Celtic 3–0 LASK: Duran's Double Leads Hoops to Champions League Brink
Celtic have one foot in the new-look Champions League league phase after dismantling LASK 3–0 on a raucous night at Celtic Park – but Martin O’Neill walked off the pitch talking more about danger than destiny.
The scoreline screams control. The contest did not start that way.
Early scare jolts Celtic
Inside the opening minute, LASK thought they had ripped up the script. A quick break, the ball in the net, away fans erupting – only for the flag to go up and the goal to be chalked off.
O’Neill had warned about their pace before kick-off. He watched those words come to life immediately.
“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,” he told TNT Sports. “It took us 10, 15 minutes to get in our stride.”
For that spell, the Austrians snapped into tackles and broke with intent, hinting at why O’Neill labelled them “a very, very, very fine, talented team”.
Then Celtic settled. And once they did, the tie tilted.
Nygren opens the door
The first real moment of quality belonged to Benjamin Nygren.
Given a yard of room outside the box, the forward shaped his body and whipped a brilliant strike beyond the LASK goalkeeper to break the deadlock. One touch to set, one swing to silence the jitters.
It was the kind of goal that changes the temperature of a European night. The anxiety in the stands eased. Celtic’s passing grew bolder, their press sharper. LASK, so bright early on, suddenly found themselves penned in.
The pressure began to build. Then Camilo Duran took over.
Duran steals the show
Shortly before half-time, Duran produced the moment everyone inside Celtic Park will remember.
A cross dropped invitingly, and the forward met it with a stunning volley, thundering the ball past the keeper to send the stadium into full eruption. Technique, timing, conviction – all of it in one ruthless swing.
Chris Sutton, watching on duty, was among those blown away by the finish. He has seen a few European nights here. This one still made him sit up.
LASK trudged off at the break two down, the tie suddenly feeling a lot longer than 90 minutes.
Any hope of a second-half fightback faded when Duran struck again after the interval. Celtic carved out another opening, and he was there to apply the decisive touch, his second of the night capping an outstanding individual display and an excellent collective one.
Three goals, no reply. A commanding cushion to take to Austria.
O’Neill keeps the brakes on
From the stands, it felt like a statement win. From the technical area, O’Neill saw a different picture – one of a “really tough evening” against opponents who carried enough threat to keep him wary of the return leg.
“I thought it was a really tough evening for us. Yeah. Really tough evening,” he said. “We won 3-0, and they’re a really good side.
“I said to the players beforehand 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.”
That last line summed up his mood. Satisfaction, not celebration.
Ninety minutes from the “proper” Champions League
The new Champions League format has altered the landscape, but the stakes feel familiar. Celtic now travel to Austria knowing they are potentially just 90 minutes away from the “proper” competition, the league phase where the continent’s heavyweights wait.
A three-goal lead should be enough for a side of Celtic’s pedigree. LASK, though, showed in those frantic early exchanges – and in the way O’Neill spoke about them – that this tie is not one to be treated casually.
Celtic have given themselves a golden platform. The question now is simple: can they finish the job and step back onto Europe’s biggest stage with the same authority they showed in Glasgow?
