Wednesday, 26 August: LASK overturn Celtic, Sávio seals Spurs move, and Baleba joins United

Wednesday’s shortlist turns yesterday’s open questions into settled results: LASK completed a play-off comeback that put Celtic out of the Champions League, Tottenham confirmed Sávio from Manchester City, and Manchester United made Carlos Baleba’s move official.

What changed: LASK beat Celtic 5-1 after extra time in Linz and advanced 5-4 on aggregate, reaching the Champions League league phase for the first time. Celtic had led 3-0 from the first leg and went 4-0 up on aggregate when Callum McGregor scored, but Moses Usor, Robert Ljubičić, Samuel Adeniran, Florian Flecker’s stoppage-time leveller and Adeniran’s 109th-minute winner flipped the tie. Celtic drop into the Europa League league phase. 12

On the same night, Sabah beat Hapoel Beer-Sheva 5-2 after extra time (6-4 aggregate) for a first Champions League league-phase place, and Bodø/Glimt beat N.E.C. 3-0 (6-1 aggregate) to return for a second straight season. An r/soccer post on LASK’s qualification sat at about 2,422 score with 184 comments after full time — community heat around the comeback, not a separate fact source. 23

So what: A three-goal first-leg lead did not settle the tie. LASK and Sabah are first-time league-phase clubs; Celtic now plan for Europa League football. Four more second legs are still level tonight — AEK Athens–Levski Sofia, Viking–Dinamo Zagreb, Celje–Slovan Bratislava and Lyon–Fenerbahçe, all at 21:00 CET — before the league-phase draw in Monaco on Thursday at 18:00 CET. 2

What changed: Tottenham confirmed the signing of Sávio from Manchester City. The club announcement uses the Sávio spelling and presents the move as completed; a follow-up post set his squad number at 17. The Guardian reported a £75m fee with up to £10m in add-ons, Premier League and FA registration, and eligibility for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie at home to Charlton. Reuters said both clubs confirmed the transfer and that financial details were not disclosed in the club statements, while British media put the package at £75m plus add-ons. 4567

So what: Yesterday’s briefing still had the City double as a reported chase. Sávio is now club-confirmed and cup-eligible; the next checkpoint on that story is whether Omar Marmoush follows on similar terms.

What changed: Manchester United confirmed that Carlos Baleba has joined from Brighton, subject to registration. The club says the Cameroon midfielder signed a contract until June 2031, with an option for a further year, and related club content has him in the No. 20 shirt. United’s statement does not publish a fee. An r/soccer post linking the club announcement sat at about 1,781 score with 261 comments. 89

So what: This closes the “nears United” thread from earlier in the window. The remaining step is registration; the next useful on-pitch checkpoint is when Baleba is available under Michael Carrick.