Daizen Maeda hit another two goals for Celtic vs Dundee last night as he took his season stats to another level.
The Japanese attacker has been exceptional this term with 18 goals and eight assists in all competitions thus far.
He nabbed a brace in the Hoops’ 6-0 mauling of the Dees at Parkhead including one strike in particular that was a delicate lob over goalkeeper Trevor Carson.
His other, the first of his evening, was a deft header from an inviting Jota cross from the left-flank as Maeda made up for Celts failing to sign a striker on deadline day.
That seemed to matter little and Maeda was praised for his efforts during the action.
But it was after the 90 minutes when the 27-year-old and teammate Jota were asked by Celtic TV what they thought of their performances as well as the team’s as a whole.
Jota teed up Maeda for his first goal against Dundee
Jota took the microphone first to eloquently explain how happy he is to be back in Glasgow following what was a difficult spell in his career with Al-Ittihad and then Rennes.
He cried happy tears after scoring on his re-debut vs Motherwell last weekend and revealed he’s chuffed to be home.
He said: “It was fantastic. It’s a feeling I was looking forward to for a long time.
“I missed it so much, and there is no better game than a victory with a lot of goal to celebrate with the fans.”
Maeda – named man of the match against Dundee – was then asked about his own showing, to which he said: “Yeah. I am happy to score the goals and win.
“I will do my best in the next game.”
Why Jota laughed with Celtic pal Daizen Maeda
That was when the humble forward seemed to have enough with the media duties as he passed the mic back to his pal who burst out laughing at Maeda’s abrupt end to the chat.
The presenter was not to be deterred as he asked Maeda again: “How happy are you to have this man back in the team and scoring goals?”
And as Jota continued giggling quietly, Maeda simply replied: “I am happy.”
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