The glaring and unforgiveable weakness which cost Celtic so dear in the Champions League play-offs last season and sparked eight months of unrest in the stands has been addressed by the Parkhead board this summer.
Bringing in Kasper Høgh from Bodo/Glimt and Camilo Duran from Qarabag for a combined outlay of £17m ensured that Martin O’Neill had plenty of options up front going into the double header with LASK of Austria.
Høgh played as the lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation in the first leg last night, Duran was once again deployed on the right flank and Callum Osmand and Johnny Kenny were on the bench.
The hosts were far more dangerous going forward than they had in these vitally important games - qualification for the league phase of Europe’s elite club competition is worth £40m to the victors – 12 months ago as a result of their recruitment drive.
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O’Neill’s countryman and predecessor Brendan Rodgers played winger Daizen Maeda through the middle in both of the encounters against Kairat Almaty and his side failed to score once in 210 minutes of football. They then crashed out after losing a penalty shootout.
There were no issues in the final third last night. The hosts were two ahead by half-time thanks to stunning and somewhat similar strikes from first Benjamin Nygren and then Duran. Both were rifled into the top right corner of the opposition net to the delight of tens of thousands of home supporters.
In the second half, Duran forced a save from LASK goalkeeper Lukas Jungwirth and Callum McGregor saw a deflected long-range attempt hit the inside of the post before before the Colombian curled in a third. Cue those tabloid Duran Duran headlines.
Høgh failed to add to his tally for the 2026/27 campaign – but the 6ft 1in target man grafted tirelessly from kick-off until the final whistle and gave the visitors’ defenders a busy evening. His relentless endeavour opened up gaps for those around him.
This tie is by no means done. Sascha Horvath and his team mates had two goals disallowed for offside – including one which Moses Usor whipped past Viljami Sinisalo after just 29 seconds - and were desperately unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. Samuel Adeniran, all 6ft 4in of him, is a real handful.
They will be on a revenge mission in the Raiffeisen Arena next Tuesday evening and should not be written off.
Their opponents have squandered three goal leads in Europe before - against MTK Budapest in the semi-final of the 1963/64 European Cup Winners' Cup - and will suffer the same fate again if they are not at their very best.
It will, though, be a major upset if Celtic fail to get the job done and join the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Inter Milan and Barcelona in the Champions League proper. They should get it over the line thanks to the considerable danger they pose in attack.
New signing Haissem Hassan, a £9m capture from Real Oveido last week, came on for Duran, who received a standing ovation as he left the field, with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Egyptian, who is seriously lacking match fitness and sharpness, was not on long enough to have a significant impact. But he made a positive early impression.
A club which has always had great strikers were criminally short in the crucial position last term. They would have finished trophyless had the now departed Maeda not caught fire in both the William Hill Premiership and Scottish Gas Scottish Cup during the final weeks. But they have well and truly got their mojo back in attack.
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O’Neill, who led Celtic through to the UEFA Cup final during his first stint in in charge in the East End of Glasgow and has something of a Midas touch in Europe, has a little work to do on the training ground to shore up his defence despite the clean sheet they kept. He confessed there remains room for improvement following the triumph.
But the Northern Irishman, who has put his medical issue firmly behind him, masterminded a draw against Bologna in Italy and a win over Bayer Leverkusen in Germany in the Europa League earlier this year. The wily septuagenarian, then, has the nous needed to negotiate the tricky outing and seal a lucrative and longed for Champions League place.
He also has the firepower. The troubles of the past are, with Høgh, Duran, Nygren, Yang Hyun-jun, Hassan and Sebastian Tounekti all at his disposal, now a distant memory. A cool £26m has been lavished on three of those players in recent weeks and it shows. It is still early days, but it looks to be money very well spent indeed.
All that said, being the Celtic manager must be a little like playing a giant game of Whac-a-Mole because the minute one area of concern is addressed another problem pops up.
The void left in midfield by Arne Engels exit to West Ham for £22m should have been filled by Mika Baur. The German made his first start last night and was industrious and tidy.
He made way for Reo Hatate during the closing stages. But will the Japanese internationalist, who received a rapturous round of applause as he made his first appearance since May, stay beyond the window? It is unlikely. Further reinforcements are required in the middle of the park.
Colby Donovan deputised for the injured Alastair Johnston, who is set to undergo a scan on the hamstring injury he suffered against Kilmarnock today, at right-back and had some fine moments both in defence and attack. He was singled out for special praise by his manager after full-time.
It was nice to see a young Scot featuring in such a high-profile match and give such a good account of himself. Hopefully he takes confidence from his assured showing and goes on an extended run in the first team at home and abroad. But can Celtic really go in to the Champions League with just Donovan and Anthony Ralston at right-back?
The Scottish champions will need to do some major business in the coming 10 days or so. They should maybe strive to get their new recruits in a little earlier going forward. These are not the sort of games to be blooding them in.
Still, they should have no concerns about burying chances in the weeks and months ahead, not even in the Champions League, thanks to those whose services they have already managed to secure.
