Celtic's Historic Collapse in Champions League Qualifiers

Martin O’Neill did not try to dress it up. On a night of historic collapse, the Celtic manager admitted this was as sore as anything he has felt in more than 300 games in charge.

From 4-0 up on aggregate and apparently strolling into the Champions League league stage, Celtic somehow contrived to crash out against Lask in Austria, losing 5-1 on the night after extra time. A tie that looked dead became a wound that will sting for years.

From cruise control to catastrophe

Callum McGregor’s goal after 21 minutes seemed to kill the contest. Celtic had already banked a 3-0 first-leg lead; his crisp finish pushed them four clear on aggregate and, for a spell, they played like a side already counting Champions League money.

They should have. O’Neill knows it.

“We should have been out of sight by half-time,” the 74-year-old said. “We scored a goal, which was great, we missed two great, great opportunities. And then we give them a lifeline just before half-time and then one just after it. And they come roaring back.”

That was the turning point. What had been a procession became a siege. Lask, suddenly alive, swarmed all over a Celtic side that lost its nerve, its structure and, ultimately, its place in Europe’s elite competition.

By the time extra time finished, Celtic had conceded five times on the night. The four-goal cushion was gone, the Champions League dream with it.

A £20m blow and a bruised legacy

The consequences go beyond embarrassment. Dropping into the Europa League carries a financial hit of at least £20m, a brutal swing for a club built on the revenue and prestige of Champions League nights.

For O’Neill, who guided Celtic to a Uefa Cup final in 2003, the scale of this collapse cuts deeper than that famous defeat in Seville.

“I would say absolutely, yes,” he said when asked if this was among his most painful nights. “I’d put it down before the disappointment of losing the Uefa Cup final in 2003, but it’s so, so disappointing.

“Obviously we conceded, from our viewpoint, not good goals at all. But that’s my team and that’s my responsibility.”

He would not be drawn into a full inquest on recruitment or depth, but he did not pretend the occasion was anything less than elite level.

“These are tough games. And it might only be a Champions League qualifying game, but it felt like a Champions League game. I thought they were a fine side. But that doesn’t matter. We should have been able to have seen it through. And we didn’t do. Talking about the squad, that’s for another day.”

McGregor: “We got what we deserved”

If O’Neill was blunt, his captain was brutal.

McGregor, who had seemingly set Celtic on their way with that early strike, did not search for excuses when he spoke afterwards.

“We got what we deserved,” he told Amazon Prime. “I thought we were so passive. All night. We actually looked scared to go and win the game, and when you are 3-0 up it’s psychological.”

He did not spare the first leg either.

“To be honest I didn’t think we were that good in the first leg, either. We scored at good times and kind of got away with it. You go 3-0 and you think you’ve got a real chance but when you play like that you can’t have any excuse whatsoever.

“We have to suck it up, apologise to the supporters and the club because there is no way that we should lose that game … Now you’ll see what kind of characters are in there.”

That is the challenge now. The Champions League has gone, the money has gone, and a scar sits where a statement victory should have been. What remains to be salvaged from this season will depend on how Celtic live with a night they will never be allowed to forget.