Ronny Deila praised Craig Gordon after the keeper turned in a magnificent performance in Celtic's 2-2 draw with Salzburg in Austria.

The 31-year-old was signed on a free transfer after two years out of the game with injury but he has made the Hoops fans forget about Fraser Forster, who was sold for £10m to Southampton.

Once again Gordon starred in a pulsating Europa League Group D opener at the Salzburg Stadion. He made several saves, a couple of them brilliant, to keep the home side at bay.

But he had no chance with either Alan's opener or the 25-yard free-kick from Jonatan Soriano.

Boss Deila said: "Craig has been good all season but he is getting better all the time. He is a top professional, a fantastic man and I am so glad to have him in the group.

"I had only seen him playing for Sunderland on TV. I didn't know him but our goalkeeping coach, Stevie Woods, said he was ready. He's fit now and will get back to the level he was at before.

"Fraser was fantastic but now we have another good goalkeeper. He is very calm and so far he has been fantastic."

The Norwegian spoke of the importance of getting a point away to the group's top seeds in their opening fixture but was honest enough to admit the home side had deserved to draw level.

He said: "It was a good result. They are a good team and were difficult to play against.

"They played with high intensity and have very fit and quick players.

"I think we played much better as a team. It was important to get the point. Before the game we spoke about getting something from it.

"We are lasting the distance better over the 90 minutes. We need to be quicker with our passing but, with the team spirit we have, we'll get points.

"Salzburg deserved to get the goal in the end. They had some chances and we had a fantastic goalkeeper. Yes, we were 2-1 up but their free-kick was fantastic.

"I am pleased with the point and happy with the performance. We are progressing but there is a lot of work to get better."