Maeda stars as Celtic bounces back in style
Daizen Maeda stole the show as Celtic thumped Aberdeen 5-1 on Tuesday, moving 16 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Celtic moved 16 points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit after Maeda opened and closed the scoring, with Jota, Callum McGregor and Yang Hyun-Jun on target in between.
Shayden Morris's 90th-minute strike proved a mere consolation for Aberdeen, which sits third in the table but a massive 31 points behind Celtic after this thumping.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers reserved special praise for key forward Maeda, not only due to his goals but also his relentless work ethic.
"He is a really important player for us and the symbol of the team and how we want to work," the said. "He is not your traditional number nine, he moves in behind, anticipates things in the box when they drop, and is a wonderful example for our team, the work ethic, mentality, humility within it and when he plays wide or central, he scores for us."
Celtic has won each of its last 10 home league games by an aggregate score of 37-1, though this result was much needed as a response to the last week.
The league leader was dumped out the Champions League by Bayern Munich late on before a surprise 2-1 defeat to Hibernian preceded this crushing win against Aberdeen.
"It's one of the great traits of this team, that resilience they have to bounce back when we slip," Rodgers said. "The response has been very, very good. That's a mark of the mentality of the team."
Rodgers's side seems to be cruising towards the top-flight crown, though Jota insists Celtic will not relent in its title charge.
"I think, as a Celtic player, you always aim to do better," Jota – who has six league goals against Aberdeen, his most against an opponent in the competition – said.
"We are no different from that. Even though we have a [16-point] advantage, it does not mean we are going to take our foot off the pedal."
