Celtic will take a commanding lead to Linz next week after defeating LASK 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League playoff.
Moses Usor thought he had opened the scoring for the Austrians inside 39 seconds with a rasping volley above and beyond Viljami Sinisalo, only to be ruled offside. His teammate Samuel Adeniran spurned a brilliant one-on-one chance moments later.
Camilo Duran had a few half-chances as Celtic responded to the early Austrian pressure. Their opener duly then came on 26 minutes through Benjamin Nygren.
His phenomenal strike from the edge of the LASK box preceded an equally stunning Camilo Duran effort shortly before the break.
The Colombian had his finest Celtic performance yet and scored his second of the evening to make it 3-0 just after the hour. On a night of exceptional goals, it topped the lot.
LASK had chances late on, but Martin O'Neill's side defended adequately and deserved their three-goal triumph.
Here are the key talking points from Celtic Park...
Two stunners set the tone
When Celtic need goals, more often than not, Nygren answers the call. After a few early scares, the ball fell to the Swede on the edge of the LASK box following Kieran Tierney's cross.
With a fine left-footed volley, the ball flew into the top-right corner of Lukas Jungwirth's net and Celtic Park exploded. Of the 25 goals Nygren has now scored for Celtic, this was doubtless the greatest in terms of both grandeur and significance.
The 25-year-old has netted four times in as many games this season and, in comparison to last term, is contributing far more in build-up play. He was happy to drop deep here and keep play ticking over in midfield, even adding an assist to his name later in the match.
Just 12 minutes separated Nygren's opener and Duran's almost identical strike. The Colombian latched onto a cleared Tierney cross just outside the penalty area and fired the ball, left-footed, into the same corner of the goal his colleague did.
The Colombian scored five Champions League goals last season and has looked bright in his first few Celtic appearances. After opening his account at Tannadice on Saturday, Duran appears to have found his shooting boots in green and white.
Celtic could not have asked for a better first half. The identity of the scorers was no real surprise either.
Duran Duran
If you thought Celtic's first two goals of the night were good, their third topped the lot. Duran, in an outstanding performance, picked up the ball well into LASK territory after some smart link-up play with Nygren.
He unleashed a stunning effort into the top-left corner for 3-0. Duran has been compared to Daizen Maeda in his early Celtic days, and his terrific recovery run – from the LASK third to his own – to win back possession moments after scoring his second of the night was typical of the now departed Japanese attacker.
O'Neill has been excited about Duran since watching him in his first training session out in Celtic's pre-season camp in Portugal. The 24-year-old has hit the ground running and looks a bargain at £5.5 million.
How did LASK look?
LASK manager Dietmar Kuhbauer could be accused of engaging in some old-fashioned mind games ahead of this one.
"Celtic have a little bit more pressure because everybody knows Celtic," Kuhbauer said in his pre-match press conference. "We are a small club but still a good club. But for Celtic, it’s more pressure than us."
Kuhbauer, who took charge of LASK last October and subsequently led them to the Austrian league and cup double, set his team up in a 3-5-2 formation here.
From the game's infancy, their strength in transition was evident.
In-form striker Samuel Adeniran, who stands at 6ft 4in, began up top alongside the Nigerian Moses Usor. Adeniran had scored five goals in his first four appearances of the season and almost added to his tally three minutes in, missing a 0.54 xG chance from 12 yards out.
It really should have been one-nil LASK, who posed a notable threat on the counter-attack throughout.
Although Celtic are ahead, they must remain wary of their opponents' attacking threat in Austria next Tuesday.
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Mika Baur's first start
German midfielder Baur made his first competitive Celtic start here. Bought last week from 2. Bundesliga club Paderborn for a fee that could rise to £6.5m with add-ons, this was his maiden appearance in European football.
Baur began alongside Callum McGregor and Nygren in an engine room recently affected by Arne Engels' £22m departure to West Ham United.
In terms of profile, Celtic have yet to replace the Belgian, who regularly stood out in both the Champions League and Europa League.
Here, although, by O'Neill's admission, an entirely different player, Baur performed well. He remained equally accurate and progressive with his passing.
The 22-year-old was given license to roam around the pitch, regularly popping up in the right and left half-spaces. There is still much more to come from Baur, and this was an encouraging start to a Celtic career he hopes will bear considerable fruit.
Celtic take crucial lead to Austria
Yes, it's only half-time in the tie, but this was a crucial victory for Celtic.
"Ideally, it would be lovely," O'Neill said on Tuesday when asked how crucial it is for his side to take a lead to Linz.
Last year, Celtic travelled to Almaty needing to win after a goalless draw in the first leg here. We all know what transpired in Kazakhstan.
A year on, though, and under their veteran manager, Celtic have shown plenty of character.
Capable of absorbing pressure when required, they performed admirably on their travels in Europe last season, beating Stuttgart (0-1), Feyenoord (1-3), and drawing with Bologna (2-2).
They can take great heart from their display here, too. No one doubts this iteration of Celtic's ability to score goals and they did that in abundance in the first leg.
O'Neill's charges combined well in the final third and, for the most part, answered the defensive questions asked of them.
Replicate this performance next Tuesday, and a return to the promised land awaits.
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