JIMMY THELIN watched in misery as Celtic overwhelmed his Aberdeen side 5-1 at Parkhead last night.
Since the Dons took a point off the champions after a spirited comeback in a 2-2 draw in the east end of Glasgow in October, the Danish gaffer has seen the Hoops respond in ferocious fashion in the past three encounters.
Daizen Maeda fired in a hat-trick as he led the 6-0 romp in the Premier Sports League Cup semi-final at Hampden in November and his countryman Reo Hatate claimed the only goal of a tense confrontation at Pittodrie the following month.
And it was Maeda who started and finished the 5-1 rout at Parkhead last night as Brendan Rodgers’ men swept into a 16-point lead in their bid for a fourth successive title.
That’s TWELVE goals in three outings and Thelin didn’t search for excuses when he reflected on the heavy loss against the league’s pacesetters.
HAMPDEN HAT-TRICK HERO…Daizen Maeda with the match ball after the 6-0 romp over Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final in November.
The Dons team chief, speaking to MailOnline, said: “An overall result of 5-1 is too much in the end.
“But, in terms of how we want to grow as a team, some parts of the first half were good.
“We created chances, but they were beating us in the small percentages in the duels and they scored three goals in not many more chances.
“They were really clinical. It’s difficult to go out in the second-half at 3-0 and Celtic are really good at what they do.
“You have to take your chances in these moments.”
The solitary consolation for Thelin is that the Dons are the ONLY team to score league goals against the Hoops at Parkhead this season!
Ester Skoler and Graeme Shinnie managed to get the ball behind Kasper Schmeichel twice in the stalemate in the first league meeting between the pair.
And the Hoops’ keeper’s remarkable run of nine successive shut-outs in the league in Glasgow came to an end when Shayden Morris slammed in one in the 90th minute on the latest occasion.
