Celtic endured one of their all-time European lows on Tuesday when they suffered a 5-1 defeat by LASK to end their Champions League ambitions.
The Hoops squandered a four-goal aggregate lead as they were consigned to a second consecutive season in the Europa League.
Here, we look back at some of Celtic’s most disappointing European nights.
MTK Budapest 4 Celtic 0: European Cup Winners’ Cup, 1963-64
Celtic appeared to be cruising to their first European final after a double from Stevie Chalmers and a Jimmy Johnstone strike gave them a three-goal first-leg lead. But Hungary international Karoly Sandor produced a masterclass to help turn the tie around.
Neuchatel Xamax 5 Celtic 1: UEFA Cup 1991-92
The Swiss side stunned Liam Brady’s men with four goals inside the first 55 minutes before defender Brian O’Neil pulled one back. But Hossan Hassan’s fourth goal of the game sent Celtic on their way to a 5-2 aggregate defeat.
Artmedia Bratislava 5 Celtic 0: Champions League qualifier, 2005-06.
Gordon Strachan endured a disastrous start to his Celtic reign as Juraj Halenar netted a hat-trick for the Slovakians. Aiden McGeady missed a sitter at 2-0 and the deficit proved too much as Celtic won 4-0 in the second leg.
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Utrecht 4 Celtic 0: Europa League play-off, 2010-11
Celtic lost out on Champions League progress in the early days of Neil Lennon’s reign when they lost 3-0 in Braga, but worse was to follow two weeks later. Celtic’s 2-0 first-leg advantage was wiped out in a seven-minute spell which saw Ricky van Wolfswinkel net twice from the penalty spot, and the future Norwich striker completed his hat-trick early in the second half. Barry Maguire, a Dutchman with a Celtic-supporting Irish father, completed the rout.
Lincoln Red Imps 1 Celtic 0: Champions League qualifier, 2016-17.
Another calamitous managerial debut befell Brendan Rodgers. Poor defending from Efe Ambrose allowed Lee Casciaro to score two minutes after the break as Gibraltar’s semi-professional champions inflicted arguably the most embarrassing result in Celtic’s history. Rodgers’ side recovered to win the second leg 3-0 and reach the Champions League.
Barcelona 7 Celtic 0: Champions League, 2016-17
Celtic knocked Barca out of the UEFA Cup in 2004 and beat them again in 2012 but a 6-1 defeat in the Nou Camp in 2013 signalled a growing shift in dynamics in European football as Celtic found it increasingly difficult to compete with the richest clubs. A Lionel Messi hat-trick helped consign Celtic to a record European defeat three years later and they have since gone down 7-1 against both Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund and 6-0 to Atletico Madrid.
Kairat Almaty 0 Celtic 0: Champions League play-off, 2025-26
There is a lengthy list of recent Champions League qualification failures but last season’s stands out given its self-inflicted nature. The club had failed to sign a proven striker to replace Kyogo Furuhashi following his £10million move to Rennes seven months earlier and drew a blank over 210 minutes against Kazakhstan’s champions before losing on penalties.
