What Daizen Maeda has in common with Celtic hero Moussa Dembele after Champions League goal vs Club Brugge

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Who would have thought that when Daizen Maeda joined Celtic he would be spoken about in the same breath as Hoops hero, Moussa Dembele?

Now, that’s not meant to be said disparagingly towards our Japanese dynamo but merely to point out how well Daizen Maeda is doing at Celtic since making his move three years ago.

Moussa Dembele was an absolute phenomenon in the two seasons he was at Celtic. In 94 appearances for the club, the big Frenchman scored 51 goals and created 18 as he won an Invincibles Treble and dominated Scottish football.

Maeda, although not as prolific as Dembele has been contributing with his fair share of goals with 39 in 125 appearances and chipping in with 20 assists to boot.

But after the Japan international scored in Celtic’s Champions League draw with Club Brugge, it put Maeda up there in the same circles as Dembele in Europe’s elite competition.

Why Daizen Maeda and Moussa Dembele are Champions League equals at Celtic

Moussa Dembele has a grand total of four Champions League goals for Celtic whilst Maeda is on three.

But what puts them both in the same bracket is that the Japan star is the first player in eight years to score three goals in UEFA’s flagship tournament since the Frenchman did it in season 2016/17.

In that season, Dembele netted two in the 3-3 draw Celtic Park draw with Man City and also in the 1-1 stalemate with Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Maeda’s goal last night as Celtic drew with Brugge was the Japanese star’s third Champions League goal this season after scoring against Slovan Bratislava and Borussia Dortmund.

Daizen Maeda vs Moussa Dembele’s complete goalscoring record for Celtic

As said before, Maeda hasn’t been as prolific as Demebel in the goalscoring charts for Celtic but it would be interesting to see how both players’ records compare across every competition they have appeared in for Celtic.

Not too bad from Maeda considering he is not Celtic’s main striker. The 27-year-old is now one of the first names on Brendan Rodgers’ teamsheet this season as he has now become invaluable to the Hoops boss.