DYNAMIC Daizen Maeda, Celtic’s hat-trick hero in the 6-0 destruction of Aberdeen, has fired a chilling warning to rivals.
The jet-propelled Japanese raider destroyed the Dons as he led the champions to a place in the Premier Sports League Cup Final at Hampden on Sunday December 15.
Maeda, who was joined on the scoring spree by Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn, insisted there is still room for IMPROVEMENT in Brendan Rodgers’ team.
The winger shredded the Pittodrie club’s rearguard in a breathtaking performance and then said: “We still have a long way to go.
“There’s definitely space to improve ourselves.
ONE…Daizen Maeda hammers his first and Celtic’s third goal past Dimitar Mitov.
TWO…Daizen Maeda leaves Nicky Devlin bamboozled as he makes it 4-0 for the Hoops.
THREE…Daizen Maeda prepares to complete his hat-trick and claim Celtic’s sixth goal as Adam Idah gets a close-up view.
“We scored two against Aberdeen last month. but they came back to get a point, so I think everyone was motivated and wanted to show we are the better team.
“Aberdeen are a good side, that’s a fact and that doesn’t change.
“We won against them on this occasion, but that doesn’t mean we’ll beat them in the league the next time we meet.
“So, we will just keep fighting and try to get all the wins we can in the league.
“We now have the Champions League against RB Leipzig on Tuesday, so we’ll focus on that.”
Maeda, who moved to within double figures in the scoring stakes, continued: “After coming back from the last international break, I haven’t managed to score as much as I have before.
“So I really wanted to score and assist to help the team out and now I am back among the goals again.
THREE AND EASY…Daizen Maeda is all smiles after collecting the matchball.
“I want to keep this momentum and get better and better.
“I felt the battle against Nicky Devlin could have a big impact for the team and whether I won or lost against him would have affected our performance.
“I managed to get goals and beat him, so it was good to make such a positive contribution to the team.”
Celtic will line up against either Philipe Clement’s ailing Ibrox side or Motherwell in the silverware showpiece next month and Maeda admitted he has no preference as to who he would like to face at the national stadium.
The fans’ favourite, speaking to the Daily Mail, added: “I don’t really mind which team comes through.
“Even if it is Motherwell it is going to be a Final, so it’s already a special occasion. We just need to prepare ourselves.”
JOY OF SIX AS DAZZLING DAIZEN HAMMERS IN A HAT-TRICK
