MX23RW : Monday, November 25 03:04:49| >> :600:110454:110454:
[monks data]
Attendance: 19,898
Anderlecht
Champions League | Group Stage
Sep 27, 2017 at 7.45pm UK
 
Celtic logo

0-3

FT(HT: 0-1)
Griffiths (38'), Roberts (50'), Sinclair (90')

Celtic secure crucial win over Anderlecht

Celtic secure crucial win in Brussels
© SilverHub
Celtic record their first group-stage Champions League win since 2013 as Leigh Griffiths, Patrick Roberts and Scott Sinclair score in a 3-0 victory over Anderlecht.

Celtic recorded their first group stage win in 16 European matches with a 3-0 triumph away at Anderlecht this evening.

Goals either side of half time from Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts teed up the Bhoys for what could be a crucial win in Champions League Group B.

Scott Sinclair added a third in stoppage time to round off a famous victory, and give Celtic a key advantage in their head-to-head record with the Belgians.

Despite Celtic's poor record on the continent - their previous away win was over Spartak Moscow in 2012 - Anderlecht sat off and let the visitors have the ball.

The Scottish champions wasted much of their first-half possession, with the recalled Olivier Ntcham, preferred to Stuart Armstrong in midfield, the main culprit as Celtic continued to give the ball away with sloppy passing.

However, Ntcham made amends in style with one of two excellent passes for Celtic's opener. He released Kieran Tierney with a through-ball down the left channel, and the full-back crossed for Griffiths to tap home at the far post on 38 minutes - his seventh goal of the season.

Anderlecht nearly equalised immediately when Sofiane Hanni cut inside Dedryck Boyata and unleashed a low shot which Craig Gordon gathered at the second attempt.

Rookie Anderlecht manager Nicolas Frutos, in interim charge following the sacking of Swiss coach Rene Weiler, watched on as his most experienced player gifted Celtic a second goal within five minutes of the restart.

Olivier Deschacht, making his 99th European appearance for the club that he has served for 20 years, attempted an inexplicable flick on the edge of his own box, and Roberts picked up the loose ball to shoot past Frank Boeckx with the help of a deflection.

Roberts could have wrapped up the three points just before the hour mark, but shot wide on the spin from 10 yards when a layoff to Tom Rogic on the edge of the box might have been the better option.

Having offered a slight threat on the counter in the opening stages, Anderlecht lacked the creativity to unlock Celtic when the onus was on them to attack, and only tested Gordon through Pieter Gerkens' long-range strike.

Celtic closed out the game with maturity and sealed three massive points for the future of their European campaign when Ntcham released Sinclair on the break for Celtic's top scorer to finish confidently with his left foot.

This result should flush the 5-0 thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain out of Celtic's system, and puts them level on points with Bayern Munich ahead of their trip to the Allianz Arena in three weeks' time.

ID:308280: cacheID:308280:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5297:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers on the bench during his side's 7-0 Champions League loss to Barcelona at the Camp Nou on September 13, 2016
Read Next:
Rodgers praises "quality" performance
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Liverpool440012
2Sporting Lisbon431010
3Brest431010
4Inter Milan431010
5Monaco431010
6Barcelona43019
7Dortmund43019
8Aston Villa43019
9Atalanta42208
10Juventus42117
11Lille42117
12Man City42117
13Arsenal42117
14B. Leverkusen42117
15Celtic42117
16Dinamo Zagreb42117
17AC Milan42026
18Bayern42026
19Benfica42026
20Feyenoord42026
21Real Madrid42026
22Brugge42026
23Atletico42026
24PSV41215
25Sparta Prague41124
26Stuttgart41124
27PSG41124
28Shakhtar41124
29Girona41033
30Salzburg41033
31Bologna40131
32RB Leipzig40040
33Sturm Graz40040
34Young Boys40040
35Red Star40040
36Slovan Bratislava40040


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!