Celtic got their Europa League campaign off to a decent start with a 2-2 draw away to Red Bull Salzburg this evening.
The Bhoys took the lead through debutant Mubarak Wakaso, but the Austrians hit back thanks to a deflected effort from Alan.
Scott Brown then netted his first European goal for the club before Jonathan Soriano hit a stunning free kick to deny Ronny Deila's men the three points.
See how the action unfolded below.
That's all from me this evening. Celtic have Dinamo Zagreb and Astra to come in this group, but for now, I hope you have enjoyed the commentary, and it's bye from me!
Well that was a thoroughly entertaining affair. Celtic rode their luck at times and had Craig Gordon to thank for a number of stunning stops, but they could have had all three points, and it was a very good away performance from the Bhoys. A good response after an indifferent start to their campaign.
Celtic have been really impressive here. Questions were asked about them after a stuttering start to the season and they came to a difficult venue here and appear to have taken the point.
Stokes with a good chance to deliver a free kick into a dangerous area late on, but he wastes it and sends it straight into the arms of Gulacsi, and the Hungarian keeper gathers it comfortably.
we're into the last five minutes, and it could go either way right now. Stokes has just poked a good cross into the box, but no one is prepared to gamble and attack the ball.
Nervy moments for Peter Gulacsi as he comes for a free kick but misses it. Celtic cannot take advantage of the former Liverpool keeper's error though.
Can Celtic hold on? Or are they confident of trying to nick it? This promises to be an exciting 10 minutes or so here...
Well it's needed something special to beat Gordon this half, and they've just got it. The striker pings an absolute howitzer right into the top corner for his 16th goal of the season. What a hit!
BLOCKED! Wakaso feeds Brown on the edge of the box but his effort is blocked by a Red Bull defender. That would have wrapped the game up surely!
SAVE! Gordon again with the stop. The keeper holds Soriano's free kick as he hits it straight down the middle. Meanwhile Aleksandar Tonev comes on for Commons.
CHANCE! Alan has been a threat all night and the Brazilian sees an excellent strike hit the outside of the post as Celtic survive another scare.
Anthony Stokes comes on for Scepovic, as Celtic make their first change. Salzburg's corner comes to nothing as Celtic clear their lines.
McGregor breaks through the centre and has Scepovic and Commons to either side of him but he chooses neither and they lose it. A decent chance wasted there really.
Against the run of play, Celtic have the lead once more and they need to dig in now and be resolute. They don't need to commit too many numbers forward. Three away points in Europe are a precious commodity, and they're in sight...
Wonderful wing play from McGregor but his cross is cleared. However it falls straight to Brown who rifles it in for only his second goal in Europe.
It's Celtic's turn to try their hand at a long throw but Efe Ambrose's delivery is cleared by Soriano who rises above Van Dijk.
SAVE! Well, Craig Gordon is keeping Celtic in this all on his own at the moment. Sabitzer marches away in the inside left, but the keeper is down low to save away to his left and Alan looks set for a tap-in, but the keeper is up quickly to deny him his second. Excellent goalkeeping and what a great sight it is to see him back in football after a few years in the wilderness.
CHANCE! My word what an effort from Scepovic! The debutant takes a volley from around 35 yards out in a wide position and he almost pulls it off as it hits the side netting. That came from the blue and he was so unlucky there.
The visitors are struggling to get out of their own half at the moment. They need to see more of the ball for longer periods. Celtic's backline is having to work very hard here.
Red Bull are certainly making the most of the long throw this evening and another one has caused Gordon to race out and catch it to avert the danger. That is something Celtic will have to watch.
SAVE! Superb save from Gordon to deny Alan. The keeper flings himself to his left to palm away the Red Bull star's well-struck effort on the edge of the box. He's having a good game the former Sunderland stopper.
Soriano tees up Sabitzer who catches it cleanly with his left foot, but Gordon has no problem in dealing with the effort. Good goalkeeping, kept his concentration.
Celtic will need to offer a bit more in the final third if they are to win this game I feel, although their goal came from nowhere from Wakaso. It really was a sweet strike into the corner with his left foot. Deila will probably have taken the draw before the game, so he won't be too unhappy with his side's performance so far.
Elsewhere in the Europa League, Spurs are goalless with Partizan at the break while Everton begin their campaign later this evening at home to Wolfsburg. You can of course see all the latest scores on the Sports Mole homepage, and we'll have reports from all the games at full time.
An entertaining opening 45 minutes, sees the teams go in level, and the home side shaded things in the final 10 or 15 minutes or so. Wakaso has marked his Celtic debut with an excellent goal, but Red Bull deservedly hit back. It's all to play for in the second period...
Celtic will be eager to get to half time with the score level. Salzburg are really turning the screw here, but there should only be three or four minutes left...
CHANCE! Kempl is starting to enjoy his evening out there now and he's found Sabitzer with a nice through ball, but the shot narrowly edges wide of Gordon's post.
A couple of straight passes through the middle sees Alan race away from the defence and the effort takes a deflection off Ambrose and beats Gordon, and Alan has his eighth goal of the campaign. Level pegging in Austria!
A quick long throw nearly catches Celtic out as it falls to Alan inside the box and his touch is excellent, but Denayer is alert to concede the corner. Great defending from the on-loan Manchester City youngster.
Celtic are being put under pressure here, and they need to get a foot hold and keep the ball for a period of time, or the home side could be back in this sooner rather than later...
CHANCE! Superb save from Craig Gordon to deny Ramalho. The ball was flighted in and the Salzburg midfielder gets a good head on it, but the keeper is equal to it with an excellent save.
A short one eventually sees a delivery from a deep position but Ambrose is fouled as he tries to defend the cross. The home side certainly coming into the game a bit more the last five minutes or so.
CHANCE! Kempl's effort strikes Van Dijk and it nearly falls to Alan before dribbling out for a corner...
Great defending by Wakaso there. Ronny Deila talked up the hard-working nature of the winger prior to the game and he's back to snuff out a shot from Alan on the edge of the box.
Ambrose looks out of sorts in that right-back position and he's just lost it in a dangerous area. Kempl and Soriano can't make the most of it through before Izaguirre wins a free kick to relieve the pressure.
CHANCE! Big chance for Celtic as Scot Brown flashes an effort wide of the far post with Scepovic crying out to be fed for a tap-in. Should have squared it.
Soriano goes close with the resulting free kick. He tries to fool Gordon with an effort at the near post, but the Scot does well to get down.
Good opening for Salzburg and it's their best move of the match so far. A short throw and a one-two sees the ball reach Leitgeb on the edge of the box, but his effort can only find the wrong side of the post.
Well that has to change things for the home side. Neither side had threatened up until now, but at some stage, Salzburg will have to offer more in the final third. Just what Celtic will have wanted though, an early goal.
Wow! that came from nowhere. Commons manages to feed the winger on the edge of the box, and Wakaso marks his debut with a stunning effort into the bottom corner with a rocket of an effort with his left foot.
Kris Commons's free kick is deflected for a corner but the visitors cannot make the most of the set piece. Neither side able to get on top so far as we approach the quarter-of-an-hour mark.
SHOT! First effort of the evening comes from Sabitzer. It's a good effort as Craig Gordon watches it flash just over his cross bar.
It's been a fairly scrappy opening to this game so far. Not a lot happening. Scepovic won a good flick on for Commons, but the playmaker was caught by a defender.
I'm looking forward to seeing Jonatan Soriano in action this evening. The Salzburg striker was top scorer in last season's competition with 11 goals, and the ex-Barca star is an exciting talent.
The pitch looks immaculate this evening and the home fans are in great voice. We could be in for an entertaining evening. Efe Ambrose went down with less than 30 seconds on the clock, but he looks OK now. An attacking lineup for Celtic of course tonight.
The two teams have gone through their pre-match handshakes and Celtic have had their familiar pre-match huddle...
PREDICTION: We're around five minutes away from kick off here, so time to get a prediction. Celtic have not been at their best this season, and tonight is a big test for Virgil van Dijk with the young Jason Denayer next to him. Jonathan Soriano is the big star in the Red Bull ranks, and I'll go with a 1-0 win for the home side.
He said: "We meet a very good team tonight, they're almost a Champions League team. Commons can play in many positions and he's a very good player and very important to this game this evening. [Wakaso] is hard-working winger with good technique, he's very aggressive and I'm looking forward to seeing him."
Celtic boss Deila has been speaking to Setanta Sports prior to the game and he's given his thoughts behind Commons and Wakaso's inclusions...
They were unable to take their second chance however, and they were beaten by Maribor. What's done is done though and Ronny Deila will be keen to get off to a winning start this evening.
Celtic will no doubt be slightly disappointed to be taking part in this season's Europa League after the bizarre circumstances that saw them arrive here. They were of course beaten over two legs by Legia Warsaw, but the Polish outfit were kicked out of Europe's elite competition for fielding an ineligible player late on in the return leg.
An interesting moment pitchside, with some traditional Scottish bagpipes being played much to the delight of the home supporters...
So the big news for Celtic is that Mubarak Wakaso makes his first start since signing, with Aleksandar Tonev dropping out of the side for the Ghanaian winger. Kris Commons, Scott Brown and exciting youngster Callum McGregor also start.
SALZBURG: Gulacsi; Schwegler, Ulmer, Hinteregger, Andre Ramalho; Ilsanker, Leitgeb, Kampl, Sabitzer; Jonatan Soriano, Alan
CELTIC: Gordon; Ambrose, Denayer, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Johansen; McGregor, Commons, Wakaso; Scepovic
Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of Celtic's trip to Red Bull Salzburg in their first game of this season's Europa League.
