First, it was the Hibs. Then, it was the Rangers.

Two cup finals, four goals. There was a sense of deja vu at Hampden Park as Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi bagged a brace for the second successive year to steer the Hoops to the League Cup. 

It was the club’s sixth success in that competition over the past seven seasons. In scoring his double, Kyogo became the first Celtic player to net at least two in consecutive League Cup finals since Billy McPhail achieved the same feat in 1956 and 1957.

Last term the Japanese striker's goals helped Ange Postecoglou's men to a league and League Cup double and you got the feeling that from the moment Kyogo netted a home treble against Dundee last August a star in green and white was born.

Yet it wasn't all plain sailing for the attacker. In the lead-up to the League Cup final last December there was a narrative doing the rounds where Kyogo's critics at best labelled him a diver and at worst jabbed an accusatory finger in his direction and branded him a cheat.

Postecoglou nailed that one to the wall when he said: "Who are these brave people and these warriors? Kyogo is the size of a jockey and he is playing against guys who are almost a foot taller than him and these brave warriors on the outside are casting aspersions. I haven't read it and I won't read it and if you end up in arguments with ignorant people you become one of them. I kind of ignore that narrative of criticism as you painted it.

"I think Kyogo has been great for our football club and has been great for Scottish football and I would be surprised if anyone wouldn't want someone of his character and playing ability in their club and in their league.

"Beyond that, as I said, who are all these brave soldiers sitting in their studios and lounge rooms or wherever they are throwing these narratives across the bay?"

Those words were uttered on December 8 2021; 11 days later Hibs felt the full force of Furuhashi when he netted two simply stunning goals as Celtic waltzed off with the silverware.

He was at it again on Sunday. He scored another two goals against city rivals Rangers to give Celtic bragging rights in Glasgow.

Only this time they were both of a different quality to the year before. Tap-ins some may call them. However, the beauty of both strikes on this occasion was that Kyogo was off his mark quickly and made his now trademark near-post run to exploit the space and score both opportunities. Once again, Celtic strolled off with the silverware.

He may well be built like a jockey like Postecoglou said – but he hasn't stopped taking Scottish defences for a ride since he joined Celtic last summer for £4.6million from Vissel Kobe.

That's 44 times the net has bulged now for Kyogo in his Parkhead career but Postecoglou knows his worth is not only measured in goals.

In the aftermath, as he basked in the glow of another Hampden trophy success, the Australian said: "It’s invaluable to have a player who is willing to do everything in his power to help the team. It’s not just about his goals – though, obviously, his goals are the most important thing – but he just works so hard.

"Again, he’s another one who, whatever rewards he gets are hard-earned. He’s not floating about out there waiting for a chance. He’s working his socks off to do things that other strikers won’t do because he knows it’s the right thing for the team. But I think players at this football club are often measured by how they perform on the biggest of stages and he delivers again.

Celtic Way:

"You look at him, the size he is and the players he’s up against, and he doesn’t shirk any of it. He puts the opposition under pressure, he’s so clever with his movement and he wants to be front and centre when the opportunity’s there. He was outstanding today and he has been outstanding from the moment he joined our football club."

He's not wrong. Even the Portuguese superstar Jota had better watch, Kyogo’s out to claim his crown.

"He (Kyogo) is a superstar,” as skipper Callum McGregor said. "I can't talk highly enough about him. In our system, the striker has to be really disciplined and be in between the posts and again today, he was in there with two great finishes.

“He finished off the team moves and it takes a lot of discipline to play in that position. That is two finals in a row he has scored the two goals that have won the cup. So he is a real superstar and we are lucky to have him."

Prolific? Yes. Talismanic? The jury is perhaps still out on that one but Kyogo does remind you of a centre forward from Celtic's not-too-distant past.

"Those types of goals don't come about by accident,” John Hartson told The Celtic Way recently. “How many times have we seen Kyogo make that near-post run across the defender and score? Postecoglou will be working constantly with the team on producing this kind of goal for Kyogo.

"I used to watch other strikers to see what their movement was like. I would generally go to the back post because I knew if the ball was overhit I could nod it back into an oncoming midfield or knock it down to my strike partner, who most of the time was Henrik Larsson. I always knew that Henrik would be in the right place and he would gamble off my headers and generally feed off the loose and second balls.

READ MORE: Detailed Celtic ratings from the League Cup final

"I am a huge fan of Kyogo and he seems to be gambling like Henrik did. Whenever a player gets the ball out wide that's when he makes that dart to the front post – and he has profited a lot from doing that.

“As Scottish football has witnessed when Celtic execute that move properly it is just so difficult to defend against."

Difficult to defend against? Just ask Michael Beale and Rangers all about that.

The Ibrox boss will have cause to be more introspective after this defeat, which will sting and hurt. Those Rangers players who had openly, boldly and ultimately unwisely stated that they were a better team than 'the other mob' will have to pick up the pieces for the rest of the campaign.

It was Celtic who did all their talking on the park with Kyogo the quiet assassin at his lethal best in front of the goal.

We've got Kyogo, he's doing his thing, as the song goes. What is Kyogo’s thing? Scoring goals – and plenty of them – as well as being the consummate team player. It's nothing personal, strictly business.

Postecoglou was right all along when he said: "I think Kyogo has been great for our football club and has been great for Scottish football and I would be surprised if anyone wouldn't want someone of his character and playing ability in their club and in their league."

He is now idolised by the Celtic fans in a way that is reserved for special talents

It's been 66 long years between McPhail and Kyogo's League Cup final deeds. That is straying into Halley's comet territory.

And speaking of space – did you know that former midfield maestro Shunsuke Nakamura had Asteroid 29986 named in his honour?

If the supporters look skywards at night and they spot a new constellation of stars in the galaxy don't be surprised if it ends up being called the 'Kyogo constellation' or something of that ilk.

Watch out Jota, there's a new Celtic superstar on planet football.