LASK manager Dietmar Kühbauer has been speaking after his side's famous Champions League qualifying comeback against Celtic. The Austrian champions went into the second leg three goals down, and that deficit grew to four goals within the first half.
But they went on to score the next five goals across normal and extra time, securing perhaps one of the best comeback wins of all time at this stage of the competition.
LASK had their chances in the first leg, but Celtic's three quality goals seemed to gloss over the ability of the Austrian side. LASK went into the second leg full of belief, and they were very unlucky not to score before Celtic scored and thought they had one it.
But the home side still kept their belief, with the home fans remaining firmly behind their side throughout. Celtic were naive, there is no doubt about it, and had they been smart with the ball, even LASK, with their belief, would have been powerless to prevent their exit.
But the right combination of the home side rallying, producing some quality strikes, and Celtic creating the conditions for a comeback resulted in a catastrophic collapse from the Bhoys.
LASK boss speaks at full-time
After the game, LASK boss Kühbauer, who had been speaking about his belief in his players even after the 3-0 first leg defeat, told Sky Sports Austria: "It’s an incredible feeling.
"The way the boys did it today, you simply have to get into the Champions League. Of course, we know the bar is even higher there. But I think Celtic are also a good opponent. We played them against the wall today, and all the statistics show that. I really take my hat off to this team because they basically made the impossible possible. That’s why I’m very, very happy to be the coach of this team.”
He added: “I really believed in it. The boys believed even more, as you could see today.”
There will be big questions asked about the Celtic mentality after this game, and how it differed from that of LASK.
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