LASK coach praises Usor and team after stunning Celtic comeback

LASK manager Dietmar Kühbauer has praised his players, including Nigerian striker Moses Usor, after they pulled off an amazing comeback in the Champions League qualifying round. They beat Celtic 5-4 on aggregate after being down 3-0 from the first leg.

In the return match in Linz, LASK fell four goals behind in the first half. But they bounced back to win 5-1 after extra time, making it to the Champions League group stage for the first time in the club’s history.

“It’s an incredible feeling. The way the boys did it today, you simply have to get into the Champions League. Of course, we know the bar is even higher there. But I think Celtic are also a good opponent. We played them against the wall today, and all the statistics show that,” Kühbauer told Sky Sports Austria.

“I really take my hat off to this team because they basically made the impossible possible. That’s why I’m very, very happy to be the coach of this team. I really believed in it. The boys believed even more, as you could see today.”

Usor, who is in the running for a spot on the Super Eagles team, played a key role in the comeback. He scored the equaliser in the 32nd minute and assisted Robert Ljubicic for a second goal just three minutes into the second half.

Samuel Adeniran, who has American citizenship, scored the third goal in the 58th minute. Florian Flecker then headed in a goal during stoppage time, forcing extra time with a score of 4-1 in their favour.

Adeniran later secured the win with his second goal in the 109th minute after having a penalty saved earlier by Viljami Sinisalo. Usor ended the match with an 8.7 rating on Sofascore, the highest of the match alongside captain Sascha Horvath. He attempted three shots, created five key passes, and completed 19 of 24 passes in 99 minutes.

He received a yellow card in the 74th minute but was voted fans’ Man of the Match, getting 427 out of 1,310 votes. LASK dominated the game, outshooting Celtic 41 to eight. They completed 75 percent of their actions in the final third compared to Celtic's 72 percent and won 65 percent of tackle duels, while Celtic managed 56 percent.