“I think he has 15 goals in 11 games,” Brendan on Daizen Maeda

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The Celtic Star

·1 April 2025

“I think he has 15 goals in 11 games,” Brendan on Daizen Maeda

Brendan Rodgers sat down with Celtic TV for a catch up today…

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers arrives prior to the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

With the international break finished and normal business resumed last weekend, Brendan Rodgers and his team set about righting the wrongs of that Glasgow Derby defeat and dispatched Hearts with relative ease at Paradise, winning 3-0 in the end up.

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Here we go Four in a Row

That has got the ball rolling again in our quest to clinch four-in-a-row and secure a domestic Treble too, with a Scottish Cup semi-final date with St Johnstone at Hampden Park also on the agenda this month. That clash will be another huge occasion at the national stadium, where Brendan Rodgers will lead his team out once again in what has become a home from home for the Irishman since he first arrived in 2016 for his initial stint.

Daizen – 30 goals and counting. Photo BBC Sport

However, amongst the topics of discussion with the official club channel, one name rang out and that was the Japanese attacker Daizen Maeda. The man who hit 30 goals for the season against Hearts lately is on course to hit 40 if he continues in this vein, and the manager has insisted that the spearhead of this team is operating at a different level these days.

‘I think he has 15 goals in 11 games’

“If you look at his goal return since February when he has sort of moved into there, I think he has 15 goals in 11 games,” Brendan said. “I think the only game he has not scored in a full 90 minutes was away in Bayern. But virtually every other game I am pretty sure he has scored in.

Daizen Maeda of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at Celtic Park on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“It is not just that, it is what he gives in the pressing. The pressing really sparks off and this is what I like to think my teams are built on, that high intensity pressure from the front. He is absolutely perfect for that. But the thing that doesn’t get mentioned so much. Everyone talks about his pressing and goals.

‘His movement is frightening. His movement in the game is as good as you will see’

“His movement is frightening. His movement in the game is as good as you will see. It doesn’t surprise me because of all the attributes and anticipation he has in his game. He is just an absolutely phenomenal player and he will get some more goals by the end of the season I am pretty sure.”

Daizen Maeda scores the opening goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Maeda’s manager reckons the ebb and flow of his game is now so fluid that it has enabled him to really prove his worth in the lead striking role and that his movement is being rewarded now for his endeavour.

He said: “There is no doubt. His anticipation and reading of the game is so good. You see it in his pressing and how he reads the game to get into the positions. He is just playing at a really, really high level and it is just a joy to see him playing.

Daizen Maeda after scoring during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on March 29, 2025 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“He is one of the few players in the world that you see running and smiling. There is very few people that smile when they running, especially when they are doing defensive work. The real beauty in his game – he was probably renowned as this pressing machine that could run and run – he is now showing the quality in the game and that allows him to move freely. He’s playing at a really high level.’

Paul Gillespie

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