Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories On target: Daizen Maeda.Alamy Stock Photo Freeclosing in on title Daizen Maeda hits 30 as Celtic bounce back against Hearts Win put Bhoys 16 points clear, with Rangers playing later against Dundee. 5.17pm, 29 Mar 2025 Share options CELTIC STRIKER DAIZEN Maeda took his tally for the season to 30 goals with a double as a 3-0 win over Hearts edged the Hoops closer to a fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title. Brendan Rodgers’ men had two weeks to reflect on their 3-2 home defeat to fierce rivals Rangers before the international break. But it remains a question of when rather than if they seal the title after extending their lead at the top to 16 points. Rangers can narrow that advantage when they travel to Dundee later, but Celtic need just three wins from their remaining seven games to be champions. Advertisement Ireland's Adam Idah comes on for Daizen Maeda.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The home side took time to find their feet at Celtic Park and needed stand-in goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, deputising for the injured Kasper Schmeichel, to make a smart save from Lewis Neilson early on. However, Hearts’ bold offensive approach also left them vulnerable to the speed of Celtic’s counter-attack. Captain Callum McGregor’s presence was badly missed by Rodgers in a rare home derby defeat a fortnight ago and he marked his return with an assist for Maeda to coolly slot home the opening goal. Maeda also played a major role in the second as his clever header came back off the post and Jota pounced on the rebound for his fourth goal since returning to Glasgow in January. A fluent team move made it 3-0 before the break as Nicolas Kuhn squared for Maeda to tap in his 10th goal in his last eight league starts. The Japan international has thrived in a more central role since the departure to compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi in the January window and is already enjoying his best ever goalscoring season. Defeat is a blow to Hearts’ European ambitions as they remain just inside the top six with two games to go before the league splits in two for the final five matches of the season. Hibernian remain in third thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over bottom-of-the-table St Johnstone. Aberdeen stay just a point further back and secured their place in the top six thanks to a 4-1 victory over Motherwell. St Mirren also did their chances of a top-half finish no harm with a 5-1 thrashing of Kilmarnock to move to within one point of Hearts. – © AFP 2025 Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Daizen Maeda hits 30 as Celtic bounce back against Hearts”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Daizen Maeda hits 30 as Celtic bounce back against Hearts”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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