Earlier in the season, and even as early as a few months ago, there were calls from sectors of Scottish Football, suggesting that this Celtic side were somewhat a ‘first-half’ team.
Yesterday, Ange Postecoglou and his players once again showed that is certainly not the case.
The Hoops ran out 4-0 winners, with three of the goals coming in the first half, thanks to a dominant attacking display, which saw Giorgos Giakoumakis score a hat-trick, and January addition Daizen Maeda scoring the other.
Despite scoring, Celtic fans were left impressed with another aspect of Maeda’s game, which he was famed for before coming to Glasgow – his pressing from the front.
In a clip that has been shared onto social media, the Celtic support have been loving Maeda’s commitment and effort levels in the late stages of the game, pressing the Ross County defence after a nonstop 90 minutes.
This is different level!
It’s 4-0 for Celtic against 10 men in the 88th minute and Daizen Maeda is still pressing like a mad man 😤
Those repeat sprints 😳#CELROS
— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) March 19, 2022
This piece of play from Maeda is the perfect example of what is needed to play in this Celtic side.
The Japanese internationalist displays the principles of ‘Angeball’ with his nonstop running until the end of the game, even with the scoreline being so heavily in the Hoops favour.
As a supporter, it is simply brilliant to watch players such as Maeda give their all, pressing from the front right until the final whistle, looking to grab more goals, which could ultimately be important come the end of the season.
With Maeda also off the back of a whole season in Japan not so long ago, this makes this even more impressive and a scary thought for opposition defences across the country, with the return of his international teammate, Kyogo Furuhashi, looming round the corner.
