From a vantage point very close to the away support one Celtic fan has came up with a brilliant FanCam of Dazen Maeda scoring Celtic’s fourth goal against Dundee.

Instantly fans knew that they had watched something a bit different, special as they recounted over a move that started close to Celtic’s corner flag and ended with the ball in the back of the Dundee net.

It was simplicity with sophistication, the outcome of repeated training ground drills at Lennoxtown put together in competitive action as Brendan Rodgers’ side turned on the style.

After 55 minutes Daizen Maeda nodded Celtic’s third goal from the most inviting of crosses from Jota, four minutes later almost the length of the pitch separated them as the hoops went 4-0 in front to put the outcome beyond doubt.

Bizarrely Jota found himself on the ball close to his own corner flag, he tried to play the ball out through Reo Hatate and Greg Taylor but it was returned to him.

Callum McGregor offered an angle and suddenly play opened up! Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels knew the plan, at the other end of the park Maeda scented an opening.

A Dundee defender did get his foot on Engels through ball but it made little effect, Maeda knew where he was, where goalkeeper Trevor Carson was and instinctively flighted his shot across the ‘keeper and into the net.

Instantly everyone watching knew they had watched something special.

Contender for goal of the season …mesmerizing stuff from the Green Machine 🍀😳😮🍀@CelticFC pic.twitter.com/8oKiwAQZHl
— LARGS BRIGADE (@LARGS_BRIGADE) February 6, 2025

After a testing week with transfer and with Bayern Munich on the horizon Rodgers was thrilled to see his side back hitting the heights.

Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final followed by RB Leipzig saw his team hitting top form, Dundee was less of a challenge but the football was breathtaking.

Rodgers said:

It was one of our best performances of the season.

We had hunger from the first minute to the last. Daizen’s on 18 goals, a number of assists. Nicholas on 17 goals. I don’t know how many assists but he’s got a lot. Adam getting his goal and you see him now, he’s moving differently and just freed up a bit and wanting to really prove a point and show that he’s in number 9 here consistently for Celtic.

I’m obviously greedy. I want more and I want to keep our levels, to keep improving because it’s not just about each week and each month. It’s each game we want to improve and be the best that we can.

Thirteen games left, 13 points clear, a big goal difference, which is always worth a point in itself. I’ve always said it’s really narrowing in the focus at this point of the season. Keep your hunger, keep your humility and keep thinking of performance.

That was the message this evening. It’s about winning and we know that, but it’s about performing and when we perform we can play well and win games. So we’re in a good place but modern day culture is all about the next game.

Tragically Maeda can play against Raith Rovers on Saturday but not next week against Bayern Munich.

With three Champions League goals from seven appearances his pedigree can’t be doubted, his pace allied to recently discovered composure is a threat to defenders at all levels.

Maeda will get his chance against Bayern a week later in the Allianz Arena, more magic can’t be discounted.

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Celtic blowing R***ers out the water!

Celtic are apparently blowing ‘Rangers’ out the water in terms of European prize money, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.

In other news water is wet, the earth is round and liquidation is final.

The constant need to promote and compare the two Glasgow sides is more humorous than annoying with digital outlets treading down the same dismal path as legacy outfits.

Shoe-horning the club beginning with R into headlines about Celtic seems to be the backbone of many outlets, providing a comfort blanket to Ibrox fans while giving Celtic supporters another angle to contrast the poverty of events at Ibrox with that of their own club.

Anyone with the most basic knowledge of football will know that the prize money in the Champions League dwarves that on offer in the Europa League. It isn’t quite like the disparity between the EPL and SPFL but the highest payout from the Europa League is still way short of the prize money given to YB Bern for finishing 36^th in the Champions League.

One of the most lucrative payments available in the Europa League is from losing out in the Champions League Play Off, the losers pick up 5m euros and drop into the Europa League which is more than the 4.2m euros reward for reaching the semi-finals.

Every penny, pound and euro is a prisoner at Ibrox as they battle to keep losses for this season closer to £20m than £30m.

But really, there is no need for Football Insider to state the bleeding obvious to their readers:

Celtic are set to blow Rangers out of the water in terms of European prize money this season after qualifying for the Champions League knockout round play-offs.

That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the Scottish champions have already banked more than £40million from the elite club competition this season.

Celtic booked their place in the play-off round after earning 12 points from their eight matches in the revamped league phase of the Champions League.

Brendan Rodgers’s side will now face Bayern Munich for a place in the last 16, with the first leg taking place at Celtic Park on 12 February.

Rangers, meanwhile, made it through to the last 16 of the Europa League after finishing eighth in the table.

Celtic to have ‘massive’ advantage over Rangers

Borson revealed Celtic will earn significantly more than their Old Firm rivals from their European exploits this season.

Every team in the Champions League will be earning significantly more than the Ibrox Tribute Act who pick up more money from home matches with 50,000 attendances than they get directly from UEFA.

Winning a match in the Champions League comes with a 2.1m euros payout, in comparison a win in the Europa League provides a payout of 450,000 euros. Basically the Champions League pays out five times as much as the secondary competition.

Drooling over every pay out from the Europa League isn’t going to transform the desperate finances at Ibrox where Jose Cifuentes, Ben Davies, Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo are being over £300,000 a month to play football for other clubs.

Keeping an eye on UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Rules would be worthwhile as new CEO Paddy Stewart battles against a wage bill that is sinking Phil Clement’s exciting young side.