LASK achieved a remarkable turnaround to reach the Champions League league phase, overcoming a 3-0 first-leg deficit to eliminate Celtic. The Austrian side appeared headed for an early exit when Callum McGregor extended the Scottish club’s aggregate lead to 4-0 midway through the first half. However, Moses Usor sparked a revival just before halftime, and the momentum shifted decisively as Robert Ljubicic, Samuel Adeniran, and a stoppage-time strike from Florian Flecker forced the match into extra time.
In the second period of extra time, Adeniran netted the decisive goal to complete the comeback. Although he missed an opportunity to secure a hat-trick when his penalty was saved by Finnish goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, LASK held firm to seal a 5-4 aggregate victory. This result marks the first time the club has reached the Champions League group stage, a significant improvement after their difficult Europa Conference League campaign last season.
Elsewhere in the competition, Azerbaijan’s Sabah secured their first-ever group stage appearance by overcoming a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Hapoel Beer-Sheva. Despite trailing 2-1 on the night in Baku, a late injury-time goal from Tellur Mutallimov forced extra time. Sabah ultimately triumphed 5-2, securing a 6-4 aggregate win with additional goals from Orphe Mbina and Joy-Lance Mickels. The match ended in frustration for the visitors, who saw both Djibril Diop and Eliel Peretz receive red cards during the extra period.
Bodo/Glimt continued their impressive European form by advancing to the group stage for the second consecutive year. The Norwegian side dominated their tie against NEC Nijmegen, winning 3-0 on the night and 6-1 on aggregate. The Dutch visitors faced an uphill battle from the start after goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz was dismissed just three minutes into the match. Fredrik Andre Bjorkan and Sondre Auklend found the net, while a Deveron Fonville own goal rounded out the scoring.
Bodo/Glimt, who reached the round of 16 last season following notable victories over Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan, proved their consistency once again. These results finalize a dramatic round of play-offs, setting the stage for the upcoming group phase of the tournament. The report also notes that samuel Adeniran’s strike 11 minutes from the end of extra-time completed a stunning comeback for Austria’s LASK as they reached the Champions League league phase at Celtic’s expenses.
