The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rare away win for ‘brilliant’ Celtic
ANDERLECHT 0 CELTIC 3: Rodgers thrilled by Champions League success
Boss Brendan Rodgers described Celtic’s Champions League win in Brussels last night as a “brilliant team performance” – then insisted they can get better.
Striker Leigh Griffiths opened the scoring in the 38th minute of a dull first half with a poacher’s goal and five minutes after the break Patrick Roberts’ drive went in off Kara Mbodji.
Scott Sinclair scored a breakaway third in added time to confirm Celtic’s second away win in the competition – the first was five years ago against Spartak Moscow – and their first clean sheet away from Parkhead.
“It was a brilliant team performance,” said Rodgers, who revealed skipper Scott Brown, who came off with a hamstring injury, will be assessed in the next couple of days with Scotland’s crucial World Cup qualifiers in mind.
“It was an outstanding performance and result.
“There are still areas to improve but they were absolutely exceptional. For a Scottish team to come away, get a 3-0 victory, keep a clean sheet at this level is obviously a big achievement.
“We can be better than we were tonight but the players deserve a huge amount of credit, on the back of the game at the weekend (2-0 win over Rangers), which was a high intensity game.
“To come away and deliver that type of performance, they deserve all the plaudits they get.”
Celtic got their Champions League campaign up and running with an outstanding 3-0 win over Anderlecht in Brussels last night.
Striker Leigh Griffiths lit up a dull first half at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium with a poacher’s goal in the 38th minute and five minutes after the break Patrick Roberts’ drive took a deflection in off substitute Kara Mbodji.
Anderlecht’s interim boss Nicolas Frutos stood on the sidelines frustrated as Brendan Rodgers’ side withstood everything the Belgian champions could throw at them before Scott Sinclair scored a breakaway third in added time.
Celtic lost 5-0 at home to Paris St Germain on match day one with Anderlecht going down 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the other Group B game.
If nothing else, the Glasgow club’s second-ever away win in the competition – their last was against Spartak Moscow in October 2012 – takes the Scottish champions a long way to ensuring European football after Christmas.
It was a hugely significant result for Celtic as they had failed to register a win in the group stages last season, the first under Rodgers.
The Northern Irishman made just one change to the side which coasted to the 2-0 win over Old Firm rivals Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday, with midfielder Olivier Ntcham replacing Stuart Armstrong, who dropped to the bench.
Around 1,000 Hoops fans were inside the 21,000-plus capacity stadium with many others having travelled in hope of getting a ticket and they helped provide a raucous atmosphere.
There was nothing particularly thoughtful or composed about the early stages and indeed the well-worked opener was at odds with what had gone on before.
Ntcham, struggling to get his game going, released Kieran Tierney down the left and when the full-back drilled the ball across the six-yard box Griffiths gleefully knocked the ball into the empty net for his eighth of the season.
Seconds later, with the celebrations of the Celtic fans still ongoing, Parkhead goalkeeper Craig Gordon had to make a decent save from captain Sofiane Hanni’s 25-yard drive.
Just before the break, the Belgian outfit suffered another blow as Mbodji replaced Uros Spajic after the defender failed to shrug off an ankle knock picked up earlier, just before Lukasz Teodorczyk missed the far post with an angled-drive after being played in by Hanni. It was the Anderlecht skipper who had Gordon in trouble with a powerful drive at the start of the second half, the Scotland keeper unable to hold it before Teodorczyk was flagged offside as he waited on the loose ball.
However, the home side paid for some slack play by Olivier Deschacht which saw Roberts take possession, and he turned back inside and when he fired in a drive from 16 yards it came off Mbodji and past Boeckx.
That seemed to sap confidence from Anderlecht although Hanni had another effort, driving just over the bar.
At the other end Roberts came close to making it three with a shot which just evaded the goal and substitute Callum McGregor, on for Tom Rogic, dithered in the box when he should have got his shot away and lost possession.
As Anderlecht threw everything forward in an attempt to get back into the game Gordon stretched in the 74th minute to tip a goal-bound drive from Pieter Gerkens over the bar.
Thereafter Celtic managed the game with some assurance, having the hunger to break with pace in added time, with Ntcham setting up Sinclair to steer in the third. Attendance: 19,898 Anderlecht: Boeckx, Chipciu, Spajic (Mbodji 44), Dendoncker, Deschacht (Stanciu 58), Appiah, Hanni (Bruno 70), Gerkens, Trebel, Onyekuru, Teodorczyk. Subs not used: Sels, Beric, Sowah, Harbaoui.
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Simunovic, Boyata, Tierney, Roberts (Forrest 77), Ntcham, Brown (Bitton 71), Rogic (McGregor 65), Sinclair, Griffiths. Subs not used: De Vries, Dembele, Armstrong, Hayes. Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (Spain). Meanwhile Edinson Cavani was on target again as Paris St Germain served warning of their Champions League threat with a 3-0 win against fellow Group B heavyweights Bayern Munich.
Cavani struck with a superb second goal before half-time – his 10th in as many appearances this season – after PSG had stunned the Germans by taking a second-minute lead through Dani Alves at the Parc des Princes.
Neymar added a third just after the hour-mark and appeared to put his recent spat with Cavani behind him to help lead Bayern a merry dance, while Kylian Mbappe was in breathtaking form as all three lived up to their star billing.