Celtic cruised to a 3-0 victory over Hearts this afternoon, with Viljami Sinisalo marking his Scottish Premiership debut with a clean sheet and Daizen Maeda continuing his outstanding season with a brace. The Japanese forward also struck the post in the build-up to Jota’s goal, coming agonisingly close to a hat-trick.
Sinisalo’s Debut Delight
With Kasper Schmeichel sidelined, Sinisalo was handed his first league start for Celtic, and the young Finnish goalkeeper rose to the occasion. Hearts applied some early pressure, but Sinisalo remained composed and made a couple of crucial interventions before the Hoops took control.
Speaking after the match, Sinisalo expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, he said: (Celtic TV), “Thank you very much. Obviously, great to be out there. We probably started a bit slow, so there’s probably a couple of things I had to do early doors, but after twenty minutes, the team picked up. It was a very complete performance with three very good goals, and that’s the main thing.”
The 23-year-old was pleased with his contribution but acknowledged there is room for improvement:
“It’s great to obviously play and to play for this amazing football club. It’s always a pleasure—yeah, great to be out there. Maybe a few tiny things I can do better, but that will come with more games.”
Maeda Hits 30 for the Season
It was another electric performance from Daizen Maeda, who netted twice to take his tally to 30 goals across all competitions. His relentless energy and movement caused Hearts problems all afternoon, and he was unfortunate not to claim a hat-trick, having hit the post in the lead-up to Jota’s goal.
After the match, Maeda kept his words short and sweet, reflecting his focused mentality:
“Yeah, it was an amazing game. I’m happy to score goals.”
And in typical Maeda fashion, he’s already looking ahead:
“Next game, I score a hat-trick, yeah.”
Hoops March On
Celtic’s dominant display keeps them firmly in control at the top of the Scottish Premiership, with the squad looking sharper and fitters as the season enters business end. With Sinisalo impressing between the sticks and Maeda in red-hot form, the Hoops faithful have plenty to be excited about in the weeks ahead.
