Celtic 3–0 LASK: Duran's Brilliance Puts Hoops Close to Champions League

Celtic have one hand on a place in the Champions League league phase after dismantling LASK 3–0 at a crackling Celtic Park – yet Martin O’Neill walked away talking more about danger than dominance.

For a few wild seconds, though, it looked like the night might belong to the Austrians.

LASK thought they had stunned the stadium inside the opening minute, the ball swept into the net before many home fans had even taken their seats. The celebrations were cut short by the offside flag, but the warning was loud and clear. Celtic were rattled, LASK sharp, and O’Neill’s pre-match words about their pace and quality suddenly felt very real.

“It was a really tough evening for us. Yeah. Really tough evening,” O’Neill told TNT Sports. “We won 3-0, and they’re a really good side.”

It took Celtic 10 to 15 minutes to find their rhythm. Once they did, the tie tilted.

Benjamin Nygren was the one who finally broke LASK’s resistance, and he did it in style. Picking up space outside the box, he stepped onto the ball and lashed a brilliant strike beyond the goalkeeper. The tension that had hung over the early stages evaporated in a roar. Celtic had settled. LASK had been punished.

From there, the stage belonged to Camilo Duran.

The forward produced the moment of the night shortly before half-time, meeting a cross with a stunning volley that ripped into the net and sent Celtic Park into bedlam. It was the kind of finish that lives in European highlight reels, and it left LASK suddenly staring at a mountain.

Chris Sutton was among those left purring over Duran’s technique, and he was far from alone. The goal felt like a statement – of confidence, of quality, of Celtic’s intent to take this Champions League route by the scruff of the neck.

Duran wasn’t finished. After the break, with Celtic now playing with a swagger and LASK forced to chase the game, he struck again. His second of the night capped an excellent team performance and turned a tight-looking qualifier into a commanding 3–0 first-leg lead.

Three goals. A clean sheet. A crowd in full voice. On paper, it looks close to perfect.

Yet O’Neill refused to dress it up as job done.

“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,” he said. “And we still have our work cut out, but we’ve given ourselves a chance, let me put it that way.

“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, and it took us 10, 15 minutes to get in our stride.”

That early scare is clearly still on his mind. LASK showed enough in those opening exchanges, and in flashes throughout, to remind Celtic that this tie is not a procession. A quick goal in Austria, a hostile atmosphere, and the mood can change in an instant.

For now, though, the equation is simple. Celtic travel to Austria with a three-goal cushion, their attacking stars in form, and the Champions League proper just 90 minutes away. The platform is there.

What they do with it next week will say plenty about where this Celtic side is really headed this season.