How Celtic's ‘absolute pest’ Daizen Maeda helps harass opponents into submission

The Japan international scored the third in a 4-0 win over Ross County on Saturday as Celtic temporarily moved six points clear at the top of the Premiership.

While Giorgos Giakoumakis grabbed all the headlines with his second Hoops hat-trick, Maeda still managed to stand out amid an excellent team performance.

Here, we take a look at the 24-year-old's game in greater detail...

Movement

Attacking the back post area at set-pieces is something that has paid dividends for Maeda recently – think the goal against Livingston – and did so again here.

His instinctive, scrappy finish owes as much to his own movement as it does Giakoumakis’s knockdown though.

If Celtic are truly using profiting from the chaos of a set-piece as a deliberate tactic, it has started to work well for them; this was the fourth match in a row they’ve scored as a result of a set-piece.

Celtic appear to have changed tact somewhat when it comes to crosses in general – and Maeda plays his part in that as well.

It never made all that much sense to float balls in to Kyogo Furuhashi, Maeda or even Giakoumakis. The latter carries more an aerial threat, sure, but he still thrives on finishing with his feet more than his head like the others.

The recent stalemate against Hibernian – when the Hoops, with Maeda as the central striker, flung in almost 30 crosses into a box containing Ryan Porteous and 6ft 7in keeper Matt Macey – was perhaps a bit of a turning point for Postecoglou in this regard.

The block of games since has seen Celtic change from this more obviously, with Giakoumakis the greatest beneficiary so far.

Maeda has profited too though - and should have to the tune of one more goal than he has, if not for an incorrect officiating call at Tannadice - while his off-the-shoulder running and constant vigilance to his surroundings means he is a useful weapon whether trying to supply the ball or being its intended destination.

Instead there seems to be more of an onus on either firing in low, hard crosses or putting balls into the back post for oncoming runners to knock down for forwards. That method brought about Giakoumakis’s second, even if Maeda doesn’t technically get the assist for it.

It was also that type of ball in that gave Giakoumakis his first.

During that sequence Maeda’s clever dart to the front post caused confusion between County defenders Connor Randall and Alex Iacovitti and ensured the Greek striker enjoyed a mismatch, with his almighty leap giving Randall no chance.

Link-up play

The criticism most often levelled at Maeda so far has been the technical side of his game.

Against County, though, he displayed no shortage of poise on several occasions and downright first-class composure in others.

The movement – and the cheek – required in the above video helps reinforce how much confidence was coursing through Maeda at the weekend, as well as his fledgling understanding with his new team-mates.

Also worth noting, just because it’s fun to point out, is the proverbial predator Giakoumakis (not involved in the build-up in any way, remember) lurking in between Staggies left-back Randall and centre-back Iacovitti just in case Matt O’Riley’s shot is saved and spilled for a tap-in:

But back to Maeda. The 24-year-old was also in tune with the Postecoglou principles of playing out under pressure even, in instances such as the one pictured below, after his touch had let him down.

He is shrewd and tough in, firstly, using his strength to buy himself an extra split-second of time following his initial mis-control, then displays remarkable equanimity to backheel it to Taylor who can then play the forward pass to Hatate and get Celtic out of the tight confines of the flank.

It wasn’t the only instance of a commitment to such play, but it was probably the most difficult – and entertaining.

WATCH: Is Daizen Maeda's Japan withdrawal good news for Celtic? - video debate

That relationship with Taylor on the left worked well – and indeed the Scotland international once again showcased a willingness to try ‘riskier’ passes a few times, as I noted in my match ratings – with arguably the pick of their link-up play this exchange below, which was unlucky not to lead to a shot for Giakoumakis:

Pressing

Everyone knows, by now, that Maeda is a pressing machine. Relentless, persistent and unyielding have all been used interchangeably in descriptions of his performances to date.

The stats back it up. StatsBomb has him top of the division in possession-adjusted pressures and the top winger/striker for both pressure regains and counter-pressure regains per 90 minutes (he’s second and third in those categories across all positions, behind Hearts midfielders Beni Baningime and Cammy Devlin respectively).

But while his raw pressing numbers (18) were not especially high against County – he attempted far more pressures against Hibs (35) and St Mirren (29) recently, for instance – he only registered one pressure action fail (compared to six and 10 against Hibs and Saints) in an arguably more efficient performance.

Maeda's individual pressure heatmap v County

His 88th-minute chasedown has done the rounds on social media – and does deserve every bit of the applause it has garnered – but there was more to his game than that. Like Kyogo, he’s no headless chicken.

Maeda, whether leading the press or playing his part in the chorus, forced County to go long on several occasions, more often than not handing possession back to Celtic as a result.

In the above clip, Giakoumakis triggers the press while Maeda and O’Riley leap into action to squeeze the Staggies back to the keeper.

That tenacity isn’t just reserved for the act of pressing either – he showed it in duels too:

What starts off as County regaining possession from an underhit Callum McGregor pass, ends up in Celtic keeping the Staggies pinned in their own third for even longer thanks to Maeda (helped ably by O’Riley) forcing a press into action, winning his individual duel and not allowing the visitors to get out with any semblance of a plan.

It’s also Maeda who is first to the resultant throw-in afterwards, which of course he took quicker than the County defenders were ready for in an attempt to keep the pressure up.

Pest, it appears, is perhaps underplaying it. He’s a verifiable menace.

• All video clips in this article are courtesy of WyScout