Craig Gordon praises Celtic teammates Boyata and Simunovic

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Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic won against Anderlecht in the Champions League in midweek.

Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon has told The Telegraph that Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic were outstanding against Anderlecht in midweek.

Brendan Rodgers’s side got the better of Anderlecht 3-0 away from home in Belgium in Champions League Group B.

It was one of the best performances from the Hoops this season, and the result has enhanced their chances of finishing third in the group and dropping to the Europa league.

Celtic were defensively very strong against Belgian giants Anderlecht, and goalkeeper Gordon, who is the first-choice custodian at the club, has praised the two centre-backs, Boyata and Simunovic.

“We managed to keep the ball quite a bit – especially in the first half – and took the sting out of their attack,” Gordon told The Telegraph.

“The two guys in front of me [Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata] were outstanding. They got in the way of things, they cleared the danger.”

Boyata is one of the best defenders in Scotland and is a key figure in the current Celtic team.

The 26-year-old struggled with injuries in the opening weeks of the season, but the former Manchester City defender is now fully fit and is playing well.

The Belgium international has been on the books of Celtic since the summer of 2015 when he joined from City for a transfer fee reported by BBC Sport to be worth £1.5 million.

Celtic defensive midfielder Nir Bitton has hailed the return of Boyata, who has also been praised by defender Simunovic, who joined the Hoops from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2015 for a transfer fee reported by The Daily Mail to be worth £3m.

“Of course, we knew before that Dedryck and Jozo have a good relationship,” Bitton told The Glasgow Evening Times.

“It is important for the team that you have two strong centre-backs that play together for a long time. We’re just happy that Dedryck is coming back.”

“Dedryck is very important to us because he is a natural central defender,” Simunovic told The Glasgow Evening Times.

“Until the last game I played with midfielders and full-backs, so it means a lot, not for me, but for the whole team to have Dedryck back playing again.”