Sebastian Tounekti: These are the games I came to Celtic to play in Champions League nights at Paradise have a habit of bringing something extra out of both the players and the support. That is exactly the kind of occasion Sebastian Tounektiimagined when he joined Celtic, and the winger cannot wait to sample it when LASK visit Glasgow’s East End on Wednesday for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off. The Tunisian internationalist also believes a packed Celtic Park can help give the Hoops an important edge. “With teams from Austria, you know they’re going to be really intense,” he said in an exclusive interview onCelticPlayer. "They want to press and they want to play, so it’s going to be two really hard games, both home and away. “But we have the chance on Wednesday and we have to be ready because we’re going to have amazing support behind us. I know that will be to our advantage. “To be honest, this is what I spoke about when I came to Celtic. These are the games I was looking forward to playing. It’s so nice to be around and involved in them."
Celtic head into the tie in confident mood following Saturday’s 4-0 League Cup victory over Dundee United at Tannadice. Tounekti opened his account for the season in the win, providing an early reward for the work he has been doing to add more goals and assists to his game. “It’s always nice to score your first goal of the season,” he said. “One of my development points was to produce more because I feel like I have it in me. “I’m doing the hard work on the pitch, but I want to add goals and assists to my game. I’m really pleased to have the first one now, so hopefully there are more coming.” The winger even made a pre-holiday promise to assistant manager, Shaun Maloney, that he would work on his output in the final third. That work is already beginning to pay off. “We spoke a lot last season and, before I went on holiday, I promised him I would work hard during the break,” Tounekti explained. 'He saw that I could be a player who scores a lot of goals and makes a lot of assists.' "The staff give me the freedom to play my style of football, but they also guide me every day.” A quarter-final trip to Ibrox now awaits after the victory at Tannadice, although that challenge can wait. For now, every bit of Celtic’s attention is on LASK and taking another step towards Europe’s biggest stage. “I think Celtic, as a club, has to be in the Champions League,” Tounekti added. “These are massive games and we want to do everything we can to go through. “As a club and as a fanbase, we deserve to be there and to play those big games. The group, the staff and everyone together are really looking forward to it.” Watch the full interview with Sebastian Tounekti now on CelticPlayer. Fixtures Celtic Vs. LASK - Wed, Aug 19th 2026, 20:00