Red Bull Salzburg fizz as Celtic fall flat at Parkhead

Celtic were outclassed at home in their Europa League Group D match with Red Bull Salzburg, with the Austrians cruising to a 3-1 away win.

The Scottish champions got off to a bad start with the visitors' Brazilian striker Alan scoring a brace within the first 13 minutes with Ronny Deila's defence looking short on focus.

Stefan Johansen pulled one back close to half-time but Celtic never looked able to negate the game plan of Salzburg who look calm, composed and positive throughout. By contrast, the Hoops often looked to hit it long which only invited more counter-attacks.

The visitors' third goal came just before the death through substitute Naby Keita to add a flourish but the Austrians could have scored more had they needed to.

Defeat won't stop Celtic from progressing into the knockout stages however, with Astras' 1-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb in the other game in Group D handing them second place. The top spot belongs to Salzburg.

14' – CONTROVERSY: A penalty shout for Celtic is waved away by the referee as McGregor goes down in the Salzburg box.

20' – CHANCE: Salzburg almost make it three, with Craig Gordon tipping round a long-range shot that looked to be on its way into the back of his net. The resulting corner is wasted by Salzburg, but Alan and Bruno are looking dangerous from open play, dancing through the middle.

27' – CONTROVERSY: Alan goes down after Van Dijk sticks a leg out. The striker throws his arms up to look for a penalty. The referee is again uninterested in any protests for a spot kick and waves play on. The Brazilian sits down and flops his arms with dismay at the decision.

50' – QUALIFICATION: News coming in from Romania: Astras are ahead against Zagreb. Celtic only needed the Croatians to draw in order to secure qualification. With Dinamo a goal down, it looks like Romanians may go one better. Celtic still need to win at Celtic Park to pull ahead of Salzburg tonight though.

62' – CHANCE: Salzburg come again. The Austrians counter through Bruno, Alan and Soriano with the trio combining to put the Spaniard on for a shot through the middle. His attempt curls wide however. It just goes to show the threat still posed by the Red Bull funded side who look as they can attack when they want.

68' – CHANCE: Kris Commons is almost immediately involved in the box, with a corner bobbling about loose in the area. However, none of the Celtic attackers can get a touch on it. The substitutions appears to have already added some spark to the hosts' attack.

While Salzburg looked more composed, both sides weren't afraid to put their boots into the contest with the hosts committing 15 fouls to the visitors' 11. Had it been a more settled and polite contest, the Austrians may have scored more given how much better they looked in calmer periods of play. Tonight, the atmosphere of Celtic Park and aggression of the home team's players on the pitch wasn't enough to change the nature of the fixture.

Do Red Bull have a place in European football? Some may cringe at the sight of a brand name prefixed onto the name of a football club from one of Europe's major cities, but in football terms Salzburg appear to be progressing in the right way. Against Celtic, at Celtic Park, they were positive, clever and technically proficient. The ethics of their ownership is another debate, but so long as their teams seek to contribute to the spectacle of the matches they play, they will find sympathy.

Alan (Salzburg): The Brazilian with the Anglophile name put in the performance required of a striker playing in a European competition, undoing Celtic's defence with his movement and efficiency in the opening 13 minutes. It took Alan less than a quarter of an hour to score the goals that ultimately put the game beyond Salzburg's hosts and secure the top spot in Group D for the Austrian champions. For the remainder of the match, his link up play enabled his team to control the game from the front.

Celtic: Gordon 6; Matthews 6, Ambrose 6, Van Dijk 5, Izaguirre 7; Brown 6, Mulgrew 6; McGregor 6, Johansen 7, Stokes 7; Griffiths 6; Forrest 7, Commons 6, Tonev 7.

Salzburg: Gulacsi 6; Ankersen 6, Ramalho 7, Hinteregger 6, Schmitz 7; Kampl 7, Bruno 7, Ilsanker 6, Leitgeb 6; Alan 8, Soriano 7; Keita 7, Sabitzer 6, Schwegler 6.