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Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen (Image: (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images))

Remembering the fifth of November shouldn't prove to be too difficult for Jeremie Frimpong nowadays.

As he closes in on a move to Liverpool, the days and weeks ahead are likely to see the Dutch international quizzed about his experience of playing at Anfield for the first time during Bayer Leverkusen's defeat on that particular date earlier in the campaign.

At a glance, the Reds' 4-0 thrashing of the Bundesliga champions would suggest Frimpong's return to England, where he once spent nine years with Manchester City, was an unpleasant one as Luis Diaz's second-half hat-trick added to a Cody Gakpo strike to inflict a chastening defeat on Xabi Alonso's men.



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In truth, though, Leverkusen's showing on a first trip to Merseyside in more than two decades was far more impressive than the scoreline would have suggested when it reverberated across Europe.

That same school of thought can be applied to the performance of Frimpong, too, who would have been left wondering how different both his and Leverkusen's night could have been if his early strike had not been ruled out for handball by referee Danny Makkelie.

The former Manchester City and Celtic full-back thought he had snagged a half-time lead for his side when, operating high in the inside channel, he was alert to a lapse in concentration by Kostas Tsimikas to nick the ball off the defender, seemingly with his hand, before carrying it 25 yards and rifling his effort past Caoimhin Kelleher in front of the Kop.

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Had the goal stood, of course, Frimpong would have become the latest player in recent years, after Darwin Nunez, Takumi Minamino and Sadio Mane, to find the net at Anfield before later signing with the Reds.

Sure, that wasn't to be the case for Frimpong.

But the Dutchman certainly brought fireworks to Anfield on Bonfire Night last November.

Undertaking his position high and wide in a 5-3-2 system, he spent most of the Champions League encounter tasked with pinning Tsimikas back to allow space for Florian Wirtz and Exequiel Palacios to operate between the lines.

It was thought pushing the Greek international so far back would allow Wirtz and Palacios time and space to try and pick the lock of Europe's meanest defence.

But even though Leverkusen's efforts proved to be in vain as Liverpool recorded another shutout to collect an eighth clean sheet of the campaign, Frimpong's endeavour didn't go unnoticed.

Over the course of the 90 minutes, the Dutch international was at the heart of nearly all of Leverkusen's attacks, with only Wirtz (25) recording more touches in the final third than his 23.

His high volume of touches in the attacking third counted for more than 56% of his total on the night.

For comparison, Alex Grimaldo managed just 21% of his touches (15) in Liverpool's third.

It doesn't take a genius to understand why Frimpong's attacking involvement dwarfed that of his defensive counterpart, with the soon-to-be Liverpool man the more aggressive out of Leverkusen's high-flying full-back pair.

It is the same kind of attacking freedom that was afforded to Trent Alexander-Arnold during Jurgen Klopp's time at Anfield, with the Reds' No.66 regularly absolved of the same defensive responsibilities as his peers, particularly Andy Robertson, due to his proficiency in attack

And while that practice was criticised at times during the Klopp era, with Alexander-Arnold often singled out for his defensive ability, Leverkusen's three-man defence is so well drilled that Frimpong is adequately covered whenever he forays high and wide into opposition territory.

But to paint Frimpong as a one-dimensional, attack-minded full-back would be quite the disservice.

In fact, the 24-year-old was a cornerstone of the Leverkusen defence that conceded just 24 goals on the way to being crowned Bundesliga champions last season.

But perhaps most importantly, the New Balance athlete has also shown that he is more than comfortable helping his team play through the thirds - a key theme of Liverpool's Premier League triumph under Arne Slot.

On the night, possession was Leverkusen's weapon of choice.

Masterminded by the innovative Alonso, the Bundesliga outfit tried to lure the Reds into poor pressing possessions, which would open up space behind the midfield and later leave the likes of Alexander-Arnold and Tsimikas isolated.

And during a competitive first half, Leverkusen moved the ball around with a coverage and conviction that highlighted exactly why they were the first side in more than a decade to end Bayern Munich's stranglehold on the Bundesliga title.

Few performed better in that department than Frimpong, who, despite often receiving the ball in isolated areas close to the touchline, completed 20 out of his 21 short passes, to contribute to an overall success rate of 76%.

Equally as impressive was the speed and accuracy with which the Dutchman moved the ball, which saw him draw the most fouls of any Leverkusen player (4); only bettered by Liverpool's No.7, Diaz.

Needless to say, such an assurance when playing through the thirds is likely to have been one of the chief reasons why Liverpool decided to trigger Frimpong's release clause in the wake of Alexander-Arnold's decision to leave the club.

For all of Leverkusen's impressive work on the night, however, they were eventually gunned down by the power of Anfield itself as it shook to its core after quickfire goals from Diaz and Gakpo midway through the second.

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Luckily for Frimpong, he won't have to worry about competing against Anfield and its 12th man anytime soon.


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