Nervy Celtic edge Europa League spot

CELTIC sealed their place in the Europa League last night despite a 1-0 home defeat by Anderlecht. The Scottish champions, having already missed out on qualification for the Champions League last 16, only needed to avoid defeat by three goals to finish third in Group B and take their place at the knockout stage of European football’s second-tier competition. Anderlecht tried their hardest to deny Brendan Rodgers’ team and snatch the spot for themselves. They dominated the first half and took the lead on 62 minutes when Jozo Simunovic deflected Dennis Appiah’s cross into his own net. But Celtic held on, though they will be unseeded in Monday’s draw. Rodgers admitted his side had an off night. ‘Some of these players have a long way to go to call themselves players at this level,’ the Celtic boss said. ‘The standard was very poor in the first half.’