By JOHN MCGARRY, SCOTTISH CHIEF SPORTS FEATURE WRITER
Published: 22:20 BST, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 22:47 BST, 19 August 2026
To stand any chance of landing a big prize, it helps if one is first in possession of a ticket.
Celtic cannot yet start to count the untold riches which would come via a return to the group stage of the Champions League. A taxing night still awaits them in northern Austria next Tuesday.
Yet, by investing in a fewer number of players who are evidently capable of playing at that level, the club has every reason to believe that a quick return on its £30million investment may soon be realised.
LASK, the Austrian double winners, had more brawn than you'd find on a construction site. They came here to battle and to bully Celtic and at times they succeeded.
But Martin O'Neill's recalibrated side had all the footballing brains. They played more slickly and smartly than their opponents and were eventually deserving of the three-goal cushion they'll seek to protect in next week's return.
They'd to hold their nerve after a sticky start yet worked their way into a hugely commanding position in the tie. They can only blow it now.
Camilo Duran is hailed after scoring Celtic's third goal against LASK
What a night this was for the veteran Northern Irishman as he sought to secure a return to the stage he last graced 22 seasons ago.
The most cautious man on earth, he'll naturally take nothing for granted. But with a spare weekend to prepare for the second instalment, he'll feel quietly confident that his side have given LASK too much to do.
The performance felt like the ultimate vindication for those supporters who have long grown tired of the hierarchy's scatter-gun, parsimonious approach to transfers.
For all Celtic are still in the black to this point in the transfer window, the money lavished on Camilo Duran, Kasper Hogh, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur has certainly been a departure from the approach seen in years gone by.
Both Duran and Hogh made impacts in last year's tournament, scoring five goals for Qarabag and Bodo/Glimt, respectively. At this level, you tend to get what you pay for.
How Duran underscored that point here. He scored two outrageous goals after Benjamin Nygren had handed Celtic the lead with another spectacular strike. What a player the Colombian already looks at £5.5m.
