LASK’s dream of reaching the Champions League league phase for the first time has taken a major blow. Dietmar Kühbauer’s side lost the first leg of their play-off tie 3-0 at Celtic, with Benjamin Nygren opening the scoring before the outstanding Camilo Duran struck twice for the Scottish champions.
The match could hardly have started better for the Austrian champions. After just a few seconds, Andrés Andrade sent Moses Usor through with a long pass and the Nigerian finished brilliantly, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Two minutes later, Samuel Adeniran broke clear in front of Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo and fired wide – although the LASK striker had again appeared to stray just offside.
Two superb strikes put Celtic in control
As expected, Celtic took control of possession but initially struggled to create clear openings. LASK defended in an organised manner and repeatedly managed to threaten at the other end. In the 26th minute, however, a moment of individual quality broke the deadlock. After LASK failed to properly clear a cross, Benjamin Nygren met the loose ball first time from around 16 metres and sent a superb strike into the top corner.
Things soon became even more frustrating for LASK. Adeniran appeared to head home an equaliser in the 33rd minute, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside. Five minutes later, the visitors made a costly mistake in their build-up. Celtic quickly attacked down the left before Camilo Duran unleashed another powerful finish to make it 2-0.
The biggest difference between the two teams up to that point was their efficiency. LASK had created opportunities of their own, while Celtic were exceptionally ruthless when their chances arrived. Scottish media also highlighted after the game that the Austrian side had carried considerably more threat than the emphatic scoreline suggested.
LASK register more attempts
The statistics underline that impression. Celtic enjoyed 64 per cent possession, but LASK registered 20 attempts compared with the home side’s 17. The Linz side also had a narrow 8-7 advantage in shots on target.
The xG figures are even more striking. LASK produced around 1.7 expected goals, while Celtic finished on only approximately 0.8. The quality of the three Celtic efforts that found the net therefore goes a long way towards explaining the sizeable gap between the result and the overall course of the game.
The contest remained open early in the second half. Celtic were unfortunate in the 56th minute when a deflected shot struck the post. Six minutes later, Usor had a major opportunity to pull one back at the other end. The LASK attacker created space for himself inside the penalty area with a clever turn, but Sinisalo produced an excellent save.
Duran puts the tie firmly in Celtic’s hands
The decisive third goal arrived soon afterwards. Celtic constructed a fine attacking move, Duran escaped the LASK defence and finished accurately in the 67th minute to make it 3-0. The Colombian summer signing was clearly the standout player of the night. After scoring his first competitive goal in the 4-0 League Cup win over Dundee United, he delivered a brace in what was Celtic’s most important match of the season so far.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was suitably impressed and described Duran’s performance as “world-class”. The experienced coach praised not only the forward’s two goals but especially his work for the team. At the same time, O’Neill warned against treating the return leg as a formality despite the commanding first-leg advantage.
LASK continued to push forward after conceding the third goal, but clear opportunities were hard to come by in the closing stages. Celtic managed their lead calmly and will travel to Upper Austria with a very comfortable cushion.
Kühbauer frustrated by lack of efficiency
LASK coach Dietmar Kühbauer was understandably disappointed by the result but took a much more positive view of his team’s overall performance.
“It was a very strange game. Looking at the result, we lost 3-0, but in general it was almost impossible to come away from here without scoring and to concede three. I think we lost the game because of small details on our part. Two incredible strikes put us behind. The players created a lot of opportunities but lacked efficiency. Celtic had that today and that is why they were able to win the game 3-0. It’s a shame.”
The statistics certainly support Kühbauer’s assessment. Ultimately, however, only the result matters in European competition – and LASK now face an extremely difficult task. In next Tuesday’s return leg in Linz, they will need to score at least three times simply to force extra time. Celtic can even afford to lose by two goals and still qualify for the Champions League league phase. In that scenario, LASK would at least continue their European campaign in the UEFA Europa League league phase.
