Ally McCoist Calls Out Celtic After Embarrassing LASK Collapse
Celtic’s extraordinary Champions League collapse against LASK has left supporters stunned, with attention now turning to the performances that allowed a seemingly unassailable advantage to disappear. Among the players likely to face scrutiny is Benjamin Nygren, who had been one of Celtic’s brightest performers in the first leg but endured a difficult evening in Austria.
Celtic entered the second leg with a 3-0 advantage after Nygren opened the scoring in the first meeting with a superb long-range finish. His contribution was crucial in giving Martin O’Neill’s side a commanding platform.
However, the return fixture became a completely different story. Celtic eventually lost 5-1 after extra time, surrendering a four-goal aggregate advantage and crashing out of the Champions League 5-4 on aggregate.
Nygren started the match but was substituted in the 63rd minute, with Reo Hatate introduced as Celtic attempted to regain control of a midfield that had increasingly come under LASK’s influence.
The criticism surrounding Celtic’s second-half performance is therefore understandable. In a hypothetical assessment reflecting the frustration surrounding the result, Ally McCoist could argue that the players appeared to lose concentration once Celtic had established such a significant advantage.
“That is the part I cannot understand. Celtic had done the hard work, but once LASK got momentum, they looked completely different. They were being schooled in that second half. You cannot become complacent at this level.”
Nygren’s situation illustrates the contrast particularly well. He had entered the tie with enormous confidence following his outstanding first-leg display, but the second leg demanded a different type of performance: composure, ball retention and the ability to withstand sustained pressure.
LASK eventually exploited Celtic’s weaknesses relentlessly. Moses Usor equalised before Robert Ljubicic and Samuel Adeniran turned the match around, while Florian Flecker’s late goal forced extra time. Adeniran then struck again to complete one of the most remarkable European comebacks in recent memory.
O’Neill subsequently accepted responsibility for the collapse, acknowledging that Celtic lost control and momentum during the contest. Captain Callum McGregor also admitted that the team’s performance had been too passive.
For Nygren, the defeat will be particularly frustrating because his brilliant first-leg performance had helped place Celtic in such a commanding position. Instead of celebrating Champions League qualification, the winger and his teammates now face another Europa League campaign.
McCoist’s wider message would be clear: Celtic cannot afford to confuse a strong position with a finished job. The first leg demonstrated the team’s quality, but the second leg exposed their inability to manage adversity.
For O’Neill and his squad, the challenge now is to ensure that the LASK collapse becomes a painful lesson rather than the beginning of a damaging downturn.