Andy Considine can’t hide admiration for Celtic star despite Hampden mauling for Aberdeen

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Celtic put on a show by tearing apart Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday in the Scottish League Cup semi-final.

Daizen Maeda’s hat trick helped Celtic book their final ticket, with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn also getting on the scoresheet.

Yes, many Celtic fans expected a win and progression, but perhaps not in the ruthless and dominant manner in which it happened.

Aberdeen have been pushing Celtic hard in the Premiership this season, including drawing 2-2 at Parkhead in the league last time out.

But Brendan Rodgers took it to another level by hitting the second-best team in Scotland for six, with Andy Considine even lauding the opposition’s efforts.

After the game, only one man stood above them all and Considine was sure to laud him for his performance, even if he was disappointed with his team’s showing.

Daizen Maeda lauded for Celtic hat-trick against Aberdeen

Celtic didn’t even let Jimmy Thelin’s side breathe in the thick smoke of the Hampden air, as they were 3-0 up inside the first half.

Kick-off was delayed between Celtic and Aberdeen, but it only delayed the Dons and their new manager suffering the biggest mauling of their season.

Maeda was at the heart of it all and Considine admitted that he was ‘excellent’ on the day and he is someone who ‘carries on his form season in and season out’, as he told Premier Sports (02/11/24 at 7:50 pm).

“He carries on his form, season in and season out,” said Considine. “I think he is such a threat any time he plays.

“He constantly plays on that shoulder. There is a pullback and he is almost waiting for you to ball watch. He has a quick look, Nicky Devlin, as soon as he has a look and focuses on the ball, then Maeda is gone. It’s such a clever run. The weight of the pass is excellent. His low centre of gravity, Maeda is excellent. He protects the ball really well.”

Maeda’s season stats for Celtic

Maeda is a player who can drive the team to a win on his own with his sheer effort and willingness to never give up.

That cutting edge has been questioned before, but now, he has nine goals in all competitions and you sense this is his chance to go to the next level.

The Japan star has been rated 6.80 by WhoScored and what’s even more impressive is that he is making an average of 1.3 tackles per game, yet he is an attacking player.