Read Ewan Murray’s match report:
Full-time: Anderlecht 0-3 Celtic
What a way for Celtic to claim their first win in the Champions League group stages for four years and leave themselves with an excellent chance of being in European competition for the next stage. After an edgy start they cruised to victory with a performance that got more polished as it went on. They’ll gain more than three points from this: it’s prove that they can treat decent foreign teams in the same way they treat most of their domestic rivals. Rodgers is doing a fine job.
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GOAL! Anderlecht 0-3 Celtic (Sinclair 90+3)
A beautiful finish, sending a high shot past the keeper at the near post after being released by Ntcham!
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90 min: It doesn’t matter how much time is added on. Anderlecht are bust (but if you really want to know, there’ll be three more minutes).
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88 min: To what extent would it be getting carried away to suggest Celtic might have a squeak of beating Bayern to second place in this group?
86 min: Celtic are seeing this out calmly, while their fans are singing rapturously.
84 min: Chipciu clips a diagonal ball in from the right. But it’s too long for Onyekuru.
81 min: Celtic are bossing this. It’s an impressive way to end a long wait for a group stage win. Rodgers is entitled to be chuffed.
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79 min: Griffiths drags a shot wide from 20 yards, then apologies for not passing to Sinclair. The chance originated in another interception by Celtc in Anderlecht territory. The home team are unravelling, and Rodgers’ side are increasingly commanding.
Celtic substitution: Forrest on, Roberts off.
76 min: More skilfull play by Onyekuru leads to a chance for Stanciu, whose shot is deflected out for a corner. Ntcham does well to put off kara Mbodji when the defender tries to get his head to the corner.
75 min: Gerkens has a banag from 30 yards. He strikes it well, forcing Gordon to tip over for a corner.
75 min: Another chance for Celtic after another quick raid. Sinclair nudges the ball into to McGregor, who takes a nice touch ... but just can’t get off a shot from 15 yards before he;s closed down!
74 min: Roberts flips the ball to Griffiths inside the right-hand side of Anderlecht box. The striker chugs to the byline and rifles in a low cross. No one can get a touch. But Celtic regain it outside the area and work it to Bitton, who tries to mark his introduction by blasting into the net from long range. Its wide.
Celtic substitution: Bitton on, Brown off.
Anderlecht substitution: Bruno on, Hanni off.
70 min: Brown has hobbled off the pitch and is shaking his head. He seemed to feel tightness in his hamstring and it looks unlikely that he’ll continue.
68 min: Lovely play by Onyekuru, skilfully picking his way between three Celtic players mid-way inside opposition territory. He then passes to Stanciu and darts towards the box in the hope of getting a return ball. But it never comes.
66 min: After strong play by Brown in the centre circle - shrugging off an attempt to dispossess him - Sinclair tries to wriggle his way into the box. He nearly succeeds, too, but the last defenders foils him.
Celtic substitution: McGregor on, Rogic off
65 min: Trebel floats in a freekick from the left. Trippier clears.
63 min: After a jittery start, this has turned into an encouragingly mature away performance by Celtic. There is absolutely no danger of them throwing away this lead. None.
Anderlecht substitution: Stanciu on, Deschacht off. The hosts are switching to a more attacking formation, forsaking one of their three central defenders.
59 min: Tierney and Sinclair combine sharply down the left again. The Englishman then picks out Roberts in the middle. With his back to goal about 10 yards out, Roberts swivels and gets off a shot before the defender can react. But he mishits it and it doesn’t go anywhere near the target.
57 min: Onyekuru fizzes a low pass to Teodordzcyk just outside Celtic’s D. The striker nutmegs Boyata and offloads to Hanni, who has a pop from 20 yards. But it sails way over the bar. It had been a good move up to that point, probably Anderlecht’s best of the match.
55 min: Apparently Uefa have attributed Celtic’s second goal to Kara Mbodji rather than Roberts, so significant was the deflection off the defender.
54 min: Unlike after their first goal, there’s been no hint of Celtic giving up a chance for quick riposte by Anderlecht. They’re looking comfortable, almost lordly.
GOAL! Anderlecht 0-2 Celtic (Kara Mbodji og, 50)
Dreadful play by Anderlecht at the back, as Deschacht miscontrols a pass across his own area by Dendoncker. Roberts pounces on it, shuffles on to his left foot and then lets fly with a shot from 16 yards. The keeper dives to make the save ... but Kara tries to block it instead ... and diverts it into the net! Roberts’ shot was on target so he may be credited with the goal, but the defender’s unwitting contribution was probably decisive. No matter, the Celtic players converge on Roberts to celebrate!
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48 min: Shoddy by Celtic! Brown sells himself while trying to cut out a pass mid-way inside his own half. that gives Hanni space to run into. Then he lets fly from over 20 yards. It’s straight at Gordon but the keeper’s parry is unsound, the ball bouncing straight out to Teodorzcyk 10 yards from goal. He completely shanks his shot ... and is relieved to see he was offside so the goal wouldn’t have counted. Celtic need to sharpen up before he does.
47 min: Appiah hurls in a long throw from near the left-hand corner flag. Teodorczyk chests it back to Onykuru at the corner of the Celtic box. he pings in a cross that’s headed behind for a corner. But the corner won’t be taken because Celtic have a freekick from offside.
46 min: No personnel changes during the break. But have Anderlecht come up with a plan to pose more of threat?
Half-time: Anderlecht 0-1 Celtic
Celtic troop off the field to a soundtrack of delirious away fans. Rodgers’ team are 45 minutes away from what would be an excellent result. Griffiths’ goal was well constructed and the stats show that the visitors have played almost four times as many passes as the hosts - most of them have been short ones deep in their own half, but if they can keep doing that in the second half, and retain their threat on the counter, all will be dandy. Anderlecht’s main threat, such as it is, is coming from Appiah and Onyekuru down the left, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Roberts replaced to bolster that flank.
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45+1 min: Hanni flicks on a corner at the near post in a clever rehearsed ploy. But Brown is alert and he intervenes and clears.
Substitution: Kara (as it says on his shirt, or Mbodji as he’s named below) on, Spajic off. The centreback’s attempt to run off his ankle injury turned out to be ill-judged. Hats off to him for trying. But might a fit centreback have cut out Tierney’s cross for the goal? Probably not, because it was a peach.
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40 min: After allowing Anderlecht a shot at goal straight after taking the lead, Celtic have recomposed themselves thanks to a spell of composed passing.
39 min: Gordon dives low to his right to save a low shot from 16 yards by Hanni as Anderlecht trt to strike back immediately!
GOAL! Anderlecht 0-1 Celtic (Griffiths 38)
Incisive pass by Ntcham, brilliant low cross by Tierney from the let byline, and an easy close-range finish at the back post for Griffiths!
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36 min: Would you believe that Spajic’s first significant contribution since returning is to foul Sinclair, the man who hurt his ankle! It wasn’t malicious, Sinclair was just too tricky. It gives Celtic a freekick in a very promising crossing position wide on the left. Girrifths curls it in. But Anderlecht head it out.
33 min: Spajic is back on! That looked a highly unlikely outcome given how much pain he seemed to be in even when he was off the pitch. But five minutes of rubbing and spraying seems to have mended his ankle. What a trooper.
31 min: Anderlecht still haven’t got their sub on. Undaunted, the 10 on the pitch take the fiht to Celtic, Onyekuru bustling through an untypically soft challenge by Brown before delivering a cross. Celtic quickly clear the danger. And Anderlecht’s players look to their dugout to ask whether they’d mind getting their act together and inserting a sub some time soon.
29 min: With Spajic now off, and seemingly unlikely to return, Celtic momentarily have a numerical advantage. Let’s see what they can do with it.
27 min: Play is halted so Spajic can receive treatment for a sore ankle after being caught by Sinclair. It was an honest but clumsy attempt to get the ball and Spajic may have twisted his ankle. It looks painful.
26 min: Boyata strides forward and threads an inviting pass towards Sinclair. Spajic slides in to stick it out for a corner. Sinclair delivers beyond the far post. Griffiths heads it back into the danger zone. And Simunovic is penalised for jumping into Spajic. That’s the biggest threat Celtic have mustered so far.
24 min: Sinclair slips a nice pass through to Tierney, who has a chance to fire in a cross from behind enemy lines. He tries to pull it back towards Rogic at the edge of the area, but gets it all wrong.
23 min: Appiah, playing in an unfamiliar left-back, was supposed to be a potential weakness that Celtic could exploit. But he’s been splendid so far, defending by attacking, forcing Roberts to chase him the other way.
20 min: A dinky ball is lifted over the top of Celtic’s defence for Onyekuru, who’s faster than Simunovic. He stretches out his right leg to try to get the dropping ball under control, but his touch is slightly too heavy, allowing Gordon to rush out and flop down on the top of it.
19 min: Tierney does well down the left, rollicking forward with a combination of skill and bluster. Sinclair then takes up the charge and attempts to weave his way into the box, but he’s foiled by the last defender.
17 min: Sinclair rushes on to a loose ball in midfield and has an opportunity to lead a counter-attack. But he gives the ball back to the opposition by miscuing a simple pass. Rodgers must be seething i the dugout as we watches his team needlessly botch their attempts to piece together moves.
15 min: Anderlecht are starting to gain the upper hand, and Celtic are looking a tad rattled. Much more of this and, well, Anderlecht might get a scoring chance.
13 min: Ntcham was brought in because of his neat passing but he’s been quite erratic so far, giving the ball away uncharacteristically in midfield.
11 min: Boyata, making his Champions League debut in his home town, sidesteps Teodorczyk nonchalantly near the sideline, snuffing out danger with aplomb. Elegant play in what is a tense contest.
9 min: Dendoncker fancies his chances of beating Gordon with a freekick from nigh-on 30 yards. He is sadly mistaken, as his shot swerves way off target and lands somewhere near the manneken pis, appropriately enough.
7 min: Things aren’t quite coming off so far for Roberts, who is an exceptional young player. He’s been robbed in midfield, the second time his attempt to jink past an opponent has been read and curtailed with ease.
6 min: Ntcham slides in to dispossess Teodrocyzk mid-way inside the Celtic half. He came through the side of his opponent, who crumples to the ground in pain. It’s a freekick to Anderlecht but no lecture for Ntcham.
5 min: It’s an even start, tight but fast-paced. Both teams are showing positive intent, each seemingly convinced the other is beatable.
3 min: Tierney swings over a long cross from the left. Griffiths peels away to the far side of the box to try to take it down, but he loses sight of the ball in the air and it bounces off him and wide.
1 min: Celtic kick off and begin passing it around confidently. It’s 54 seconds before the home side get a touch, Appiah nicking the ball off Roberts and galloping forward down the left wing.
Tradition is upheld, as Anderlecht are clad all in purple and Celtic are in their famous hoops. The officials, however, have chosen tabloid attire, all in red tops.
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The arena is positively bubbling with giddy cheer, both sets of fans festooned in their clubs’ colours and belting out happy songs. And the here come the teams ...
Brendan Rodgers' preview
“It’s a good measure of where we are. Over the course of the years the Champions League as always proved difficult for Celtic, there’s no way getting way from that. What we’re trying to do over the next few years is write our own history.”
Of his team selection, he explains why he brought Ntcham back in, the only change from the side that won at Ibrox. “Possession is very important at this level and Ollie gives us that. But as the game opens up Stuart [Armstrong]’s running ability will come into it. He will play a huge part at some point.”
Anderlecht want to win this match so badly that they’re offering their players special bonuses, up to £40,000 per man according to the hackery. That fact, and the fact that today’s match is being played in a stadium named after Constant Vanden Stock, triggers memories of a less legitimate payment made back in 1984, when Nottingham Forest were beaten by Anderlecht in the Uefa Cup semi-final after money was conveyed to the referee, via a local gangster, by the Belgian club’s then-president, one Constant Vanden Stock.
Teams
The teams are in and Celtic look like they plan to attack with gusto, even if Dembélé is only on the bench. That’s a slinky front three they’ve got. As for Anderlecht, it seems Boecks’ performance at the weekend ensured he kept Sels out of goals. Meanwhile, there’s a start for Onyekuru, the forward signed by Everton and loaned back to the Belgians.
Anderlecht: Boecks; Spajic, Dendoncker, Deschacht; Chipciu, Gerkens, Trebel, Appiah; Hanni, Teodorczyk, Onyekuru
Subs: Sels, Mobdi, Stanciu Bruno,Beric, Sowah. Harbaoui
Celtic: Gordon; Lustig, Simunovic, Boyata, Tierney; Ntcham, Brown Rogic; Roberts, Griffiths, Sinclair
Subs: De Vries, Bitton, Dembélé, Armstrong, Hayes, McGregor, Forrest
Referee: J Manzano (Spain)
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Preamble
Hello. Both these teams were spanked in their first matches - Celtic by PSG and Anderlecht by Bayern - and are realistic enough to know that their duels with each other effectively amount to a play-off for a spot in the latter stages of the Europa League. That’s an honourable goal and they’ll both be going for it full gun, so we can expect fun today.
It’s hard to know exactly what to expect from Anderlecht because since that defeat at Bayern they have jilted their manager, René Weiler, and placed Nicolas Frutos in temporary charge. His only match at the helm brought a narrow victory at Beveren last weekend, lifting Anderlecht to seven in the Belgian top-flight, a very shabby position by their standards. The main reasons they won that match was a heroic performance by goalkeeper Frank Boeckx but he may not play today as Frutos has suggested he’ll give the gloves to Matz Sels. Some kind of Mignolet/Karius rotation fandango in going on there, perhaps.
Meanwhile, of course, Celtic are cartwheeling away with the Scottish Premier League and arrive in Brussels on the back of another one-sided Old Firm derby. But they have never won in Belgium and have not won anywhere in the Champions League since beating Ajax at home in 2013. Changing facts like that will do more to demonstrate the progress masterminded by Brendan Rodgers than dominating the SPL can do. Celtic have the players and the method to win today, but do they have the mindset?
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