National wird das reichen, aber international haben sie uns gezeigt, dass sie es besser gemacht und uns im Schießen ein bisschen etwas vorgezeigt haben.
LASK wants to "still achieve the impossible"
However, giving up was not an option after the match; attention was already turning to the return leg in Linz on Tuesday. "The boys have to learn from this, but they must not bury their heads in the sand. We still have a home game now and will do everything we can to still achieve the impossible," Kühbauer told CANAL+.
"In the home game, we naturally need an extraordinary performance. If we are more efficient, it might still be achievable. Basically, we didn't do much wrong; the minor details decided it," says the coach.
Captain Sascha Horvath also agrees: "Now you first have to score three goals at home."
Nevertheless, Celtic had more of the ball, but with so many chances, one has to go in, they will look closely at that and try to do better in the return leg. "The chances we had today, we must utilize all of them; at the back, we must stand compactly and also close the spaces."
International matches are indeed different from the Bundesliga
For Adeniran, it's clear that the return leg doesn't have to be perfect, but simply good enough: "Of course, there is hope for me and also for my teammates. If Celtic can score three goals, we can do it too; it's not impossible."
Kühbauer also clarifies the difference to the Bundesliga again: "In international matches, it's a different ball game. Nationally, that will be enough, but internationally, they showed us today that they did better and demonstrated a bit more in terms of shooting."
Celtic coach Martin O'Neill pays his respects to LASK after the match. It's far from over, and a lot of work awaits in the return leg. "They had good chances and can be unlucky. I don't want to talk us down at all, but it was a tough game."
Celtic delighted with attacking prowess
Ultimately, perhaps individual quality also made the difference.
One of these game-changers was Benjamin Nygren, who assessed the duel as follows: "In my opinion, we were superior in terms of possession. There were some moments where we didn't defend well, where we made too many mistakes and they could counter. Then we scored two very good goals, which was probably the turning point."
And new signing Camilo Duran was also instrumental in the Scots' success with his two goals. He received special praise from his coach: "He is a top player; besides his dribbling and goals, he also tracks back well. We have improved compared to last season, as we are always capable of scoring a goal."
For LASK, it remains to be hoped that Celtic Glasgow's top players haven't set their sights too precisely in the return leg, and that LASK themselves can demonstrate exactly this effectiveness. Then it could indeed become exciting again.
