Celtic overcome away anxiety to beat Anderlecht
BRUSSELS: Celtic took a big step towards at least a spot in the Europa League when they beat Anderlecht 3-0 away from home in the Champions League.
With Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain being the undisputed favourites to advance from Group B, goals by Leigh Griffiths and Scott Sinclair, along with an own-goal by Kara Mbodji, gave the Scottish champion an important victory.
A third-placed finish would secure a place in UEFA’s second tier competition.
The win underscored Celtic’s great start in the Scottish League, where they lead the table and are fresh from a victory over their Glasgow rivals, Rangers.
After PSG beat Bayern Munich 3-0, the French champion lead Group B with six points from two games, while Celtic and Bayern are tied on three, with Anderlecht at the bottom with zero points.
In the 38th minute, Griffiths finished off a smooth team move by tapping the ball home unmarked, with the Anderlecht defence in disarray. In the 50th minute, Mbodji turned a shot from Patrick Roberts past his own goalkeeper following more defensive bungling.
Sinclair capped a great Celtic performance with a third goal in injury time.
While Celtic thrives, Anderlecht have been struggling.
The Belgian champions are languishing in seventh place in the domestic league and recently parted company with their coach, Rene Weiler.
Interim coach Nicolas Frutos was untested at international level and it showed in the quality of his team’s performance. — AP