Bayer Leverkusen v Celtic Match Report

Hopes were high for Celtic heading into match day five of the Europa League. The Hoops needed either themselves to avoid defeat away to Bayer Leverkusen or Ferencvaros to draw or win in Seville against Real Betis. Unfortunately, neither took place and Celtic were ultimately knocked out of the Europa League with one group game to spare. 

It’s not all doom and gloom though; Celtic are guaranteed Europa Conference League football after Christmas. 

Today, I’ll be moving away from my traditional way of reviewing Celtic matches and I’ll be writing a match report. Let’s begin. 

There were no real shocks in the Celtic lineup. The single change saw James Forrest come in for Liel Abada after the thirty year old came off the bench to score the winner against St. Johnstone at Hampden on Sunday. 

For Bayer Leverkusen, Gerardo Seoane made four changes to the team that put Bochum to the sword in a 1-0 victory at the weekend. It was an extremely young starting eleven with the average age of all outfield players being just twenty one. 

In the early stages, it was Bayer Leverkusen who were in charge. Jeremie Frimpong was ever-present down the right hand side, linking up well with Moussa Diaby. This duo helped Leverkusen win a couple of corners. 

Firstly, Robert Andrich headed over from a couple of yards out although the former Union Berlin man made no mistake at the second opportunity. Andrich escaped his marker, Anthony Ralston, and put his side in front sixteen minutes in. 

In reaction to the goal, Celtic attempted to come out and work their way into the game. Kyogo made multiple runs in behind the Leverkusen defence, most notably was one which he squared to Jota however the Japanese was ultimately offside. 

Celtic’s most noteworthy chance in the half came when winger Jota played a sublime cross into the box. Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky gambled and came off his line to try and collect however he ended up clattering into Kyogo Furuhashi. After no initial appeals, a penalty was given after the Greek referee, Tasos Sidiropoulos, consulted with VAR. 

It was Josip Juranovic to take. The Croatian stepped up and displayed great composure to convert via a panenka that kissed the cross bar on its way in. It was the twenty six year old’s second Europa League goal of the season after he gave Celtic a two goal lead against Real Betis on match day one. 

With five minutes to half time after the equaliser, it was up to Celtic to remain solid defensively and see their lead through to the break. And see it through they did however that was in spite of a few scares. 

Juranovic almost became the villain after he lost the ball just outside his own box. The chance fell to Moussa Diaby whose effort rattled the cross bar. The rebound came to wonder kid Florian Wirtz who also hit the woodwork. Celtic survived and were level 1-1 at half time. 

All in all, the first was a half that Celtic grew into after going behind in early on. In the second period of the ninety, it was Leverkusen who seemed to control and dominate. 

In the opening stages of the second half, Joe Hart magnificently denied Bayer Leverkusen from taking the lead once again. The Englishman denied Moussa Diaby with his feet and the rebound fell to young French striker Amine Adli. The twenty one year just had to tap it in although Hart didn’t give up on it and superbly stopped Adli from scoring against Celtic for the second time this season. 

Minutes later, Celtic would break and take the lead in style. A long ball came to James Forrest who skilfully played it down to David Turnbull. The midfielder sent Nir Bitton on his way whose pass took a few ricochets yet fell at the feet of Kyogo Furuhashi who had a man over. Jota was played through and finished clinically into the bottom corner on his weaker left foot. Celtic were just over half an hour away from their first victory on German soil. 

Going into the latter stages, Celtic were fairly rigid at the back. Nir Bitton continued to win tackles in midfield before being subbed off through injury on the seventy sixth minute, Joe Hart made several stops to preserve Celtic’s lead and the Hoops also posed a threat on the counter. David Turnbull attempted to play in James Forrest although imposing centre back Jonathan Tah made a vital interception. 

Ange Postecoglou looked to freshen things up going into the last fifteen or so minutes. All of Liel Abada, Albian Ajeti and Mikey Johnston were introduced to bring vitality and a new lease of life up top. The two latter almost combined to double Celtic’s advantage although Johnston ultimately was overcrowded on the left hand side. 

With just under ten to play, pressure begun to mount on Celtic’s back line. The home side’s advances paid off with Robert Andrich volleying home, through the legs of Joe Hart, to draw his side level on the eighty second minute. It was the German’s second goal of the game and third in the Europa League this season. 

After the equaliser, it looked as if there was only going to be one team to take all three points. This assumption came to fruition and Bayer Leverkusen won the match after Florian Wirtz’s cut back cross was splendidly volleyed home by Moussa Diaby. I said on Twitter the Frenchman was one to watch which certainly turned out to be correct after the twenty two year old scored the winner. 

Inevitably, Celtic did go forward to try and keep their Europa League dream alive. David Turnbull came closest after Anthony Ralston’s cross met the midfielder who was denied by Lukas Hradecky. Joe Hart came up for the resulting corner although there was to be no more late drama with Leverkusen clearing the danger and confirming their status as the winners of Europa League Group G. 

In summary, it was an extremely encouraging display for Celtic away in Europe. The progress the side has made is clear to see after the Hoops were humbled 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow back in December. 

As mentioned, Celtic will now play their European football for the remainder of the 21/22 campaign in the newly formed Conference League. The Hoops will take on Real Betis however in their final Europa League game of the season on the 9th of December with the final standings of the group already confirmed. This could be the perfect match to give a few fringe players a chance and rest key first team players during a gruelling December fixture schedule. 

Up next for Celtic is Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership at Celtic Park on Sunday. A win is crucial for Celtic to keep pace on Rangers in the SPFL title race. 

Thanks for reading this article. If you enjoyed this new format, let me know. Also, be sure to leave your thoughts and opinions below and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Josh_Footblog.