Celtic have suffered one of the worst European defeats in their history after losing 5-1 after extra time to LASK in Austria to exit the Champions League play-offs 5-4 on aggregate.
The Parkhead side had taken a 3-0 lead from the first leg into the qualifying play-off tie in Linz and appeared on course for the group stage when captain Callum McGregor opened the scoring on 21 minutes to make it 4-0 on aggregate.
However, the Scottish champions suffered a staggering collapse after Moses Usor drew the Austrian double-winners level before the break.
Second-half goals from Robert Ljubicic, Samuel Adeniran, and a 90th-minute equaliser from Florian Flecker sent the match into extra time at 4-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate.
Adeniran then scored the winning goal for LASK in the 109th minute before having a late penalty saved by Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, sealing a £40million financial blow for the Glasgow club.
Extra-time defeat in Linz
The loss marks the sixth consecutive time Celtic have failed to reach the group stage of Europe's premier club competition when starting from the qualifying rounds, a nightmare run dating back to the 2018-19 season.
Celtic previously suffered qualifying exits against Greek side AEK Athens, Romanian outfit Cluj, Hungarian team Ferencvaros, FC Midtjylland of Denmark, and Kazakh minnows Kairat Almaty.
Speaking after the match, captain McGregor admitted his side looked scared during the contest and issued a grovelling apology to the club and its supporters.
"We got what we deserved. We were passive all night. We actually looked scared to go and win the game," McGregor told Amazon Prime.
"It's psychological. To be honest, I didn't think we were that good in the first leg either. We scored at good times and kind of got away with it. When you play like that, you can't have any excuse whatsoever. We have to suck it up. We apologise to the supporters and the club because there is no way we should lose that game."
McGregor calls for character
The Celtic captain insisted that the squad must take responsibility for their performance rather than pointing to a failure by the board to recruit key players before the tie.
"Now, you will see what kind of character is in there," McGregor said. "There's a lot at stake in terms of the Champions League and you could probably feel the nervousness, last week as well, but when you are so passive and go 1-0 up and it still doesn't settle you, you can't have any excuse. That's on us."
"You fall at a big hurdle and these questions are going to get asked," he added. "It is as much on the players as anything else, to be honest. You cannot lose that game by such a big margin and start looking for excuses elsewhere. You'll now see what people are made of. You have to realise you are playing at a big club."
O'Neill takes full responsibility
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill accepted full responsibility for his side's capitulation at the final whistle, admitting his team should have wrapped up the tie in the first half.
"We should have been out of sight by half-time," O'Neill said. "We scored a goal, missed two great opportunities and then gave them a lifeline just before half-time and then one just after it. We conceded not good goals at all, but that's my team and that is my responsibility."
The Northern Irishman acknowledged that the heavy loss highlighted the need for squad reinforcements, raising questions about why new signings were not brought in prior to the lucrative fixture.
Squad depth exposed
"I think these games show you we obviously have a lot of work to do in that aspect," O'Neill said. "These games are real, real tests for you and, unfortunately, we've failed that test tonight. We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That's absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway."
O'Neill added that missing out on the Champions League group stage will harm Celtic's ability to attract top talent in the transfer window.
"I think I said last week that if you could qualify for the Champions League there would be players wanting to come on that basis," he noted. "That's not going to be the case, but we'll see. Tonight we came up well and truly short, particularly in the second half."
Comparing the result to previous low points in his career, O'Neill stated that while the disappointment did not equal losing the 2003 UEFA Cup final to FC Porto, it ranked as one of his worst nights as Celtic manager.
"I would say yeah, absolutely," O'Neill replied when asked if it was among his worst nights in charge. "I'd put it down before losing the UEFA Cup final of 2003, but it is so disappointing."
