Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi notched his sixteenth goal of the season in all competitions on Saturday in his team’s dominant 3-0 win over St. Mirren.
The Japanese frontman met Alistair Johnston’s sublime cross with ease, powerfully nodding home from close range.
Although he has three goals and an assist in his last five appearances, it would be fair to say that Kyogo has not the heights he did last season in the current campaign.
Many have criticised manager Brendan Rodgers for not getting the best out of the 29-year-old but recently, Kyogo has talked up the boss and his managerial abilities.
He said: [The Scotsman] “The manager is someone who is always thinking about the team, thinking about us and thinking about how to win games for Celtic.
“As players, we just have to try to help him in that aim by playing the way he wants us to play.”
Despite the overall consensus being that he hasn’t been widely successful this season, Kyogo’s goal return is still respectable.
He remains on track to hit the 20-mark, but that is 15 shy of his extraordinary 35-goal season in 2022/23.
Adam Idah’s arrival has perhaps spurred Kyogo on because he has decent competition that challenges him for a starting berth, but he has only netted five times since the Irishman came through the door.
His tally this campaign is not the most prodigious for his standard, but he does score crucial goals. In both of Celtic’s Glasgow derby wins this season, the centre-forward has bagged the decider, a trend he will look to keep up with at Parkhead post-split versus Rangers.
