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But Hearts rediscovered their poise to edge the shootout 4-3 and secure what may be their most significant result in Europe for more than two decades. It means they will compete in the Conference League proper for the third time in five seasons.

The visitors suffered a blow in the 15th minute when Tom Renaud was carried off after Rapid attacker Petter Dahl fell awkwardly on his leg while being fouled by Jordi Altena. Magnusson replaced the Frenchman but Hearts were struggling to get a foothold early on, and the breakthrough came for Rapid in the 34th minute.

Remarkably, Hearts went ahead in the 100th minute when Miller acrobatically volleyed in a cross from substitute Rogers Mato. But just as the depleted Jambos looked like hanging on, Cvetkovic knocked in Moulaye Haidara’s cross in the 119th minute to force penalties.

Miller, Altena, Mato and Sabah Kerjota all scored from the spot for Hearts, with McEntee the only Hearts player to miss. Reus saved two kicks, denying Haidara and Marco Tilio to emerge as the hero in Vienna.

Wednesday 26 August 2026 14:03, UK Celtic have spent the last couple of years making Champions League qualification look like a problem they simply cannot solve. But even by their recent standards, this was a collapse of remarkable proportions.

Celtic held a four-goal aggregate lead against Lask on Tuesday when Callum McGregor scored in the 21st minute in Austria, building on a 3-0 first-leg victory, and appeared to be cruising into the league stage. But they lost 5-1 on the night after extra time to go out in extraordinary fashion.

Martin O’Neill has admitted Celtic’s Champions League qualifying collapse from 4-0 up ranks as one of his most painful nights as the club’s manager.

Who is to blame - the board, Martin O'Neill, the players? O'Neill took full responsibility. But the truth is they are all to blame. Should the Celtic players be blowing a four-goal lead with less than an hour to play? No.

How much will Champions League exit cost Celtic? When Celtic reached the Champions League play-off round before losing to Bayern Munich in 2024/25, their revenue of £143m ranked them among the top 60 clubs in Europe that year.

It will be a source of constant regret that Tuesday’s second leg wasn’t played at Celtic Park, where the timely and now traditional pitch invasion would almost certainly have denied Lask the 90th-minute goal that took the tie to extra time.