BRUSSELS - Chancel Mbemba scored twice to give Anderlecht a 2-0 victory over Galatasaray on Wednesday, assuring the Belgian champion of third place in Group D of the Champions League and a place in the Europa League next spring.

Mbemba put Anderlecht ahead in the 44th minute when he latched onto a cross and beat Fernando Muslera with a powerful header. He made sure of victory in the 86th minute with a tap-in after Muslera failed to control a free kick.

In the battle of Group D's bottom teams, victory gave Anderlecht five points and an insurmountable four-point lead over the Turkish club with one only game remaining.

In the other group game, Arsenal beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0, a result that denied Anderlecht at shot at second place in the last match.

For Galatasaray, the result compounded its misery after losing the lead in the Turkish league with a heavy home defeat over the weekend. Cesare Prandelli, the former Italy coach who took charge of Galatasaray in July, is now under intense pressure to turn the team's fortunes around.

Wednesday's loss could even have been bigger. Anderlecht deserved to go into halftime a goal up, especially after a 35th minute shot from midfielder Steven Defour ricocheted off the inside on one post and onto the other before a stunned Muslera could pick up the ball.

The Turkish team had some better spells in the second half and in its best chance came in the 76th minute, when Burak Yilmaz beat the off-side trap — only to see his shot hit the bar and bounce over.

It went downhill for Galatasaray from then on, with captain Selcuk Inan being given a second yellow card in the 83rd minute for protesting.

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Raf Casert can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rcasert