After a 3-0 first-leg defeat, the Austrian side pulled off an epic comeback against the Scottish giants to book their place in the Champions League main stage after 61 years.
The 2026-27 Champions League league phase welcomed three more qualifiers on Tuesday: Azerbaijan’s Sabah, Bodo/Glimt, and LASK Linz. Defying all the odds, the Austrian outfit completed a monumental comeback to secure their return to the continental elite, a stage they had not graced since 1965.
Evoking memories of Barca’s unforgettable 6-1 miracle against PSG or Deportivo La Coruna’s 4-0 turnaround against Milan, Dietmar Kuhbauer’s side overturned their daunting 3-0 first-leg deficit from Celtic Park to cruise to an emphatic 5-1 triumph in Linz. The result condemned the Scottish champions to one of their heaviest continental humiliations, marking just the tenth time in their 128-year history that Celtic have conceded five or more goals in a European match.
American forward Samuel Adeniran was the hero of the hour with two spectacular strikes. After unleashing a long-range thunderbolt to make it 3-1, Flecker forced extra time by finding the net in the 90th minute. In the additional period, on the 109-minute mark, the striker conjured another precise finish from the edge of the area to book their place. His virtuoso display was only denied a hat-trick when Sinisalo saved a penalty from him in the 115th minute.