A stunning team goal to seal a 3-0 victory over LASK encapsulated everything Celtic want to be in the UEFA Champions League: inventive, ruthless, and ambitious. The move, spanning barely 30 seconds, began with goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, swept through Colby Donovan and Auston Trusty at the back, and finished with Camilo Duran whipping the ball into the top corner after a slick one-two with Benjamin Nygren. It was the kind of football that sends a message.

Duran and Nygren deliver a statement night

Duran was the driving force, contributing two goals — including a gorgeous volley — to go alongside tireless defensive tracking that earned him the admiration of manager Martin O'Neill and the adoration of the Celtic support. Even with his side 3-0 ahead in the 72nd minute, the 24-year-old Colombian was sprinting back into his own half to win possession. That kind of honesty is what separates good players from great ones.

Nygren, meanwhile, continued his remarkable run of form — four goals in four matches this season, following 21 last campaign. The Swede does not do much besides score and create, which is precisely what every manager in the world covets. Callum McGregor was exceptional in the engine room, and Donovan — a teenager deputising at right-back — impressed O'Neill enough to earn the description: «Big, big heart. Boundless enthusiasm.»

A stark contrast to last year's humiliation

Twelve months ago, Celtic were knocked out of the Champions League by Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, failing to score across 210 minutes of football before missing three penalties in a shoot-out. On Wednesday, they scored three times from open play against LASK — Austrian champions and cup winners — who are no pushovers. O'Neill was careful to preach caution ahead of the second leg, and rightly so: LASK created several chances in Glasgow and will arrive at home with nothing to lose.

Still, Celtic's healthy lead and the prospect of approximately £40 million in Champions League prize money represent a dramatic turnaround in fortune. They had won only 10 of their previous 50 European matches before this result.

Spending wisely — a return to form

O'Neill has confirmed Celtic are in net profit on transfer fees, with the signings of Duran, Nygren, and others funded largely by the sales of Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda. Duran, recruited for somewhere between £4.5 million and £6 million, already looks like one of the shrewdest pieces of business the club has conducted in years — a return to the kind of value-driven recruitment that flourished under Ange Postecoglou.

Kasper Hogh, quiet against LASK but purchased for £11 million, is another who O'Neill expects to deliver in the weeks ahead. The contrast with costly recent failures is difficult to ignore.

How far does Celtic's ambition stretch?

O'Neill was frank about what remains to be done. Celtic require another goalkeeper, a left-back, potentially a centre-back, a defensive midfielder, and a more creative central midfielder if they are to compete seriously in Europe. Winning domestic trophies is no longer the benchmark — their supporters want a share of what clubs like Bodo/Glimt, Midtjylland, and Freiburg have achieved on the continent.

Wednesday's performance was a sure-footed step in that direction. A stadium that recently echoed with protest now rings with belief. Duran helped restore that atmosphere, and he will be central to Celtic's hopes of sustaining it.