dugout. Five substitutions across 12 chaotic minutes produced no improvement.

Cameron Carter-Vickers hobbled through the closing stages on a clearly compromised leg, while a makeshift back four of Anthony Ralston, Dane Murray, Trusty, and Liam Scales was overwhelmed by wave after wave of LASK pressure.

Structural problems remain unresolved

Celtic's ambition is once again under scrutiny. The club have no adequate cover for Kieran Tierney at left-back and lack a physically dominant presence in central midfield — precisely the type of player who might have withstood LASK's relentless pressing. These are not new observations.

Their transfer business this summer has left them in net profit, which is difficult to defend after an evening that exposed the squad's limitations so brutally. Spending £40 million on a match and fielding that defensive lineup are not actions consistent with a club operating at the highest level of ambition.

The list of LASK's predecessors — Kairat Almaty, Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Cluj, AEK Athens, Sparta Prague — now has a new entry. Celtic's European cycle of hope and humiliation continues, and until the structural deficiencies are addressed, there is little reason to expect the next chapter to read any differently.