LASK's Champions League Challenge: Jungwirth Warns of Celtic Threat
Lukas Jungwirth left Raiffeisen Arena with a clean sheet, three points and a warning.
LASK’s goalkeeper had just watched his side open their Admiral Bundesliga title defence with back-to-back wins, a controlled 2-0 victory over Austria Wien on Sunday following their opening-day success. On paper, it all looks serene for the Austrian champions.
Jungwirth’s assessment told a different story.
Champions at home, underdogs in waiting
The mood in Linz is buoyant. LASK finished ahead of Sturm Graz last season to reclaim the domestic crown and have started the new campaign with the authority you expect from champions. Two games, two wins, no goals conceded. The machine appears well oiled.
But the calendar tells them what comes next.
A Champions League play-off against Celtic looms, first at Celtic Park, then back in Austria. The Scottish champions will bring an attack rebuilt over the summer, with Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran already in place under Martin O'Neill and Haissem Hassan set to deepen the options further.
The step up in class is obvious. Jungwirth knows it.
“We might be punished”
Speaking after the win over Austria Wien, the goalkeeper cut through any early-season complacency. Around the time of an offside goal for the visitors, LASK briefly lost their grip on the contest.
"Around the time of the offside goal, we relied too much on possession and weren't mentally prepared for Austria's counter-attacks," he said, via Daily Record. "We also need to be more clinical at the end; we might be punished for that against other opponents."
That line hangs over the tie with Celtic. Punished. In the Bundesliga, those lapses went unpunished. In Glasgow, in a stadium that thrives on chaos and quick transitions, they rarely do.
LASK controlled long stretches against Austria Wien, but Jungwirth’s irritation came from those moments when control turned into comfort, and comfort turned into slackness. The warning was not aimed at a mid-table domestic rival. It was aimed at what lies ahead.
Celtic test on the horizon
Celtic’s reshaped frontline will ask different questions to anything LASK have faced in the opening weeks of the Austrian season. Hogh’s movement, Duran’s presence and the impending addition of Hassan give O’Neill a range of threats that can stretch a back line and expose any hesitation in transition.
Jungwirth did not name Celtic. He did not need to. The subtext was clear: the kind of mental dip that allowed Austria Wien to threaten, even briefly, cannot travel to Celtic Park.
For all that, there is no sense of panic in Linz. Confidence still runs through this squad, built on last season’s title race and the knowledge they can manage games, absorb pressure and strike when it matters.
"I think if you go home with a 2-0 win as the favourites, you can definitely be satisfied," Jungwirth added.
Satisfied, but not seduced. LASK have started like champions, but the real examination is about to begin. The question now is simple: will those warnings be heeded before the lights go up in Glasgow?
