Celtic beat LASK Linz 3-0 at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League play-offs on Wednesday evening. The Scottish side controlled the tie from the first whistle, opening the scoring before half-time and seeing out the match without allowing the Austrian visitors any foothold.
By then the visitors were already on the back foot. B. Nygren found space in the box and slotted home in the twenty-sixth minute, a finish that felt inevitable once Celtic had established their rhythm. LASK could do little more than watch the ball travel.
C. Duran doubled the advantage in the thirty-eighth minute, and here's the thing — it wasn't a moment of magic so much as persistence. Celtic kept knocking on the door until the ball found its way past the goalkeeper, and that pattern would repeat itself throughout the second half.
What stood out was the way Celtic controlled territory without needing to force issues. They passed backward to reset, moved into the final third, and waited for openings to appear. To be fair, LASK had created two big chances of their own, but the visitors lacked the composure to convert them.
Duran added a second goal in the sixty-seventh minute, and by then the result was beyond doubt. We had called for a home victory with 56 per cent confidence before kick-off, and Celtic delivered exactly what was expected — clinical, controlled, and without unnecessary drama.
The statistics tell part of the story. Celtic held 64 per cent possession and registered seven shots on target, while LASK managed eight despite having a higher expected goals figure of 1.58 to Celtic's 0.93. The visitors created more clear-cut opportunities but failed to finish them, while Celtic made do with fewer chances and took them when it mattered.
The win moves Celtic closer to the group stage, and the goal difference will matter if qualification depends on it. LASK return to Austria with work to do before their next European opportunity, but there is nothing to criticise about the manner in which Celtic saw the game out.