Brendan Rodgers has hailed Daizen Maeda for his opener at Ibrox last Sunday, outlining his opinion that the goal was by no means a fluke.
21 seconds in, the electric Japanese winger put utmost pressure on Rangers right-back James Tavernier. He attempted to put the ball out for a throw-in but the speedy Maeda was right on him to alter the trajectory of his clearance and divert it goalwards.
Celtic couldn’t have asked for a better start to a game that eventually turned out to be a classic.
It was a goal that epitomised Maeda’s style of play, and it wasn’t the first he’d struck early in Govan.
Last season, the 26-year-old gave the Hoops the lead within five minutes after latching on to a loose Alfredo Morelos pass.
Maeda is the man for the big occasion, and Rodgers has praised his desire to win the ball back in the infancy of the weekend’s game. “If he doesn’t have the intent and the ambition to go and win the ball then their full-back either goes back to the keeper with comfort or he gets turned and plays forward”, he said (Celtic TV via Glasgow Times).
“But our idea is always to attack the game, even when we don’t have the ball. That was typified in no better way with Daizen.
“He is the king of the lost cause. When it looked like it was maybe gone and he couldn’t quite get there, he got there, made a great block and gave us a great start in the game.”
