One Celtic star proved he must be a starter in disastrous LASK clash

Just one Celtic player can hold his head high after Tuesday night's crushing collapse against LASK. The Bhoys crashed out of the Champions League after a 5-1 defeat on the night and a 5-4 defeat on aggregate.

The Hoops actually led by four goals at one stage, but went on to concede four goals without reply in normal time and another in extra time, capping one of the most disastrous nights in the club's recent history.

There were dreadful performances aplenty as Celtic's squad shortcomings were exposed, but one player could actually leave the pitch in Linz with his head held high.

Sinisalo the only positive point

Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo was the only reason Celtic didn't concede eight or nine goals in Linz, and that is no exaggeration. He produced a world-class save to tip a deflected long-range strike onto the post even before Celtic had scored, and his best was yet to come.

Sinisalo was sold out for the first goal, which allowed a clear one-on-one. The second and third goals were excellent finishes, and so was the winner, while the fourth saw him produce an unbelievable save, only for Sebastian Tounekti to forget to mark his man, who knocked home the rebound.

Before that equaliser, Sinisalo produced a brilliant save at his front post, close to the top corner, and he also went on to save a penalty late in extra time.

Some Celtic fans have taken aim at Sinisalo for not saving long-range efforts, but what are you expecting him to do? All three of the long-range goals were about as far in the bottom corners as you could put the ball, and the shooting players were afforded so much space to pick their spot, albeit one could argue Samuel Adeniran took the second one quickly enough to keep defenders at bay.

The shots were also all from the centre of the pitch, which means Sinisalo has to take a central position, and that makes it hard to get to the very bottom corner. The pitch was also extremely patchy, making it hard for players to quickly move off their given spot, but Sinisalo doesn't need that excuse.

Those strikes were near enough unsavable, even for top goalkeepers, and the bottom line is that he was let down by players in front of him all night. There was no pressure on shooting players, and the marking was shambolic. Sinisalo was seen screaming at those in front of him repeatedly.

Still, Sinisalo managed to produce a number of outstanding saves to keep his side in the game, and he also produced a very good close distance save in the first leg, preventing a goal that could have been a big one.

This was an impressive display from Celtic's current starting goalkeeper, adding to a strong start to the season, and while the Bhoys clearly need a back-up goalkeeper, they should no longer be looking for a starter.