Celtic 3–0 LASK: Duran's Double Leads Champions League Charge
Celtic have one hand on a place in the new-look Champions League league phase after dismantling LASK 3–0 on a raucous night at Celtic Park – but Martin O’Neill is refusing to believe the job is done.
The scoreline was emphatic. The message from the manager was anything but.
Early scare, rapid response
The tie exploded into life inside a minute. LASK thought they had struck a dream opener, silencing the home crowd as the ball was swept into the net before many had found their seats. The visitors wheeled away in celebration, only to see the effort ruled out for offside.
It was a sharp reminder of the threat O’Neill had warned about. Celtic wobbled. For 10 to 15 minutes, they struggled to find their rhythm, penned back by a side brimming with pace and intent.
Then the game turned.
Benjamin Nygren, drifting into space outside the box, seized his moment. A crisp, brilliant strike from distance ripped past the goalkeeper and into the corner, and Celtic Park erupted. From anxiety to authority in an instant.
Duran steals the show
With the nerves eased, Celtic began to play with a swagger. The passing sharpened, the press bit harder, and LASK suddenly found themselves scrambling.
Camilo Duran took full advantage.
Shortly before half-time, a looping ball dropped his way and he met it with a stunning volley, the kind of clean, vicious connection that leaves a keeper rooted. The stadium shook. Celtic had daylight.
After the break, Duran finished the job. Alive to another opening, he added his second of the night to cap a statement performance and send the tie lurching firmly in Celtic’s favour. Chris Sutton was among those purring over the forward’s technique and composure, his praise echoing what thousands inside the ground had just witnessed.
At 3–0, Celtic were rampant. LASK, who had started with such conviction, suddenly looked like a side hanging on.
O’Neill’s warning shot
For all the celebrations, O’Neill cut a measured figure when the dust settled.
“I thought it was a really tough evening for us. Yeah. Really tough evening,” he told TNT Sports. “We won 3-0, and they’re a really good side.
“I said to the players beforehand, anyway, that they’ve got plenty of pace up front as well too, and they’re a very, very, very fine, talented team.
“And we still have our work cut out, but we’ve given ourselves a chance, let me put it that way.
“They scored a goal just in the first minute chalked off for offside or whatever it was, and they started so brightly it was untrue, and it took us a 10, 15 minutes to get in our stride.”
Those opening seconds still nag at him. They underline why, despite the three-goal cushion, he refuses to treat next week’s return leg in Austria as a formality.
Ninety minutes from the “proper” stage
The equation is simple now. Celtic travel to Austria knowing they are potentially 90 minutes away from the Champions League proper, from the glamour and the money and the noise of Europe’s biggest nights returning in full.
They carry a commanding lead, a forward in Duran who looks in ruthless mood, and a manager who will spend the next week reminding them that LASK showed enough in Glasgow to remain dangerous.
Three goals to the good, momentum on their side – but is this tie already over, or has the real test still to come in Linz?
