Aiden McGeady uses one word to describe Daizen Maeda that’s never been used against Celtic star

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There was a lot to come out of Celtic’s opening Europa League encounter on Wednesday night. 

Not many can argue that it was a fair result, with Celtic recording a 1-1 draw against Red Star Belgrade.

But it was a mixed night for many of the Celtic players, with some coming out of it with their reputations enhanced, and others with question marks over their heads.

That isn’t portrayed much better than the situation with the two men who are currently fighting for a striker spot, Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho.

• READ MORE: Who is Daizen Maeda? Meet Celtic’s energetic, free-scoring talisman

Aiden McGeady brands Daizen Maeda ‘lazy’ after Celtic draw in Belgrade

One word that has probably never been associated with Maeda before is ‘lazy’, but that’s what was thrown at him by Aiden McGeady on BBC Radio Scotland (24/09/25).

Maeda was subbed off at half-time by Brendan Rodgers, with Iheanacho coming on in his place and opening the scoring.

Before the game, there was discussion as to who would start up top for Celtic, and McGeady thinks it proved once again that the Japan star isn’t a striker.

“We had a discussion before the game, ‘who was going to start as the striker?’” said McGeady.

“Maeda got the nod over Iheanacho, but I do think it’s very much like the Kairat game, in terms of Maeda’s performance.

“He drops deep, but he isn’t an out-and-out striker. I don’t think. He’s not the focal point; the ball keeps coming back the way. He has been caught offside quite a few times. 

“Some would say, ‘that’s lazy’. But Celtic can’t get the ball up the pitch (in the first half), the same way Red Star can.”

Maeda and Iheanacho’s stats compared against Red Star Belgrade

The one striking difference between the two is that Iheanacho held the ball up far better than his teammate.

And, as Iheanacho proved with his goal, his first touch was also much better than Maeda’s, who clearly needs to go back out wide, especially for European matches.

• Maeda’s minutes: 45
• Shots: 0
• Passes: 4
• Passing accuracy: 75%
• Offsides: 2
• Touches: 7
• Unsuccessful touches: 1
• WhoScored rating: 5.96

• Iheanacho’s minutes: 45
• Shots: 3
• Goals: 1
• Passes: 8
• Crosses: 1
• Passing accuracy: 87.5%
• Offsides: 0
• Touches: 14
• Unsuccessful touches: 1
• WhoScored rating: 6.74