IS 3-5-2 WORKING?

Many Celtic fans were delighted when Neil Lennon reverted to the formation that he had used in the second half of the 2019/20 season following the arrival of Shane Duffy on loan earlier this month.

The Parkhead club have beaten Ross County and St Mirren away and Livingston at home fairly comfortable since. But is the system working as effectively as it did following the winter shutdown last term?

Riga put eight men behind the ball in the Skonto Stadium and were difficult to break down. But was the way the visitors set up part of the issue. They looked to lack width against compact opponents at times.

Is James Forrest suited to wing back? He failed to make an impact in the final third during his time on the park. Mohamed Elyounoussi, who was in outstanding form before the switch from a 4-2-3-1, was also left on the bench for the third game running?

It could be too early to abandon the set-up. But many more showings like this could persuade Lennon to go back to the drawing board.

FLAT EDOUARD

The French forward came back into the starting line-up in the Skonda Stadium after sitting out the Premiership match against Livingston at Parkhead on Saturday.

He had his work cut out adding to his tally of five goals for the 2020/21 season against opponents who put eight men who sat back and sought to grab a goal on the counter attack.

He showed some fine footwork and nice touches when he got on the ball. He did well, for example, to tee up Nir Bitton for a shot shortly before half-time. But he lacked his usual spark.

It needed Elyounoussi to come off the bench and provide the cutting edge up front that saw the Scottish champions triumph and progress to the play-off.

FANTASTIC FRIMPONG

Not surprisingly for a player who is still just 19, the Dutch defender hasn’t always acquitted himself at the same high level as he did when he first broke through into the Celtic first team last year.

But he was immense after coming on for James Forrest in the first-half last night. He added energy and no little creativity to the away team’s attacks. It was no surprise when he set up Mohamed Elyounoussi for the winning goal in the last minute.

Frimpong is suited to a 3-5-2 formation – he is a handful going forward – and his bright showing in a difficult and important away match in Europa augurs well for the future.