Scottish PremiershipSaturday, March 29, 2025Celtic Park CELTIC…3(Maeda 17 & 41, Jota 24) HEARTS…0 The rainy conditions at Paradise this afternoon couldn’t dampen Celtic’s commanding performance against Hearts which saw the champions win 3-0 thanks to a double from Daizen Maeda and a strike from Jota in the first half. The visitors started the match well and within the first 10 minutes, Viljami Sinisalo, making his first league start for the club, was called in to action three times, the Finnish stopper producing saves after efforts from Shankland, Kabangu and Neilson to keep the game level. After dealing with the early pressure from the visitors, the champions started to take control of proceedings and put Hearts on the back foot. With just under 15 minutes gone, there was some confusion inside Celtic Park as it looked like the referee, Kevin Clancy, had pointed to the penalty spot for a handball offence from a Hearts defender. But as it turned out, the foul went the way of the visitors and a subsequent VAR review confirmed that the foul should be awarded to the Tynecastle side. A few minutes later, the atmosphere inside Celtic Park was lifted by the opening goal which came from the unstoppable Daizen Maeda. Callum McGregor picked up the ball in the middle of the park and, knowing that Maeda’s pace is unmatched anywhere in Scottish football, the captain sent a wonderful pass in behind the Hearts defence for the Japanese forward to run on to. Maeda, making his 150th Celtic appearance, was typically cool as he reached the ball before the visitors’ defence and slotted it into the bottom corner. Less than 10 minutes later, the lead was doubled and this time, the finish was provided by the Hoops’ number 7, Jota. A clever ball over the top of Hearts’ back line from Nicolas Kühn found Maeda, whose header, which left Craig Gordon scrambling, crashed off of the inside of the post and straight in to the path of Jota, who smashed the ball in to the net from close range. As the Hoops continued to assert their dominance, the game was effectively put beyond Hearts with five minutes left of the half, with Daizen Maeda grabbing his second of the half to make it 3-0. A determined Reo Hatate made a well-timed challenge on the halfway line, releasing Nicolas Kühn down the right wing with the ball at his feet. The German winger showed his class as he drifted in to the box and sent the ball to the back post where Maeda tucked his effort away with ease.The Hoops almost got off to the perfect start in the second half, as Jota burst down the left wing with the ball, drove in to the box and flashed a shot towards Craig Gordon’s goal, but the former Celtic keeper got down well to make the save. Ten minutes later, Callum McGregor, who put in an excellent performance until he was subbed in the 65th minute, fired a shot towards the bottom corner from distance, but once again Gordon made the save to keep the score at 3-0. And whilst the second half had less action in front of goal than the first half, the Hoops were totally dominant throughout the second period, with Hearts finding it difficult to get over the halfway line throughout. Paulo Bernardo made his return to first-team action, coming off of the bench to replace the Celtic captain. And the Portuguese midfielder showed his class in a few moments, as he looked to get on the ball and feed the Celtic forward line. There was also a return for James Forrest who received a warm welcome back from the Celtic faithful. The winger has been recovering from an injury which he sustained in the League Cup final in December. The champions continued to control the match and saw their 3-0 lead through to full time, securing another three points as they take one more step towards the league title. Next up for Brendan Rodgers’ men is a trip to Perth to take on St Johnstone next Sunday.
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