Celtic suffered one of the worst defeats in Champions League history to exit the competition, losing 5-4 on aggregate to LASK Linz despite being 4-0 up on aggregate early in the second leg.
The Bhoys took a 3-0 lead to Austria after a dominant first leg performance at Celtic Park, and extended that lead further after just 21 minutes through Callum McGregor before capitulating.
LASK hit back to level soon after, but Martin O'Neill's side were in a commanding position at half-time, leading 4-1 on aggregate.
The Austrian champions turned the screw early in the second half, scoring in the 48th and 58th minutes to make it 3-1 on the night but still 4-3 to Celtic on aggregate.
O'Neill's men were hanging on for dear life for the remaining 30 minutes and were just minutes away from securing Champions League football before conceding a fourth goal in the 90th minute to send the tie to extra-time.
The momentum of the hosts, roared on by the home crowd, led to them taking the lead in the tie for the very first time in the 109th minute.
From 4-0 down to 5-4 up 🤯
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 25, 2026
The goal that completed an incredible comeback for LASK against Celtic!
📺 TNT Sports on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/5wt56IIouk
LASK then missed a penalty a few moments later to keep Celtic in the tie, but it didn't matter, as the Scottish champions failed to create anything of note across the 120 minutes of action.
They mustered just eight shots equating to 0.54 xG, with their hosts peppering the goal with 40 shots.
The result means Celtic will be without Champions League football for the second successive season, with this season's failure even tougher to swallow given the commanding position they were in after the first leg.
The Hoops will again be involved in the Europa League, with the draw to take place on Friday.
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Home of This Week's Acca
- Football and other sports tips
- Download the Sporting Life app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
