Martin O’Neill lavished praise on Daizen Maeda after the Japanese forward inspired a 3-1 win over theRangers with a sensational double at Celtic Park.
Maeda struck twice in the second half within the space of four minutes, including a spectacular overhead kick that capped a memorable derby triumph and immediately sparked comparisons with some of the finest goals in fixture history.
O’Neill was full of admiration for Daizen’s display, describing the second goal as extraordinary.
‘Sensational, really sensational’ insists O’Neill
“Sensational, really sensational,” O’Neill said via Celtic’s official YouTube channel. “His second goal was out of this world. But his whole performance – he starts off with closing down and the negative part of the game, which he galvanises the side because he’s so good at it. And then his own performance, scoring the goals with the ball, was magnificent.”
The stunning bicycle kick quickly drew parallels with Henrik Larsson’s famous chip over Stefan Klos in Celtic’s 6-2 victory over Rangers in 2000, and O’Neill agreed it belonged in the same conversation.
‘Henrik will disagree’
“Yes, it is. Very much so,” he said. “Henrik will disagree, of course. Great goal. He [Maeda] was super today. I’m going to take him out tonight! He was terrific. I don’t know where he gets the energy from.”
O’Neill admitted he sensed the effort was destined for the net the moment Maeda connected with the ball.
“Do you know what? Honestly, when he did it, I knew it was going in,” he added “Because there was enough pace to carry it across. And I thought, ‘This is going in’. And then it went in. Not because I said it was going to go in, [but] because it was great.”
Maeda’s latest contribution means he has now scored six times in his last four appearances as the forward continues a rich run of form at a crucial stage of the season.
The 28-year-old played down the brilliance of his goal afterwards, insisting instinct took over in the moment.
“I was lucky,” Maeda laughed, when asked about his stunning strike. “I had a good feeling and I thought, ‘Why not?’ Why am I hitting my best form now? The fans are so good and we want to pay them back. I want to work hard and that is the reason why.”
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