Scottish Premiership
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Pittodrie, Aberdeen

CELTIC…4
(Edouard 11, Frimpong 15, Forrest 37, Elyounoussi 44)

ABERDEEN…0

CELTIC floored Aberdeen with dominant display at Pittodrie to come away with a 4-0 win. The champions continued their excellent form off the back of their midweek win over Lazio as they asserted their grip on the game early on and never allowed Aberdeen to find their feet.

Odsonne Edouard scored his 11th goal of the season shortly after kick-off before Jeremie Frimpong netted his first goal of his professional career. James Forrest rounded off a well-worked team goal for Celtic’s third and Mohamed Elyounoussi fired in the fourth just before half-time.

Celtic’s dominance was clear early on as the champions wasted no time in attacking the home side. The final ball let Celtic down on a couple of occasions but everything clicked after 10 minutes and from there Neil Lennon’s side blitzed their opponents.

Edouard opened the scoring after dropping deep and linking up Forrest. A neat one two between the pair resulted in Edouard muscling his way into the Dons box. The French striker still had plenty to do with three defenders around him but a deft drop of the shoulder on route created a window on goal and he slotted the ball low beyond Joe Lewis.

Aberdeen quickly found themselves trailing by two when a surging run forward from Frimpong saw him feed the ball out wide to Edouard and continuing his run into the penalty area. Edouard quickly cut a pass back for the full-back and he managed to poke it past the keeper.

Celtic were in complete control and looked eager to increase their lead following the two quick-fire goals. Aberdeen could barely get on the ball and they looked vulnerable to conceding more as Celtic cut through their midfield with ease.

The third goal stemmed from some excellent passing play from Celtic. Bolingoli held off some challenges as he ran across goal and slipped a pass into Elyounoussi. The Norwegian held up the ball and teed it up for Forrest to run on to before placing it in the bottom corner.

There was no let off for Aberdeen in the first half and Celtic continued to pile the pressure on their opponents as half-time approached. The fourth was assisted by Tom Rogic who picked out Elyounoussi inside the six-yard box with a well-placed cross. The winger controlled with his chest and struck the ball on the half volley across goal and into the top corner.

While Celtic could not add to their goal tally in the second period they continued to create chances in front of goal and did not ease up on their opponents. Edouard forced a fine save from the keeper with a free-kick and Elyounoussi looked a constant threat as he came in from the flank and had a couple of shots at goal.

Frimpong was lively throughout the 90 minutes with darting runs up and down the wing. Aberdeen failed to create any real chances throughout the game but the 18-year-old had to play his part in defence and performed well when required.

The best chance of the second half fell to the full-back after Forrest picked out his run with a perfectly weighted throughout ball. Frimpong carried the ball into the box and pulled the trigger but he fired his shot over the crossbar from close range.

Neil Lennon’s players continued to poke and prod for a fifth as the game drew to a close. A counter-attack spearheaded by Bayo created a chance for Rogic when the Ivorian back-heeled the ball into the path of Rogic but the Australian couldn’t keep his effort on target.

CELTIC: Forster: Frimpomg, Julien (Bitton 45), Ajer, Bolingoli; Brown, McGregor, Rogic, Forrest, Elyounoussi (Hayes 81): Edouard (Bayo 70)
Subs: Gordon, Elhamed, Bauer, Sinclair

ABERDEEN: Lewis, Logan, Leigh, Considine, McKenna, Devlin, Gallagher (Campbell 81), MgGinn (Wilson 45), McLennan (Bryson 45), Cosgrove, Vyner
Subs: Cerny, Gleeson, Hedges, Anderson

Website Man of the Match: Jeremie Frimpong

Celtic show their quality in dominant win over Aberdeen