The first few months of Boli Bolingoli’s Celtic career sums up the fickle nature of the modern game like nothing else.
Just weeks after joining from Rapid Vienna in a £3 million deal, fans and critics alike were queuing up to write off a player who appeared to have an almost impossible task replacing Kieran Tierney in green and white.
That error-strewn performance in a 4-3 defeat to Cluj in Champions League qualifying only ramped up the pressure on a player whose Celtic career began with almost unprecedented levels of scrutiny.
But, two months after that horror night against the Romanian champions, Thursday night’s revenge mission felt like the completion of an impressive turnaround not just for Celtic but for Bolingoli himself.
The Belgian flyer produced his best performance for the Hoops so far as Celtic beat Cluj 2-0 at Parkhead, showing that remarkable turn of pace to reach a sliding Callum McGregor pass before setting up Odsonne Edouard’s opener with a pinpoint cross.
This felt like a big moment, a big performance, from a player who is just starting to turn the doubters into fans.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
