Celtic could’ve clawed back Hearts if Rodgers subbed off Maeda for 5 ft 11 “threat

Celtic lost 2-0 to Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday, blowing a golden chance to retake the top spot in the Scottish Premiership standings.

After Motherwell defeated Philippe Clement’s Rangers, who were two points ahead of the Hoops, 2-1 on Saturday at Ibrox, they had the opportunity to go one point clear of their nearest opponents.
But Brendan Rodgers’ squad was unable to capitalize on that opportunity, and they are currently trailing the Giants by two points in the championship battle.

Celtic, Scottish, Brendan Rodgers Premiership
The ending afternoon at Tynecastle saw the hosts secure an incredible triumph against the Glasgow giants, with two penalties and a red card given by VAR.
In regards to Hyun-jun Yang’s dismissal and the handball penalty against Tomoki Iwata, the head coach lamented the “shocking” decisions made by the referees, but he might also want to look a little closer to home.

Rodgers only made two of his five available substitutions, even though his team was down to 10 men from the 16th minute onward. Luis Palma, one of the stars still on the bench, had the attacking ability to force a comeback for Hearts by replacing Daizen Maeda.

The statistical performance of Daizen Maeda versus the Hearts
The Ireland international Adam Idah, who missed a penalty, and Yang, who was sent off, made up the front three that included the Japan international on the left wing for the Hoops.

Despite playing the entire game, Maeda struggled for the Scottish giants, failing to provide quality either in or out of possession for the entire ninety minutes.

In theory, it made sense to keep the 26-year-old jewel in the game to replace the man lost to Yang’s red card given his high work rate, which Rodgers famously compared to having two players on the field.

But Celtic needed a huge spurt of skill in the last third to at least salvage a draw because they were behind 1-0 at the break and 2-0 in the 56th minute.

The table above shows how little of an influence the right-footed whiz had at the top of the pitch, with zero shots on goal and no “big chances” produced for his teammates.

With a pass completion percentage of just 70%, he was also careless with the ball, indicating that the striker was unreliable and unimaginative when the Hoops had the ball.

Maeda’s poor attacking play was matched by the Hearts defense, who controlled him throughout the game. He lost an incredible 70% (7/10) of his ground duels and was dribbled past four times.

This season’s Premiership statistics for Daizen Maeda
Sadly, the 26-year-old’s difficulties both with and without the ball have been a recurring trend in his performances this Premiership season.

The Scottish powerhouses have struggled to find a reliable goal scorer or goal creator in Ange Postecoglou, and he has occasionally shown vulnerability in physical confrontations.

In 22 starts and 22 outings in the top division, Maeda has lost 59% of his aerial duels and 57% of his duels overall. This demonstrates that opponents have frequently found it too simple to overcome him.

His careless finishing has also left a lot to be desired. From 6.8 Expected Goals, the Celtic attacker has provided four goals and nine “big chances” wasted; this indicates that the dynamo has spurned more excellent opportunities than he has scored.

Maeda hasn’t often given his teammates attackers excellent opportunities. In the Premiership he has accrued four ‘big chances’ generated, 0.5 crucial passes per game, and two assists.

Rodgers should not have counted on the Japanese gem to get Celtic back into the game against Hearts, as these statistics demonstrate that he has not been a consistent performer in the final third for the Bhoys during the league season thus far.

The numbers that demonstrate Palma’s merit for a substitute
Given Palma’s offensive prowess and Maeda’s weakness on the left wing, the Hoops manager had a chance to claw his team back into the game.

The 5 foot 11 maestro, who was signed on a permanent contract from the Greek team last summer, is capable of doing something special with the ball.
The table above illustrates how fantastic a creator the right-footed gem has been for Celtic in the Premiership, consistently setting up superb opportunities for his teammates.

According to these numbers, Palma had a chance to have an impact and work a little of magic to bring his team back into the game against Hearts, especially with the score 1-0 at halftime.

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