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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Josh McCafferty

Brendan Rodgers makes surprising Daizen Maeda admission after late derby chance

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Daizen Maeda spent most of the week in Japan in the build-up to this weekend's Glasgow derby. 

The attacker hadn't trained until Saturday - the day before the match - but completed 90 minutes at Ibrox. 


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Indeed, Maeda, who has been in fine form for Celtic all season long, was presented with a terrific opportunity to win the game in the dying embers as he ran through on Liam Kelly. 

Rodgers delivered his verdict on the chance, revealing Maeda's whereabouts over the past week: "I was just looking at it again, he probably just needs to work his body a wee bit more," said the Celtic manager [Sky Sports]. 

"If he shapes to play it in the corner, he can always come back and maybe go around the keeper and score himself. 

"But, he's run so far I think by the end of the game there was a wee bit of tiredness there. 

"He's flown in Japan. He's been in Japan all week. He only trained yesterday. We'll let him off with that one."

Chris Sutton took a different mindset to Rodgers, and thinks Maeda could and should've done better. 

He said: "This is incredible. 

"Johnny Kenny is screaming to Daizen Maeda, 'You've got to put it to me'. 

"When he's in position, had Maeda found Kenny there, he'd have had the easiest of tasks. Wrong decision. Rangers get away with it."

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