Jeremie Frimpong has stated that he’s told his Bayer Leverkusen teammates to expect a “crazy” environment at Celtic Park on Thursday night.
The Dutch right-back is set to face off against his former club on matchday 2 of the Europa League group stages. Celtic will welcome the Bundesliga giants tomorrow night in what will be our toughest match of the season so far.
Frimpong, meanwhile, could’ve been playing on the other side tomorrow night. His sudden departure from Parkhead at the start of 2021 came as a massive surprise. He did, however, sample a packed Celtic Park on European nights in his debut campaign back in the 2019/20 season.
And the lightning-quick wide-man has bigged up the Hoops’ quality as he touched on what he told his teammates about the famous old stadium.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Frimpong said: “I’ve not spoken to the manager about any players. I rate everyone. Celtic’s an amazing team, every player’s good. I told my team mates if the atmosphere’s full then it’s crazy, they should be expecting it.
“Of course. I’m here for one, job, obviously, and that’s to beat Celtic. So I’m going to give it all for my team. I’ll probably get a good reception. Obviously the fans, me and the fans, had a great relationship.
“I never got the chance to say goodbye face to face.”
Celtic Park needs to be at its raucous best to gain any advantage against Bayer Leverkusen
Frimpong isn’t wrong. We all know what Celtic Park is like on a big European night. You can bet without a shadow of a doubt that the Bayer players are absolutely buzzing to experience it for themselves.
However, in the past, we’ve seen plenty of instances where not even a packed house has been enough to get the job done. The truth is our home record on the European stage isn’t what it once was. Despite the famous Parkhead cauldron continuing to gather a big reputation worldwide, it just isn’t as difficult anymore for away sides to rock up and take a win.
The likes of Borussia Monchengladbach, Anderlecht, RB Salzburg, CFR Cluj, and Copenhagen have all won in front of packed Parkhead crowds. This has often been down to Celtic shooting themselves in the foot due to dreadful defending.
Funnily enough, concerns over the backline have been at the forefront of our minds this season. Clumsy errors from the likes of Carl Starfelt will need to be cut out if we’re to get the result we’re after tomorrow.
It’s vital in the context of the group too. Losing in Betis was no disaster, but it also wasn’t ideal. Another defeat to Bayer and all of a sudden it looks a tough ask to qualify for the round of 32.
Hopefully, the “crazy” Celtic Park atmosphere can put a mark on the Bayer superstars tomorrow night. We need them as uneasy as possible as we look to finally start building some momentum.
In other news, The Celtic support is rallying behind Ange Postecoglou after spiky press conference
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