Celtic still throw away Champions League ticket in bizarre fashion after huge lead | Goal.com
Celtic threw away an almost certain Champions League ticket in bizarre fashion on Tuesday evening. The Scottish champions took a 3-0 first-leg lead into their tie against LASK Linz and even went 0-1 up in the return, but after extra time they crashed to a 5-1 defeat and must now continue in the Europa League.
Early on, there seemed little reason for Celtic to worry. Callum McGregor opened the scoring midway through the first half in Austria, which meant LASK needed four goals at that stage just to force extra time.
LASK refused to give in, though, and were level before half-time through Moses Usor. They still faced a huge task, but the home side kept hopes of an upset alive and flew out after the break.
Robert Ljubicic made it 2-1 shortly after half-time and dragged all the tension back into the tie. Around ten minutes later, Samuel Adeniran struck for 3-1, Celtic started to wobble and belief surged through the Austrians.
After that, LASK kept pushing but had to wait a long time for the goal that would send the match to extra time. It finally arrived deep into stoppage time, when substitute Florian Flecker headed in to make it 4-1 and spark wild scenes at the Raiffeisen Arena.
Then came the full nightmare for Celtic in extra time. Shortly after the second half began, Adeniran tried his luck from long range and the ball flew into the far bottom corner: 5-1.
Adeniran then even had the chance to complete his hat-trick when LASK were awarded a penalty. Goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo kept Celtic alive a little longer with a save, but a final escape never came.
So Celtic watched a commanding position disappear completely and must settle for a place in the Europa League. LASK have qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history and, after Como (Italy) and Sabah (Azerbaijan), are the third debutants in this season's league phase.
Прочети оригиналната новина
