Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi has shut down any SPFL comparisons

An Andy Considine own goal gave Celtic an early lead before Kyogo Furuhashi made it two on 22 minutes.

Drey Wright’s strike from range reduced the deficit for the home side but Aaron Mooy re-established the hoops' two-goal advantage before the interval. 

Substitute David Turnbull then fired in a fourth late on as Ange Postecoglou’s side secured their 23rd league win of the season in style.

There were once again plenty of standout performers in green and white in this latest Premiership triumph. Aaron Mooy was influential again in midfield while Jota continued his fine recent form, providing assists for two of the four goals.

Involved in all three first-half goals, Japanese striker Kyogo was another at his devastating best in Perth.

Here, we break down what was another vintage Kyogo display, through several key moments...

Involvement in opener (13 mins)

St Johnstone started the lunchtime kick-off reasonably well but it didn’t take Celtic long to take control of the match, despite the difficult surface at McDiarmid Park, with Kyogo heavily involved in the opener.

His vision, energy and quality in the box all helped unlock the hosts' defence to set Celtic on their way to another comfortable victory. 

Dropping deep into his own half to receive the ball from a Greg Taylor throw-in, Kyogo swept a brilliant raking ball down the right for his fellow countryman Daizen Maeda to run onto. 

With Maeda then cutting inside to play the ball to Mooy, Kyogo had already caught up with the play, going beyond both Maeda and Mooy as he looked to attack the space in behind the hosts’ defence.

As he did, Mooy smuggled a great ball through for Kyogo to run onto. The striker took one touch before rolling the ball across the six-yard box where the unfortunate Considine could only turn into his own net.

With Reo Hatate just behind the former Aberdeen man, ready to tap home, it was likely to end up in the net anyway.

Goal (22 mins)

At the heart of the opener, Kyogo then doubled the hoops’ lead soon after thanks to some of his classic movement in the box.

This time it was Mooy with the long pass that exploited space down St Johnstone’s left side.

Jota, who constantly switched flanks with Maeda in the first half, was the recipient this time, standing up and then attacking left wing-back Tony Gallagher.

As the Portuguese winger forced the defender back and weaved his way into the box, Kyogo was on the move.

After initially holding his position in the middle of the goal, he made a trademark front post run across the face of centre-back Alex Mitchell as Jota delivered into the centre of the box.

Despite a slight nick off Considine on the way through, Kyogo’s first touch from Jota’s low cross once in front of Mitchell was excellent, killing the ball dead and allowing him the slam high into the net past Remi Matthews.

The quality movement, that left Mitchell and Matthews with no time to react, was everything we’ve come to expect from Kyogo.

Involvement in third (38 mins)

Kyogo wasn’t done there in the first half. After Wright had halved Celtic’s lead, he was again pivotal in the move that restored a two-goal advantage before the interval.  

Similar to his involvement in the first goal, it was his willingness to drop into a deeper area to receive the ball that starts the move for the third.

Dropping off St Johnstone’s back three to give Cameron Carter-Vickers the option to progress the ball vertically, Kyogo’s first touch, crucially on the half-turn, allows him to get the pass off to Jota on his left quickly with his second.

This movement also helps create space down the left of the St Johnstone back three for goalscorer Mooy. Coming from a starting position between Considine and Mitchell led to confusion in the St Johnstone defence with Considine initially motioning for Mitchell to follow Kyogo out.

Jota’s positioning as a centre forward also helps occupy Mitchell here too. Mitchell then did jump out but Considine had already narrowed enough to leave space for Mooy has space down the side to exploit.

After that, it is a ridiculous piece of individual skill from Jota who flicks the ball over the top for Mooy who then brilliantly lifts the ball over Matthews - a finish that sums up the kind of form the Australian international is in at the moment.

Kyogo had once again made up the yards to attack the box as well though and would also have had a tap-in, should Mooy have opted to roll it across the goal.

StatsBomb Data

As always with Kyogo, it wasn’t just his devastating attacking play that made him a standout performer. Match data from StatsBomb highlights Kyogo’s substantial influence off the ball too.

He had the second most pressures in the Celtic team (13), only bettered by Greg Taylor (17), while he matched his captain Callum McGregor for most counter-pressures in the hoops side on Sunday (five).

In more traditional defensive metrics, Kyogo had two aerial wins, one clearance and one successful tackle.

Also impressively, the former Vissel Kobe man was not dribbled past once, highlighting his relentless efforts pressing from the front, while he was not dispossessed once either, further evidence of his quality on the ball.

Conclusion

First-class movement, boundless energy and ruthlessness in front of goal – Kyogo’s performance at McDiarmid Park on Sunday was the Japanese striker at his very best.

With his strike in Perth making it 19 goals in 23 Scottish Premiership matches this season, Kyogo will certainly now have his sights set on racking up a landmark goal haul.

Currently averaging 1.06 goals per 90 in the league, and with 13 league games remaining, breaking through that 30-goal mark come May is very much on. 

If he does, it would cap a truly remarkable second season in Scottish football.

Even if he falls short by a couple, there will still be little to no argument over who has been the country’s top marksman this season.