BRENDAN Rodgers’s Celtic did a lot of growing up as a Champions League team against Anderlecht in Brussels where a rare away win puts them in a strong position to finish third.

That would European football after Christmas in the Europa League, which is what the managers wants now and for the seasons to come. There are, of course, four games still to go, two against Bayern Munich and an easy sojourn over to Paris, but this victory feels like a defining moment and, indeed, performance.

Celtic have been more entertaining in the Champions League and lost. This felt like a lesson learned, many of them in fact, as they ignored their natural impulses to attack at every opportunity, and there were spells when Anderlecht were just the better team at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.

What winning away teams do at this level is keep possession, make fouls when it’s needed, do a bit of time wasting and take their chances when they come.

Celtic did that all of that. It was a terrific night for Rodgers, his players and the club.

The men from Parkhead have won only one of their last 15 Champions League group matches, and this was only their second win away from Glasgow. Make no mistake, it will go down as one of the highlights off the entire season.

It became manifestly obvious from the first minute that Anderlecht could play a bit. As you would expect, they were a team filled with players who could take a ball and then pass it. Quelle surprise.

Celtic were finding it difficult to find a man, Olivier Ntcham in particular had a difficult start, there was no space on those in green and white to show what they could do. It was night and day from Ibrox at the weekend. However, they were to grow into things.

The Scottish champions had to do a lot of defending in the early stages and on 19 minutes their high line was breached by a ball over the top, which gave Henry Onyekuru a run through on Craig Gordon, but on this occasion the ball got away from the Anderlecht striker.

Ntcham has looked the part so far but for so long couldn’t do right from wrong. A case in point was when Celtic had a decent chance of a break, the Frenchman had and time and space but managed to split Dedryck Boyata and Kieran Tierney.

Someone who was having a decent night was Boyata, his best game in a Celtic jersey, and on 24 minutes his forceful run and good pass forced Anderlecht into conceding a corner. Scott Sinclair’s deep cross was headed back across goal by Leigh Griffiths and while Jozo Simunovic’s subsequent leap adjudged to be illegal, in truth it was six and two threes, at least this was a bit of intent shown by the visitors.

Anderlecht defender Uros Spajic caught a sore one from Sinclair and looked in a bad way as he was helped off the pitch. His team carried on without him for five minutes, he eventually came back on but you wouldn’t have known they had been a man down.

Ntcham at least got on shot on target after 31 minutes, it was never going in, and it rather summer up his night that the chance came courtesy of a poor touch from the midfielder.

And then his evening became a whole lot better seven minutes before half-time.

For a young man who looked as if he’d just been introduced to a football, Ntcham produced a superb pass inside Spajic which found Tierney in a forward position, the left-back knew he had to get his cross beyond the defence to Griffiths and that he did, the striker making no mistake from a few yards out at the back post.

What a huge moment.

Anderlecht responded immediately. Captain Sofiane Hanni took the ball across the Celtic box in order to get off a clean shot, which he did, but Gordon read his intention and made he made the save comfortable than it might have been.

Closer still was Lukasz Teodorczyk who sent a shot across Gordon’s goal just before the break.

Anderlecht started the second 45 with equal determination. The dangerous Hanni took on a shot from 20 yards, the ball skidded towards Gordon who saved with his chest and while Teodorczyk messed up the rebound, he was offside.

And then the home side coughed up a ridiculous goal to Celtic, which sealed the game five minutes into the half.

They tried to pass their way out of trouble and when the ball was sent to Olivier Deschacht, he allowed it to run under his foot. Patrick Roberts took full advantage, cut back on his left and the shot, which took a deflection, sent the Celtic supporters behind the goal into raptures.

But group matches are not won so easily and after a rare miscommunication between Boyata and Simunovic, Hanni sent a fierce effort just over.

At the other end, the game had really opened up, and just before the hour, Tierney did superbly well to get up field, picked out Griffiths inside the box with a perfect pass, the striker turned and shot wide when a lay-off to Tom Rogic would have been a better option.

Substitutes Nir Bitton and Callum McGregor both passed up good opportunities, and on 73 minutes, Gordon dived full length to prevent Pieter Gerkens.

Celtic didn’t need to even see the game out. In injury time after more slack Anderlecht play, Sinclair got on the ball, ran at people at his want to do and produced a killed finish,

How very grown up.

Anderlecht (5-2-2-1): Boeckx; Chipciu, Spajic (Mbodji), Dendoncjer, Deschacht (Stacie 56), Appiah; Gerkens, Trebles; Hanni (Bruno 70), Onyekuru; Teodorczyk

Substitutes not used: Sels, Bruno, Beric, Sowah, Harbaoui

Celtic: (4-3-3): Gordon; Lustig, Simunovic, Boyata, Tierney; Brown (Bitton 70), Rogic (McGregor 64), Nitcham; Roberts Forrest 77), Griffiths

Substitutes not used: De Vries, Dembele, Armstrong, Hayes

Scorers

Anderlecht: None

Celtic: Griffiths 38, Roberts 50, Sinclair 90+3

Bookings

Anderlecht: None

Celtic: None