With five goals in his last three games against Rangers, it’s fair to say Kyogo Furuhashi is relishing his derby participation as a Celtic player. He’s bringing his reputation at the Bhoys to new levels both amongst our own support and the wider footballing world.
In a new Japanese language interview, he’s now given an insight into how he grabbed both of his goals last weekend and shared what it means to score in front of such passionate support.
The striker said of his first goal, which exploited space in the Rangers penalty box [Celtic FC]: “I’m moving naturally and without thinking. When Matt O’Riley broke through vertically with the ball, I repositioned myself in a space I could control the ball no matter where it came. I then composed myself, controlled the ball and fired a shot. The shot went in beautifully so that was very nice.”
On his second which came from a Ben Davies mistake and a deflection off of Jota, Kyogo continued: “When Jota was about to cross the ball, I was running around trying to get a good position in the area. The cross ball was blocked, but my thought afterwards was how I could take the shot after recovering the ball. Then the ball rolled to me at a really perfect moment and I was happy to score.”
And on the experience of coming up big in this fixture yet again, Kyogo highlighted the confidence boost it will give him for the closing stages of the campaign..
The Japanese sensation added: “Achieving a result on such a big stage is a great confidence booster for both the team and me as an individual. We still have a few more games left of this season. I think we were able to win this derby at the right time so we will use this as momentum for the rest of the season. Personally, I hope to continue to score more goals for the team and for the fans.”
Kyogo has 28 in all competitions and looks destined to break the 30-mark for the first time at Celtic since Moussa Dembele. That would be an incredible achievement in his second season and set him up for an even more impressive third, with a return to the UEFA Champions League on the horizon for him and the rest of the Bhoys.
Shining on that stage would take his stardom to a whole new level.
In other news, Boyd backs Celtic to go on and do “something special”; Rodgers benchmark looms.
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