It didn’t take Celtic long to break the deadlock against St Mirren, with Daizen Maeda helping himself to a first-minute goal.
The 26-year-old’s clever run was found by the ever-improving and outstanding Matt O’Riley and the Celtic train was up and running pretty much straight away.
After the joy and celebrations of beating Rangers at the weekend, the team needed to respond here and they did so in an emphatic fashion.
Chris Sutton stated on commentary that Daizen Maeda was ‘back to his best’ with his ‘powerful running in behind’, as he told Sky Sports Football (02/01/23 at 6:20 pm).
It needs to be noted that the 26-year-old himself is just recently back from injury and starting to find that flow again.
Celtic fans know how important he is to the team, the system and just how he operates in those big games.
Yes, it would be great for the Japan star to score more goals, well, he showcased a bit of that yesterday and got praised by Chris Sutton for it.
Daizen Maeda scores for Celtic
“He looked back to this best this evening, Daizen Maeda,” said Sutton.
“Powerful running in behind. It was important for Celtic to get that early goal, settle them down and they have been so, so dominant.”
Celtic wide areas looking strong
When you bring Maeda to the table, the ever-impressive performances of new boy Luis Palma and then the return of Liel Abada, then the wide areas are looking strong.
Yes, players like Mikey Johnston need to get their act together, his little cameo against Rangers was pretty poor, to be honest.
That’s probably why he didn’t come off the bench against St Mirren.
Either way, the January transfer window is now open and fans are eagerly awaiting to see what players walk through the club’s doors.
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