As good as Maeda: Star who won 89% duels has revived his Celtic career

Celtic bounced back from their disappointing defeat to their local rivals before the international break with a 3-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

The Hoops ran out comfortable winners, scoring all three of their goals in the first half, and it was a much-needed victory after they had two weeks to mull over their loss to Rangers in front of their home supporters last time out.

An 88th-minute winner from Hamza Igamane secured a 3-2 win for the Gers when they came across Glasgow to face Brendan Rodgers’ side, who had brought it back to 2-2 from 2-0 down.

Celtic had to bounce back from that disappointing performance and result, and that is exactly what they did by claiming all three points against the Jam Tarts in emphatic fashion.

The Scottish giants, who were without first-choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, helped Viljami Sinisalo to keep his first clean sheet in the league, whilst the attacking players did their job at the other end.

Daizen Maeda added two more goals to his season tally, either side of a strike from Jota, as the Japan international put in yet another brilliant performance.

Daizen Maeda’s goalscoring form this season

The 27-year-old dynamo scored his 29th and 30th goals of the campaign in all competitions for Celtic to set the Hoops on their way to the win against Hearts, whilst he also scored one of the two goals in the 3-2 defeat to Rangers before the break.

Maeda has scored 30 goals and provided nine assists in 43 appearances for the Bhoys, including 15 goals in 28 outings in the Premiership so far.

The Celtic number 38 scored two goals from three shots against Hearts, showcasing his clinical edge in front of goal, and he has been the most effective finisher in the squad this season at Premiership level.

As you can see in the table above, he is the only player in the top five in the squad for xG to have outperformed his expected tally by more than one goal, with 15 strikes from 13.02 xG.

Maeda’s performance against Hearts was crucial, because he scored two of the three goals, but he was far from the only top performer on the pitch for the Scottish giants, as central defender Maik Nawrocki was just as good as him.

Why Maik Nawrocki was as good as Daizen Maeda

The Polish central defender was given the nod next to Cameron Carter-Vickers, despite Auston Trusty being back available, and repaid Rodgers’ faith in him with a sensational display at centre-back.

Nawrocki mixed incredible composure in possession with resolute defensive work to provide Celtic with a platform to build out from the back on, whilst also giving Sinisalo little to do on his Premiership debut – facing just two shots on target.

The former Legia Warsaw star completed a whopping 98% of his attempted passes (123/125), losing possession twice from 144 touches, which speaks to how reliable he was with the ball at his feet.

As you can see in the table above, Nawrocki was even better than experienced central defender Carter-Vickers in and out of possession throughout the game, thanks to his defensive and passing contributions.

The 24-year-old star won 89% of his duels in the game to prevent Elton Kabangu and James Wilson from causing Sinisalo too many problems, whilst also allowing Celtic to dominate the game by consistently cutting out opposition attacks.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

He was, therefore, just as good as Maeda against Hearts because the centre-back was equally as crucial to the result with his imperious defensive work in the backline, outperforming Carter-Vickers and keeping the away side at bay for the vast majority of the match.

Maik Nawrocki has revived his Celtic career

Prior to the clash with Rangers before the international break, Nawrocki had not played a single minute of action in the Premiership this season and had not started a single match in all competitions.

The central defender, who joined the club from Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2023, has been behind Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Liam Scales, and Stephen Welsh – before his exit in January – in the pecking order in his position throughout the 2024/25 campaign.

Given his lack of minutes and how far down the pecking order he was, it appeared as though Nawrocki was headed for an exit from Parkhead in the summer transfer window, but an opportunity arose when injuries to Scales and Trusty provided him with his first league appearance of the season against Rangers.

Nawrocki, despite the result, put in a phenomenal display with seven clearances, four interceptions, one tackle, and seven of ten duels won in the match, without being dribbled past a single time.

Rodgers backed the 24-year-old colossus to replicate that display, despite Trusty being available again, and that is exactly what he did against Hearts, putting in another dominant showing alongside Carter-Vickers.

The shirt should now be Nawrocki’s to lose between now and the end of the season. If he can continue to put in performances like he has done in the previous two matches then it will be incredibly difficult for the manager to drop him out of the starting XI.

A strong end to the campaign could then set him up for a big season at Parkhead in the 2025/26 campaign, as the central defender could go into it as a first-choice option.

Related

Celtic star nearly left for more than Kyogo & Frimpong, then he went for £0

Celtic once rejected a big-money bid for their star before he went on to leave for nothing.

Therefore, Nawrocki’s last two performances have revived his Celtic career, which appeared to be over before the Rangers game, and it is now down to him to make the most of the opportunities that should, now, come his way in the remaining weeks of the season.