Japanese forwards Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi both opened their accounts for the season as Celtic dominated arch rivals Rangers 3-0 in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Maeda netted the opener with a close-range finish off Alistair Johnston’s cross in the 17th minute of the Old Firm derby in front of more than 59,000 at Celtic Park.
Celtic forward Daizen Maeda celebrates after scoring in a Scottish Premiership football match against Rangers at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sept. 1, 2024. (Kyodo)
Furuhashi, once again left out of Hajime Moriyasu’s Japan squad for the upcoming Asian World Cup qualifiers, earlier had a goal ruled out for offside.
He made no mistake, however, in the 40th minute with a pinpoint strike from outside the area after the home side won back possession and quickly surged forward.
Maeda provided the assist for Callum McGregor to seal the contest with a thunderbolt in the 75th minute.
Kyogo Furuhashi (L) celebrates after scoring for Celtic in a Scottish Premiership football match against Rangers at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sept. 1, 2024. (Kyodo)
With the result, Celtic opened up a five-point lead in the standings over their Glasgow rivals after four rounds.
Elsewhere in Europe, Japan winger Junya Ito scored his first goal of the French top-flight season for Reims in their 2-1 victory over visiting Rennes.
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