Celtic romped past Hearts earlier this afternoon to take one step closer to the Scottish Premiership title.
Brendan Rodgers wanted a reaction from Celtic’s 3-2 loss to Rangers two weeks ago and he got it in a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda and Jota.
The Jambos had a decent early start to the game but the minute Maeda netted it was backs to the wall for the visitors from there and Celtic know a few more wins will crown them champions with another victory in the bag.
But taking it one game at a time will suit the Celtic manager and his squad who are capable of winning any game on any given afternoon.
It was a convincing win for the hosts and 67 Hail Hail takes a look at four things we learned from the action.
Nicolas Kuhn back to his best
Kuhn’s form has dropped in recent weeks and we suspect the German would admit as much himself. His early campaign was so lethal and he burned through his opponents both domestically and in Europe.
In recent times he has been accused of trying too hard but he was excellent going forward this afternoon. He teed up Maeda’s header off the post which wound its way to Jota to score and then a trademark run at the defence and a simple square-pass found the Japanese again for the third goal.
Fans would have been beaming to see the playmaker looking as dangerous as ever and hopefully he can kick on from here again.
Maeda coming up on a record
Incredibly, Daizen has now notched 30 goals this season for Celtic including a Champions League record after his brace at Parkhead today.
That is unbelievable considering he has played two separate positions including on the left and only recently through the middle. Maeda is now four goals behind Kyogo’s best season at the club which, for a versatile player, is an incredible return.
There’s also still eight games to go for him to beat it.
Callum McGregor’s Celtic influence cannot be ignored
McGregor was badly missed vs Rangers last time out but Rodgers would’ve been relieved to have him back for 3pm.
The captain ran the show for the hour or so he was on the pitch with his calming presence, ball-winning desire and slick passing. He provided the assist for the opening goal and demanded everything from his teammates up to and including when he was heading off.
He is too important to lose for any length of time and Celtic will be pleased to have the 31-year-old back fit.
Nawrocki quietly composed and Celtic resurgence incoming
The defender was thrown in at the deep end last time against Rangers and was one of the better Celtic players on the pitch that day.
With Auston Trusty back in the squad, though, there was an expectation that the American might replace the Pole in the starting XI again. That wasn’t to be the case and the 24-year-old was comfortable enough at the back with Cameron Carter-Vickers the one tested at times by Elton Kabangu.
Nawrocki might not play every week from here on in, but at least Rodgers and the support know he can be counted on.
Viljami Sinisalo does the job
The goalkeeper replaced the injured Kasper Schmeichel and didn’t put a foot wrong.
Kept a clean sheet, made a few saves to keep out Hearts and when asked to do the business with his feet, he was competent.
It’s clear that’s not his strongest suit and he might not be at his most comfortable there, but he passed this test.
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