It was precisely one 12 months in the past that Scottish champions Celtic went to the Allianz Enviornment hoping to shock Bayern Munich after shedding the primary leg 2-1 at Parkhead.
It was positively a constructive night time for the Hoops, with Brendan Rodgers’ facet taking a shock lead via Nicolas Kuhn’s purpose till the embers died out, with the guests’ fluid entrance inflicting actual issues for the Bundesliga giants.
However quite a bit has modified since then, with Kuhn becoming a member of Como in a £16.5m deal in the summertime, whereas Jota has not featured in any respect this season after sustaining a cruciate ligament harm in early Might.
As for Daen Maeda, the ultimate member of that Munich trifecta, the Japanese speedster appeared like a shadow of his former self in 2025/26, however has now been comfortably supplanted as Martin O’Neill’s major attacking weapon from the flanks.
Daizen Maeda leaves Celtic this season
Unsurprisingly, it was Maeda who gave Celtic hope within the play-off tie a 12 months in the past, scoring late within the first leg to mark his fourth and closing purpose in a fruitful Champions League marketing campaign.
Performed within the middle or on the left wing, the 28-year-old was a giant participant within the 2024/25 season, however his decline has been noticeable this time round, particularly within the Europa League the place he failed to attain in any respect in 9 video games.
At one level throughout the summer season he got here near becoming a member of Wolfsburg, however there have been query marks over the ahead’s use since then, and he’s definitely not the participant who scored 33 objectives in all competitions final season.
The 26-cap Japan worldwide has proved significantly inconsistent underneath O’Neill, having scored simply eight objectives thus far this season, his final purpose coming in opposition to Dundee United in January.
He has already missed 21 ‘massive possibilities’ on this season’s Premiership, and solely 17 in all of final season, though his conversion charge has dropped from a superb 28% to simply 13% now.
Maeda – 24/25 vs 25/26 SPFL Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
24/25 | standing | 25/26 |
34 | sport | 28 |
16 | the purpose | 7 |
160 | minutes per purpose | 304 |
17 | missed a giant alternative | twenty one |
28% | purpose conversion | 13% |
10 | help | 5 |
10 | An enormous alternative has arisen | 11 |
1.3 | Key go* | 1.0 |
82% | Go accuracy* | 83% |
9.6 | Lack of possession* | 8.8 |
It have to be stated that his off-the-ball work additionally appears to be declining, averaging simply 0.7 tackles per sport now, in comparison with 1.3 tackles per sport final season.
Whereas it appeared like an actual coup d’état occurred final 12 months by holding him in place, his departure this summer season seems to be in one of the best curiosity of all events. Fortunately, O’Neill is already overseeing the rise of his successor.
The Celtic Monster appears like a hybrid of Maeda and Jota.
Saturday’s important 3-1 win over Motherwell not solely ended the guests’ slim title hopes, but in addition left Celtic well-positioned for the ultimate levels, closing the hole on leaders Hearts to simply two factors.
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The hoops feared the worst.
Not like most of 2026, when Benjamin Nygren stole the present, Celtic’s heroics got here in a unique type, with Yang Hyun-joong proving to be a difference-maker following his killer double.
The South Korean winger was the quickest to react to a rebound and rating within the dwelling facet’s opener on the weekend, earlier than bursting in behind the Motherwell protection late within the second half to spherical off the scoring with an excellent left-footed strike.
The 23-year-old, who has scored six objectives within the Premiership this season, was considered destined to go away in the summertime as his £3 million transfer to Birmingham Metropolis fell via, however he has bounced again underneath supervisor O’Neill.
The debacle turned out to be a blessing in disguise, following the winger’s subsequent previous and cementing his spot on the troubled proper wing in current months.
The great thing about Yan proper now could be that he appears like a hybrid of Maeda and the aforementioned Jota, and his current type has seen him emerge as maybe Celtic’s finest winger for the time being.
Maeda’s similarities have been evident in his second run of the day on Saturday, boasting devastating velocity and acceleration that allowed him to outrun his opponents.
Even when he does not have the ball, the younger ahead resembles Maeda in his commanding type, memorably introducing a severe shift within the 2-2 draw at Ibrox earlier this month, profitable the ball again with plenty of completely timed sliding challenges.
As his two objectives on the weekend confirmed, he has the standard Jota high quality of having the ability to end with both foot, whereas additionally bucking the pattern by shining as a right-footer, taking part in on the best, one thing Jota usually did underneath Postecoglou.
The Portuguese could not have the aptitude, however as his solo purpose in opposition to Derby in January confirmed, he’s a talented ball provider in his personal proper, gliding gracefully across the pitch and weaving previous opponents.
Subsequent, he wants to point out extra creativity, having created three “massive possibilities” in 23 appearances this season, regardless of failing to register a single help within the Premiership.
With Jota out and Maeda failing to fireplace on all cylinders, it appears like Yan could have to assist drag O’Neill’s facet to the title.
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