Celtic's bid to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage collapsed in the most agonising fashion possible, surrendering a four-goal aggregate advantage to fall 5-4 to LASK after extra time in a result that will haunt the club for years.

A perfect start that unravelled

The Scots had arrived in Austria with every reason for confidence. By the 23rd minute, the tie appeared as good as over: Yang Hyun-jun drove forward on the left, cut inside, and rolled the ball back for captain Callum McGregor, whose deflected strike gave Celtic a commanding 4-0 lead on aggregate.

The travelling support celebrated as if the deal were already done, chanting about a party in the Champions League. They could not have imagined what was coming next.

LASK mount a relentless comeback

The first warning arrived in the 32nd minute when Moses Usor calmly converted Benjamin Nygren's through-ball to make it 1-4 on aggregate. Commentating on BBC Radio Scotland, former Scotland international James McFadden called it "an absolute gift" from Celtic's defence.

The second blow landed three minutes into the second half. Defender Auston Trusty was caught in possession, and Robert Ljubicic had all the time he needed to bend a shot low past goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo. McFadden was blunt in his assessment: "That is unacceptable."

LASK were dominant now — pressing relentlessly, pinning Celtic deep inside their own half. In the 58th minute, Sascha Horvath slipped the ball into Samuel Adeniran's path and the forward curled a stunning long-range strike beyond Sinisalo. LASK trailed by just one goal on aggregate, and Celtic had no answer.

The Raiffeisen Arena erupted when Florian Flecker nodded home in the 90th minute — the ball breaking to him unmarked after Sinisalo had managed to keep out Alemao's close-range header. Celtic were level on aggregate and heading into extra time, clinging on.

Extra time delivers the knockout blow

Where many expected both sides to settle for penalties, LASK continued to attack. In the 109th minute, Luke McCowan lost the ball through slow decision-making, and Adeniran punished Celtic again — firing from outside the box to complete a stunning individual performance. The Champions League, which had felt so close just two hours earlier, was gone.

Sinisalo made a fine stop to deny Adeniran a hat-trick from the penalty spot, but it was too little, too late. The final whistle confirmed a 5-4 aggregate exit — a result that mirrors the humiliation Celtic suffered against Kairat Almaty at the same stage last season.

Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon, speaking to Amazon Prime, did not spare his old club. "It looked to me as if Celtic were exhausted," he said. "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."