Goals from Kris Commons and Georgios Samaras sealed the win and see Celtic go into next weeks second leg at Celtic Park with a strong advantage.
Notably this is Celtics fourth consecutive European away game unbeaten, which is quite an achievement for Neil Lennon’s men.
There were some changes to the Celtic line-up with captain Scott Brown, striker Gary Hooper and defender Thomas Rogne all back in action.
The game got off to an exciting start when Celtic opened the scoring in the first two minutes.
The goal from Commons came when a cross by Samaras found him in space inside the box and without any hesitation he blasted it with his left foot straight into the net.
Helsinborg initially reeled by the early goal from Celtic but didn’t sit back and went on to apply pressure as they tried to find the equalizer.
Fraser Forster was called into action and forced into pulling off some great saves on more than one occasion.
Djurdic took a shot on goal but Forster dealt with it. However, minutes later he had to show his mettle again with an impressive save with his feet from Alejandro Bedoya’s low drive.
The Hoops fans were left holding there breath when a long ball clearance from a Celtic corner wasn’t picked up by Adam Matthews allowing Helsinborgs Mahlangu to go powering towards the Celtic goal, but Matthews caught up with him and finally managed to clear the danger.
It was a nail-biting first half for the travelling Celtic support when after taking the early lead Helsinborgs kept the pressure on and a few times looked as if they could equalise. But their efforts were either off target or thwarted by a quick acting Forster.
Helsinborgs started strong in the second half when Mahlangu, who had caused problems all night, had a shot towards goal but Forster again made the save and stopped them from getting on the score sheet.
Their strong start was short lived however, and it was Celtic who went on to dominate the game.
James Forrest made an immediate impact when he came on just after the break to replace an injured Beram Kayal.
His presence was felt immediately with his fast pace on the right and some great passing play which led to him taking a shot towards goal but his effort went wide.
Minutes later he was on the end of a short pass from a Commons corner which he crossed to Joe Ledley who took a shot but his header hit the post.
Celtic were unwavering in their pursuit of that vital second goal to strengthen their lead and it came with just 15 minutes of the game remaining. It materialized from a Charlie Mulgrew corner which Sammy rose to and headed home for goal number two, securing the win for Celtic and silencing the home crowd.
Celtic had opportunities to increase their two goal cushion but missed opportunities to strengthen their lead in the final stage of the game.
With 12 minutes remaining Samaras made another great run but instead of passing to Commons who was in a great position to score, the Greek international sliced his shot past the post.
Forrest had another chance in the last five minutes of the game but his shot was dealt with by Hansson. With three minutes remaining Mulgrewhad to look agonizingly as his shot hit the bar and the game finished 2-0.
Neil Lennon was delighted with the result but with the group stages only 90 minutes away he made it clear their was no room for complacency.
"A clean sheet and two away goals is more than we could have asked for," he said.
"It's a great result for us to take into the second game.
"But there is still a lot to play for in the tie. There was enough there to worry me. They were impressive."
"It was a hell of a game. We got off to a dream start but then we took our foot off the pedal.
“I think we'll possibly have to play even better next week because I'm sure Helsingborgs will
have some say in the tie.”
He praised the efforts of Forster and Forrest who had both been outstanding in this match.
"We had to rely on Fraser to make some great saves. You can see why we pursued him so vigorously because we feel he is capable of doing that.
"We were a lot better in the second half with James [Forrest] coming on and giving us a good out ball on the right.
"We restricted Helsingborgs to shots from outside the box.
"It could have been three or four but that might have been flattering considering we had to weather a lot of pressure in the first half."
He commended his players performance but says that despite a good home record he’s not taking anything for granted for next weeks tie at Celtic Park.
"Our home record is very, very good. We will set the team up a little bit differently," he added.
"There is still a lot of work to do. There are 90 minutes to go.
"I think we'll possibly have to play even better next week because I'm sure Helsingborgs will have some say in the tie.
"We will be a week fitter. There may be a casualty count in the morning. It's been a really hectic schedule for the players so their efforts tonight are even more remarkable."
Celtic Park will be in full swing next week for the second-leg as the fans will be hoping to celebrate Celtic securing their place with the best of Europe in the Champions League.
Ref:Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal).