Daizen Maeda’s brilliance takes Celtic past Rangers and puts Hearts on spot

If the scale of celebration that met the conclusion to this derby is anything to go by, Celtic believe retention of the Scottish title is within touching distance. This felt a hugely significant afternoon, not only in respect of palpable optimism in Glasgow’s East End but for discussion around the Rangers manager, Danny Röhl. His side’s latest capitulation will raise further questions over whether Röhl is in the right movie.

Celtic have cut Hearts’ lead at the summit to a single point and three goals. The next chapter in this most thrilling of races is on Wednesday evening. Celtic travel to Motherwell as Hearts host Falkirk. The possibility of a final-day shootout – Hearts visit Celtic Park on Saturday – is rising. In Celtic, Hearts have direct opponents who have found their groove at precisely the right time. Falling short at this point, when seeking to become the first non-Old Firm title winner since 1985, would hurt Hearts badly.

There is overstatement about the scale of achievement should Celtic be crowned champions again. After all, they have umpteen players and a manager who know exactly how to prevail in this environment. Celtic’s resource level is vastly higher than the club they are trying to topple. Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous managerial tenure lasted a mere eight games. Still, the mood music around Celtic was so sombre for so much of this season that ending it on the ultimate high under the leadership of a 74-year-old would feel bizarre. This would be no ordinary Celtic success.

Martin O’Neill said Celtic received “a bit of a boost” on account of Hearts being held at Motherwell on Saturday evening. The Irishman has been occasionally critical of performance levels but was understandably purring over this one. “We played some great stuff,” O’Neill added. “We have a really difficult game at Motherwell. I can’t even think about the other one until that game is played. It is in our hands. The run that we are on gives us confidence.”

In late March, Celtic lost 2-0 at Dundee United. It was a supposedly fatal blow at the time. O’Neill cites a subsequent pause due to an international break as influential; Celtic have taken 15 points out of 15 since.

Rangers, having spent in excess of £40m on their squad, have somehow managed to finish third in a two-horse race. There will be no silverware housed at Ibrox this summer. This should count as a hugely embarrassing scenario for a club that place great emphasis on a supposed necessity to win. “I take responsibility,” said Röhl. “There will be learnings and consequences. We have to develop resilience in some moments.”

The German likes to highlight the fact he was appointed in October, thereby appearing to remove himself from blame for an entire season. Yet Rangers had played eight league games at the time of his arrival. It would be unwise to bet against Röhl being the latest in a long line of decent coaches being chewed up and spat out by the Glaswegian football scene. Steven Gerrard remains out of work and highly regarded at Ibrox.

Rangers formed a key part of the Premiership equation before losing three games out of three in the post-split format. They had gripes with officialdom here. The visitors believed Yang Hyun-jun’s first half equaliser should have been chalked off given Benjamin Nygren’s position. Nygren was offside but deemed not have been influencing Jack Butland in the Rangers goal. The Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston was subsequently fortunate to escape a red card for a wild challenge on Mikey Moore.

Neither incident should mask the fact Rangers were clearly second best. Even taking the lead could not suitably inspire those in blue. Moore flicked home the loose ball after Liam Scales had blocked Youssef Chermiti’s shot into the Tottenham loanee’s path. Celtic’s firm response, ensuring parity at the interval, came via Yang from an Arne Engels cross.

The second half was to become the Daizen Maeda show, much to the detriment of Rangers. The Japanese forward had come close to converting Nygren’s pass before Kieran Tierney afforded Maeda an opportunity he was unwilling to miss. Maeda stole in front of Emmanuel Fernandez to nudge Celtic ahead.

Maeda’s second of the afternoon was adeptly described by his manager as “sensational”. Rangers half cleared a cross, the ball landing at the feet of Maeda with his back to goal. Maeda flicked the ball up and delivered an outrageous overhead kick that looped over the helpless Butland. Nothing in Rangers’ makeup suggested they could claw their way back into proceedings.

This outcome confirmed Hearts will play in the Champions League’s qualifying phase. Theirs is a laudable achievement. They want more, though, much more. That will have to be earned with Scottish football’s hitherto dominant force breathing down maroon necks. For neutrals, this promises to be wonderfully captivating.

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