Champions League Analysis: How Celtic Collapsed vs LASK

Just when you thought Celtic couldn’t find a new low on the European stage, they found a way. One year after the embarrassing exit to Kairat Almaty, Celtic surrendered a four-goal lead to LASK and will now face another season of Europa League football as a result.

The Austrian champions join AEK Athens, Cluj, Ferencvaros, Midtjylland, and Kairat Almaty on the long list of sides to knock out the Bhoys in the Champions League qualifiers. It is now seven campaigns and ten years since the Hoops successfully navigated the Champions League qualifying rounds.

The ramifications? Pretty damning. For the time being, the Scottish champions have lost their status as a Champions League club. Just two seasons ago, it seemed they had finally overcome that hurdle, reaching the knockout phase and fighting heroically against Bayern Munich.

Now, with two seasons away, the club is well and truly back to square one.

And who is to blame for Tuesday night?

Truthfully, it’s a bit of everyone. The Celtic board will once again be rightly questioned as to why the necessary transfer business wasn’t done before the play-offs. With Arne Engels leaving, a physical box-to-box midfielder should have been in the building. The Hoops have had since January to prepare for his inevitable departure.

Martin O’Neill also has a lot of questions to answer from a tactical point of view. Why Celtic were so open out of possession, in a game where all they needed to do was play it sensibly, will forever be a mystery.

And of course, the players must take responsibility. This is not necessarily for a lack of quality, as that is purely down to recruitment, but for a lack of effort. I am not one to usually brand players as lazy, as I do believe most go out with the intention of playing their best. It makes very little sense to do the inverse, even from a selfish perspective.

However, when you watch back some of the goals from Tuesday night, the midfielders in particular were just jogging back, seemingly unbothered to make a defensive effort. Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren, and Luke McCowan strolled about as though it were a post-match cool-down session. For Nygren, you could perhaps legislate, as he was playing furthest forward and was consistently pressing; however, McGregor and McCowan have nowhere to hide. One is the captain - the man meant to set the standards - and the other had only been on the park for a mere 40 minutes.

Anyhow, Celtic travelled to Austria earlier this week with a 3-0 lead. I, for one, was confident. Yes, there were warning signs last week of just how vulnerable the Hoops could be defending counter-attacks and long balls. However, away from home with a comfortable margin, surely the setup would take this into account and be more measured? Wrong.

The crazy thing is, Celtic started well. Really well. McGregor pulled the strings in possession, linking up brilliantly with Baur. Høgh held the ball up well, Tierney and Donovan bombed down the flanks, and soon the Hoops had a goal to show for it. Yang did particularly well to take on his opposite number and set up the captain for his first goal of the season. The travelling support celebrated; Champions League football crept closer.

Nevertheless, LASK were offered a route back into the game when Nygren sloppily gave away possession. Moses Usor gratefully dispatched the chance, bringing the game to 1-1. Before half-time, though, Celtic were back in the ascendancy. They were finding joy down the left-hand side, with Tierney, Baur, and Yang linking up well.

At half-time, the goal was clear: keep it compact, don't do anything crazy, and simply concede fewer than three goals. What followed was one of the most inexplicable things I’ve ever seen on a football pitch.

Celtic began the second half like a team short on time and needing three goals themselves to qualify. Bodies flew forward, with Colby Donovan and Kieran Tierney overlapping at will. The former continued to do so even when clearly injured. The idea of a defensive midfielder was also completely thrown out the window, with McGregor marauding forward and dawdling back as though it were a pre-season friendly. It was madness. Soon after, the hosts had a lifeline.

If you watch the goal back, Celtic’s out-of-possession structure really baffles. Auston Trusty will get a lot of flak for his defending against Usor, and justly so. The American was simply bullied physically and offered very little resistance. However, it once again comes down to a lack of game management.

Tierney was completely caught out of position, and as a result, Trusty had to run over to cover, leaving a massive gap in the middle. Plus, goalscorer Robert Ljubicic ran behind McGregor, with the 33-year-old completely unaware of his presence. It was a total lack of game intelligence, leaving the Austrian completely unmarked to score. Furthermore, during this sequence, Baur and Nygren weren’t even in the Celtic half.

Make it make sense.

The third goal saw a similar situation. A long ball saw Donovan struggle to deal with it, letting it bounce before shuffling back into a defensive shape. It was a mistake that can happen, but ultimately it shouldn't have left Celtic so vulnerable had there been a midfield in front of the defence.

Yet, once again, the Celtic defensive setup was all at sea, with Nygren and McGregor nowhere to be seen. One of the five players present should have stepped out to try and stop the shot, of course; however, the defensive picture painted above says enough. Compactness was necessary, but O'Neill’s men were completely ragged.

From that moment, it was an onslaught. Celtic would concede two more goals, and in truth, they were lucky it wasn't more. LASK hit the woodwork, missed a penalty, and squandered a range of clear chances.

The team that ended up on the pitch lacked the quality necessary for Europe’s elite competition anyway. Liam Scales came on to play left-back and was even more positionally erratic than Tierney. Ralston took to the park and looked even less comfortable on the ball than the inexperienced, injured figure he replaced.

In midfield, Luke McCowan replaced Benjamin Nygren and quite simply put in one of the worst midfield performances you will ever see. The boyhood Celtic fan wears his heart on his sleeve and looked visibly devastated at the final whistle. With nine misplaced passes, zero successful dribbles, and possession lost 21 times, it was a brutal watch throughout.

Celtic were underprepared - that much is clear. The eleven players who ended the fixture revealed as much. They were also tactically outclassed on the night. What we saw wouldn’t have looked out of place during Wilfried Nancy’s short era; it was amateurish at best.

So, Europa League football awaits. Despite all the negativity surrounding the club after Tuesday night, I do believe this team is only a few key players away from having a good run in the second-tier tournament. A physical box-to-box midfielder and a right-back to temporarily replace Johnston could make a massive difference. Moreover, as the season progresses, you would expect Haissem Hassan to make an impact, and it’s looking increasingly likely that Jota will feature soon.

However, lessons must be learned on the tactical front. By all means, play an unforgiving, front-foot style domestically, but show more caution in Europe. This is not to say O'Neill should park eleven men behind the ball, but there must be a level of compactness and organisation that forces opponents to actually work to score goals.

Anyhow, for another season, all eyes will be on Friday afternoon’s Europa League draw. Last season, 11 points were enough to reach the knockout rounds. This time around, how far can Celtic go?

All Photo Credits: JLA Tactic Board