UEFA Champions League: Anderlecht 1 - Celtic 0 Celtic's 100 per cent record for losing Champions League group games on foreign soil remains intact.
Martin O'Neill's team are unlikely to get a better opportunity of breaking it than last night, faced as they were by 10 men for more than an hour, but Anderlecht were inspired by the 26th-minute dismissal of their captain Glen de Boeck for a second bookable offence.
They recovered admirably, and deservedly won, and threw open the group with Dindane Aruna's goal. He had an electric evening but too many of Celtic's players were flat. Celtic must win against the same opponents at Parkhead a fortnight today.
No one in Scotland will undervalue Anderlecht or Belgian football on that night. A complacent assumption had somehow gathered credibility in the build-up - that all Celtic had to do was turn up and the points were theirs. This looked thoroughly rash as early as the ninth minute when Anderlecht's left back, Olivier Deschacht, struck Magnus Hedman's crossbar with a diagonal drive from the edge of the box.
By that stage Anderlecht had shown their competitive instincts with some sharp tackling and passing. But then, as O'Neill would no doubt have pointed out, though the Belgian champions had only picked up one point from their previous two games in the group, there had been a deal of bad luck in that. Against Lyon they conceded a dubious penalty and against Bayern Munich they had taken the lead.
Deschacht's shot was a reminder of Anderlecht capabilities, even if Celtic stabilised soon after, in fact by the time of De Boeck's dismissal. The captain had no one to blame but himself. When Stanislav Varga launched the ball forward De Boeck pulled John Hartson back so much so the Welshman fell to the ground.
A yellow card had to be shown and as De Boeck had committed a reckless tackle on Henrik Larsson in the 16th minute, it was his second. Anderlecht responded with authority. Chris Sutton may have gone close with a half-volley, but it was the home side pushing Celtic back. Dindane Aruna blemished his display with a dive for a penalty on the half hour but Varga had to produce a last-ditch block before half-time to deny the Ivory Coast striker.
Christian Wilhelmsson then skewed the ball over when teed up by Mornar. Anderlecht were surging yet Celtic could also claim when Deschacht fouled Larsson they should have been awarded a penalty themselves.
The home fans were given encouragement with Anderlecht's start to the second half, Stilian Petrov having to intervene to divert a shot from Walter Baseggio. But Celtic should have gone ahead in the 50th minute. Unfortunately the chance fell to Varga inside the six-yard box, the big defender fluffing it after a dummy from Larsson transformed Alan Thompson's low cross into a major threat.
How Celtic could have done with a goal then, not just for the advantage it would have given them, but for the effect it might have had. Nevertheless Mornar missed the next opening, running on to Baseggio's pass and lobbing Hedman. The ball sailed wide.
Aruna was more precise 12 minutes later, when, from Wilhelmsson's low centre, he steered the ball home. Celtic's qualifying campaign has been rocked.
Anderlecht: Zitka, Deschacht, De Boeck, Zewlakow, Baseggio, Kolar (Tihinen 90), Hasi, Wilhelmsson (Hendrikx 88), Mornar, Aruna, Kompany. Subs Not Used: Peersman, Vanderhaeghe, Zetterberg, Traore, MacDonald. Sent Off: De Boeck (26). Booked: De Boeck, Hendrikx. Goals: Aruna 72.
Celtic: Hedman, McNamara (Valgaeren 46), Balde, Sutton, Varga, Agathe, Petrov, Lennon (Miller 80), Thompson, Larsson, Hartson. Subs Not Used: Douglas, Gray, Sylla, Maloney, Kennedy. Booked: Petrov, Larsson.
Referee: Fritz Stuchlik (Austria).
