LASK, the Austrian side who knocked Celtic out of the Champions League qualifiers in August, have climbed into the competition’s knockout play-off positions after recording an emphatic 4-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday evening.

It represents an impressive turnaround for LASK, who lost their opening two Champions League fixtures but have since responded with consecutive victories.

See the Celtic fixtures for 2026/27 for what comes next.

Their latest result has taken them to six points from four matches, level with the likes of Inter Milan, Manchester United and Galatasaray.

LASK made light work of Slovan Bratislava at the Raiffeisen Arena, with Kasper Jørgensen scoring twice during a dominant first-half performance.

Robert Ljubičić added a third before the interval, while Samuel Adeniran completed the scoring shortly after the restart.

The Austrian outfit registered 29 attempts on goal and enjoyed 60 per cent possession as they secured their second Champions League victory of the campaign.

It follows their impressive 3-2 away win over Sporting CP, with LASK now firmly in contention for a place in the knockout rounds.

The result will attract attention among Celtic supporters given the circumstances surrounding the Hoops’ Champions League elimination.

Celtic appeared to be heading towards the league phase after establishing a 4-0 aggregate advantage in their qualifying play-off against LASK.

However, a remarkable collapse in Austria saw Celtic lose the second leg 5-1, exiting the competition 5-4 on aggregate.

Adeniran and Ljubičić, who both scored against Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday, were also among the goalscorers responsible for Celtic’s elimination.

That defeat denied Celtic a place in Europe’s premier club competition and instead sent them into the Europa League.

Martin O’Neill’s side are preparing to face Beşiktaş at Celtic Park on Thursday, looking to secure their first points of the Europa League league phase.

LASK, meanwhile, have scored ten goals across their opening four Champions League fixtures and currently occupy one of the competition’s knockout play-off places.

Their position could change as the remaining fourth-round fixtures are completed on Wednesday evening, but the Austrian side have already given themselves a platform to compete for European football beyond the league phase.

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