A brilliant clip of Celtic attacker Daizen Maeda has emerged on Twitter of the Celtic man chasing down a total lost cause in the closing stages.
Maeda produced another lively display and managed to get his name on the scoresheet with an instinctive first-half finish from a set-piece.
However, it was his tiring chasing down of the ball that led to plenty of turnovers and saw Ross County fail to get any momentum in the game. And that was highlighted in the final few moments as a brilliant clip emerged of his tireless work:
That above clip came with just 2 minutes remaining. Celtic were already 4-0 up with the game won. Maeda starts his pressing in his own half and chases down a lost cause to eventually force a turnover from Ross Laidlaw.
Maeda had played all 87 minutes up until this point. It would’ve been so easy for the Japanese international to simply allow County to retrieve the ball. After all, we likely would’ve won it back within seconds anyway.
But Maeda was in no mood to conserve energy. Instead, he dipped into his tank and looked to try and win a turnover high up the pitch. It’s absolutely stunning commitment to the cause and something which sums up this Celtic team.
Celtic players willing to fight and battle for Ange Postecoglou
Talk about commitment to the cause. Maeda didn’t stop for 90 minutes and this clip shows you just that. It also shows the potential rewards on offer if you put the effort in.
After all, if Maeda wasn’t chasing down the County defender, then his back-pass probably wouldn’t have been as light. On another day, Laidlaw is beaten to that ball by Maeda and the Celtic man would notch his brace.
Ange Postecoglou wants his teams going full throttle for 90 minutes. Whilst the tempo did drop a touch in the second 45 yesterday, Maeda was always looking to give everything regardless of what stage of the game it was.
He didn’t care that there was 2 minutes remaining. He didn’t care that the scoreline was 4-0 and it was job done. He wasn’t interested in clocking out early. And that’s important. Celtic fans don’t pay to watch a 45-minute performance. Maeda is the kind of player supporters will adore for his hard work alone.
Celtic are now in a fantastic position heading into the final 7 games. We’re 6 points clear of Rangers, and any slip-ups from them today would be enormous in the title race.
Next up is Ibrox in 2 weeks. If Celtic get the job done there, it’s difficult to see how Rangers reel us in. And when that came comes around, we’re certainly going to need players with the commitment of Maeda.
In other news, Giakoumakis addresses the class Juranovic moment you may have missed at Celtic Park yesterday
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