Former Celtic full-back Jeremie Frimpong made his European debut for Bayer Leverkusen tonight.
Raising questions like “Isn’t he cup-tied?” and “how does that work”, Frimpong made his bow ahead of Timothy Fosu-Mensah. He couldn’t have enjoyed a more difficult start.
At the Wankdorf, Young Boys took a 3-0 lead in the first-half with goals from Fassnach, Siebatcheu and Elia. The game looked done and dusted, until Frimpong whipped a gorgeous ball for Patrick Schick, who got two on the night [Sky Sports].
A 68th minute Diaby equaliser made Bayer fans and Jeremie Frimpong sure of a famous comeback. Alas, the Swiss side scored a late and brutal 4th via Siebbatcheu again, and that was that.
In a game which showed Frimpong’s development in a nutshell, there was haphazard defending and impressive attacking play. Peter Bosz’s Leverkusen moved from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 in the second half, utilising Frimpong’s pace to good effect [WhoScored?].
From a Celtic perspective, it’ll be surprising to have seen the Dutchman providing an assist, something he wasn’t brilliant at in Glasgow.
Celtic addition has made Jeremie Frimpong loss easier
In hindsight, no matter how angry we were, £12m was probably decent business. For what it’s worth, I still believe Jeremie Frimpong has the potential to be an excellent footballer, and his charisma and enthusiasm are infectious. Celtic feel slightly less exciting to watch without him.
Nevertheless, Jonjoe Kenny’s solid, if unspectacular displays, have helped Celtic to an excellent run of victories. We’ve kept 3 clean sheets in 5 matches, and although there’s less pace and trickery on the pitch, we look harder to beat.
Whether that’s down to a new presence on the right, the emergence of Stephen Welsh or other factors is hard to discern. Still, a lot of people were very unhappy with the ex-Man City player left us. This writer is very much included in that number.
Frimpong, like his team-mates, will be hugely disappointed by this loss. However, they may have stumbled upon a way to score goals rapidly and utilise their new signing to great effect on the right of midfield. If they can capture tonight’s second half, Peter Bosz could be on to a winner.
READ MORE: What can be made of Albian Ajeti’s time at Celtic?
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