Iheanacho central & Maeda on right - did it work for Celtic?

Celtic v Hibs highlights

27/09/25

Choosing Celtic's starting front three seems to have given manager Brendan Rodgers quite the headache of late.

That's in direct contrast to recent seasons, when they had stick-on roles for the likes of Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada, for example.

Now, the champions are still searching for the right balance within the squad they currently have at their disposal.

With Kelechi Iheanacho making a big impact in his first few outings since his unheralded arrival post-transfer window, it was no surprise to see him start as striker in Saturday's 0-0 stalemate against Hibernian.

Not for the first time, Daizen Maeda played through the middle in the 1-1 Europa League draw against Red Star Belgrade in midweek.

But after an uninspiring display, the Japan inernational was removed at half-time, with replacement Iheanacho scoring and proving a positive focal point.

With his match fitness and, surely, confidence improving, the question was how to structure the two wide positions around him to the greatest effect against a Hibs side who proved resolute and dogged defensively.

Rodgers' answer was to deploy Maeda - so effective last season on the left - on the right, with Sebastian Tounekti retaining the wide-left berth.

After Kyogo's departure in January, Maeda took on the main striker role with aplomb.

His tally of 33 goals last term was an unimaginable return and led to him deservedly sweeping all of the player of the year awards.

The 27-year-old kept the now-departed Adam Idah on the sidelines for the most part, but has not hit the same level this term. That is no doubt partly because he believed he'd be playing for another club.

It clearly impacted him and also Celtic's recruitment. The arrival of left-sided duo Tounekti and Michel-Ange Balikwisha seems a sign they planned for him leaving.

Tounekti has hit the ground running and made that left-wing position - the area Maeda has delivered from most consistently - his own right now.

Balikwisha has had little impact to date and was ineffective when tried on the right against Kilmarnock.

But the right side looks much more bare, with only Yang Hyun-Jun and veteran James Forrest considered in that role. And with Iheanacho's arrival reducing the need for Maeda to play up top, that position fell to the Japanese on Saturday.

Pre-match, Rodgers told BBC Scotland that Yang's absence against Hibs wasn't through injury. Instead, he wanted a second striker - Johnny Kenny - on the bench knowing Iheanacho would unlikely last the 90 minutes.

With Maeda starting and Forrest back up in that wide-right role, the structure Rodgers prefers means Tounekti will start on the left, at least until Jota returns from injury to challenge for the place.

Yang may well struggle for game time. Balikwisha, too, it seems right now.

So step forward Maeda, once again, to plug a problem in Celtic's line up. His versatility cannot be questioned.

The obvious answer is no, given Celtic failed to score.

However, they did threaten enough to win most games and Rodgers seemed happy with the performance, also citing a superb defensive display from Hibs.

"I think every metric in the game we were dominant," he said. "I thought our football was really good, we went through the pitch well, but we just lacked that killer instinct in the box."

Celtic were unlucky at times, with Iheanacho and the impressive Marcelo Saracchi both denied by the crossbar in the first half. Maeda laid one on of those on a plate showing excellent pace and delivery.

On another day, the home side would have scored at least once, as an xG of 3 reinforces.

The former Celtic midfielder John Collins believes Maeda is still not quite hitting the heights he can since revealing he wanted to leave last month.

"I don't think you should ever make that public," Collins said on Sportsound. "It is a dangerous thing to do.

"The reality is he's been a great servant, a great buy for Celtic, an unbelievable season last year, but in football, it's all about today. What you did last week means nothing and these Celtic fans demand 100% commitment on the pitch.

"In fairness to him, that's what he's given from day one, but he looks jaded."

Celtic had 26 shots against Hibs and that stat is reflective of their dominance - but only six were on target. Iheanacho did net, only to find himself just offside.

Of concern might be that, despite already striking woodwork, it took until the 39th minute for the home side to get a shot directly on target.

They've been unusually blunt - only one of their eight Premiership goals has come in the first half of their six league games so far - and Rodgers knew he needed better quality in forward areas.

He's got some of that belated with Iheanacho, but it seems Maeda will find himself on the right after feeling wronged at not getting his move.