LASK's Victory Over Austria Wien: Champions with Concerns
Lukas Jungwirth walked off with a clean sheet and three points, but his message to LASK was anything but relaxed.
The Austrian champions have started their title defence with purpose, two wins from two in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga and a 2-0 victory over Austria Wien on Sunday that, on paper, looked routine. It was enough to keep the mood buoyant in Linz. It was not enough to quieten their goalkeeper’s concerns.
Because Celtic are coming.
Winning – but warned
At the Raiffeisen Arena, LASK did what champions are supposed to do. They controlled long spells, scored twice, and saw out the game as favourites without ever looking in serious danger of slipping up.
Jungwirth, though, was in no mood to gloss over the cracks he saw in front of him.
“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, speaking after the win. “We also need to be more clinical at the end; we might be punished for that against other opponents.”
It was a blunt assessment from a goalkeeper who knows the next step up in opposition will be unforgiving. The Champions League play-off against Celtic looms large, with the first leg at Celtic Park before the return in Austria, and the margins there will be far thinner than on an early-season Sunday in Linz.
Celtic threat on the horizon
LASK’s domestic form gives them every right to feel confident. They finished ahead of Sturm Graz last season to take the title and have opened the new campaign with the authority of a side that expects to stay at the top.
But the Champions League is a different kind of examination, and Celtic arrive with fresh firepower. Martin O’Neill’s squad has been heavily armed in attack: Kasper Høgh and Camilo Duran are already through the door, with Haissem Hassan set to add another sharp edge to a forward line that will not be as forgiving as Austria Wien.
That is the context behind Jungwirth’s warning. The passages where LASK drifted, the moments when they “relied too much on possession” and lost their edge in transition, are exactly the kind of lapses that a side like Celtic wait for, then punish.
Standards of champions
Inside the LASK dressing room, belief remains strong. You do not win a title ahead of Sturm Graz without resilience or quality, and this squad has both. Jungwirth’s criticism came from that position of strength, not insecurity.
He still left the pitch satisfied with the outcome, if not every detail of the performance.
“I think if you go home with a 2-0 win as the favourites, you can definitely be satisfied,” he added.
Satisfied, yes. Content, no.
LASK have started the season like champions, but their goalkeeper has drawn a clear line: the small drops in concentration that slip by in the Bundesliga cannot travel with them to Celtic Park. The play-off will reveal whether this team can turn a domestic warning shot into a European statement.
