Celtic crashed out of the Champions League playoff in Linz, losing 5-1 in extra time to Austrian champions LASK despite carrying a 3-0 first-leg lead into the night. The tie ended 5-4 to LASK on aggregate.

Callum McGregor's second-leg opener had put Celtic 4-0 up on aggregate. A stray pass by Benjamin Nygren then sparked the LASK fightback. Speaking on Sweden international duty in Stockholm on Sept 26, Nygren said the exit still hurts the players: 'It's tough of course. As a player you always want to play in the biggest tournaments.'

It is the second consecutive year Celtic have missed the Champions League; last year they lost on penalties to Kazakh side Kairat Almaty at the same stage. The two playoff exits combined are estimated to have cost the club at least 60 million pounds, and the result has been described as the worst ever in Celtic's history.

Celtic now drop into the Europa League as a consequence of the defeat. Whether the club can rebuild confidence quickly will be tested in Europe's second tier, with questions lingering over the squad's nerve on the biggest stage.