THERE is no longer any debate about who is going to pick up the various Player of the Year awards which will shortly be handed out in the Scottish football.
Daizen Maeda, who scored two goals and set up another as Celtic returned to winning ways in their William Hill Premiership match against Hearts at Parkhead this afternoon, has been the outstanding footballer in the country by a considerable distance during the past nine months.
The Japanese internationalist, whose well-taken first half double took his personal tally for his club during the 2024/25 campaign to 30, will need a very large mantelpiece indeed to accommodate all of the gongs which will be coming his way in the weeks ahead.
The Scottish champions, who are chasing a ninth domestic treble, will need to clear out some room in their trophy cabinet if the £1.5m signing maintains his form in the coming weeks.
Hearts had their chances, but the capital club lacked a finisher as clinical as their rivals and they had nothing to show for their efforts at the end of the 90 minutes as a result.
Here are five talking points from a game which saw Celtic put the 3-2 defeat they suffered against Rangers in their last outing behind them and take a step closer to a fourth consecutive Scottish title.
30 not out
Maeda put Celtic in front when he made a perfectly-timed run onto a Callum McGregor defence-piercing through ball and then slotted beyond Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon and into the bottom right corner.
He was only denied a second by the woodwork shortly after that strike. He rose and headed a Nicolas Kuhn onto the right post. But his fellow wide man Jota ghosted in and buried the rebound.
The former Yokohama F Marinos player, who was once again preferred to Adam Idah up front, weighed in with a second six minutes before half-time after being supplied by Kuhn.
How many goals can Maeda plunder. He has 30 to his name now and there are nine, if his side get to the Scottish Cup final, left. Can he become only the second Celtic player since Henrik Larsson back in the 2003/04 season to bag 40 in all competitions? Do not bet against it.
He received a standing ovation from the home supporters when he was replaced by Idah in the second half and was a deserved recipient of the Man of the Match award following the final whistle.
Solid Sinisalo
Rodgers expressed confidence that Viljami Sinisalo would experience few difficulties taking over from Kasper Schmiechel despite only playing one competitive fixture this season and he was proved correct.
The Finnish internationalist, a £1m capture from Aston Villa last summer, had plenty to do as the visitors, to their enormous credit, applied sustained pressure to their opponents’ goal early on.
But the 23-year-old, whose only previous appearance in the 2024/25 campaign came in the 5-0 home victory over Raith Rovers in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup last month, did well to keep out a Lewis Neilson shot at an Adam Forrester corner when the scoreline was 0-0.
If that had gone in then it would have given Hearts a lead to sit back and protect and the game may not have been quite so straightforward for Celtic.
Sinisalo looked composed with the ball at his feet, something that Schmeichel has been brilliant at this term, and always found his man when passing under pressure. Greater challenges than this lie ahead for him.
Still, he can take confidence from the clean sheet and his polished personal showing.
Harry’s game
The result may have been bitterly disappointing for Hearts, but this was very much a day to remember for their defender Harry Milne.
The former Cove Rangers and Partick Thistle full-back, who moved to the capital last month for an undisclosed fee, made his first team debut. Playing in front of a full house at Parkhead was a far cry from his Highland League days.
The Aberdonian, who came in to the team along with Cammy Devlin as Blair Spittal and Sander Kartum dropped to the bench, slotted in at left centre-half with James Penrice at wing-back outside him.
He quickly showed why Critchley, who abandoned his 4-1-2-1-2 formation in favour of a more conventional 3-4-3 - had handed him his chance. He dispossessed Kuhn and supplied Elton Kabangu in front of him early on. He then slid in and blocked an attempted cross by the same player inside his area.
He was unable to stop the German winger from squaring to Maeda shortly before half-time. It was, though, an encouraging debut for the new boy. He has much to offer going forward.
Squad bolstered
Celtic fans were pleased to see Callum McGregor, who was badly missed against Rangers before the international break, back pulling the strings for their team in the middle of the park. Their captain made a real difference to their play.
There was, too, warm applause when Paulo Bernardo, the Portuguese midfielder who has been out since the Raith game, and James Forrest, who has not been sighted since the Premier Sports Cup win over Rangers back in December, came on for McGregor during the second half.
The trio increase the options available to Rodgers greatly going into the business end of the season and will help ensure there are no slip-ups as they bid to land more silverware.
Rock Nawrocki
Rodgers was clearly wary about risking Auston Trusty, who had to withdraw from the United States squad last week due to a minor calf injury, against Hearts and persevered with Maik Nawrocki alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers.
But the Polish centre-half, who was one of the only Celtic players to receive pass marks against Rangers, once again showed that he can, despite his lack of game time this term, contribute to his club’s cause this term.
The 24-year-old dealt with the threat that Lawrence Shankland, James Wilson and Kabangu posed effortlessly.
