Salzburg secure Austrian first at Celtic
Thursday, November 27, 2014
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Celtic FC 1-3 FC Salzburg
Alan struck twice in the opening 13 minutes in Group D as his side became the first Austrian club to win in Scotland, but the Hoops progressed regardless.
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• Alan strikes twice inside 13 minutes to set Salzburg on the right path
• Stefan Johansen replies, but Naby Keita heads late third for visitors
• Salzburg the first Austrian club to win in 13 visits to Scotland
• Celtic progress thanks to Dinamo Zagreb's defeat at Astra
• Next games: Dinamo Zagreb v Celtic, Salzburg v Astra (11 December)
A first-half double from Alan propelled FC Salzburg toward a 3-1 victory which means they finish as UEFA Europa League Group D winners, with Celtic FC progressing as runners-up after GNK Dinamo Zagreb lost to FC Astra Giurgiu.
The visitors were off the mark after eight minutes when Massimo Bruno's deflected shot from outside the area looped into the path of Alan, who reacted first to steer a right-footed effort past Craig Gordon. Five minutes later the Brazilian doubled Salzburg's lead, prodding into the net from close range after André Ramalho had headed Jonatan Soriano's corner across the face of goal.
It was one-way traffic towards the Celtic goal but the hosts halved the deficit on the half-hour when Stefan Johansen swept Emilio Izaguirre's cross from the left past Péter Gulácsi.
Anthony Stokes almost levelled five minutes after the restart when his corner bounced off the crossbar and away to safety. Ronny Deila's side were now in the ascendancy and the Celtic manager threw on James Forrest and Kris Commons as the Hoops pressed for an equaliser.
Leigh Griffiths, making his first start since August, came closest with a header which produced a smart save from Gulásci at his near post before Izaguirre fired over, but Adi Hütter's team produced a final flourish, substitute Naby Keita nodding into the unguarded net after a Gordon parry as Salzburg ended a 12-game barren patch in Scotland – comprising two draws and ten defeats – for Austrian clubs.