Brendan Rodgers spoke post-match about the impression Daizen Maeda made up front this afternoon against Hibernian at Celtic Park.
Despite some labeling Celtic as playing without a striker pre-match, Maeda was clearly going to lead the line.
Throughout his career, he has played as a striker at times, which highlights the disrespect towards the Japanese international.
Rodgers said: (Premier Sports), “It’s obviously his best position, and he likes to play off the side. I hear all this stuff about him not being able to play as a striker, but that’s five goals in two games he’s scored for me as a striker. I played in Yokohama in Japan; he got a hat-trick today, had two more chances, and could have had more.
“He’s a guy who has played for Japan in the World Cup as a striker, so he can’t be that bad. I thought he was absolutely fantastic today coming in and playing in that position.”
“He gives us what we want. He can go into depth, and as soon as he knew he was playing, the coaches went through some of it with him, reinforcing his movements again as a striker and getting into the space because that’s his strength. So yeah, it gives us a great option having that sort of flexibility along the front line.”
Maeda even scored his first goal for Celtic against Hibernian at Celtic Park while being deployed as a striker that night, with Kyogo Furuhashi injured at the time.
People are often quick to criticise Maeda for his mistakes, but he has consistently proven himself to be reliable and hardworking, traits that any football team in the world values.
This afternoon, he demonstrated that he can play anywhere along the Celtic frontline with an impressive display, scoring two goals in the 3-1 win against Hibernian.
