Japan’s Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda scored as Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic beat St. Johnstone 7-0 on Saturday, while Kyogo Furuhashi returned to the Glasgow side after three and a half months out with a leg injury. the hamstring.
Hatate cleanly swept the opening goal in the eighth minute, his left-footed effort finding the bottom right corner from inside the box, and Maeda made it 3-0 with a header into Jota’s cross from the left in the 36th minute at Celtic Park. .
Celtic’s Reo Hatate (R) scores a goal during the first half of a Scottish Premiership match against St. Johnstone on April 9, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (kyodo)
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Hatate won a penalty to give Celtic a 4-0 lead in the 52nd minute and added two more before Furuhashi made his long-awaited return in the 74th minute.
Furuhashi got involved quickly when he sent a long ball from midfield to teammate Maeda, who controlled the ball with his chest before Liel Abada headed in to complete the scoring with 12 minutes remaining.
Celtic’s Daizen Maeda (C) scores a goal during the first half of a Scottish Premiership match against St. Johnstone on April 9, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (kyodo)
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Celtic, who beat cross-town rivals Rangers 2-1 in the Old Firm derby last weekend, are now nine points clear at the top of the table heading into the match on Sunday with the Rangers.
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Elsewhere in Europe, Genki Haraguchi scored his second goal of the season as Union Berlin beat Hertha Berlin 4-1 in the German Bundesliga.
Haraguchi scored the opening goal in the 31st minute, meeting Sheraldo Becker’s cross from the left with a diving header into the net against his first club in Germany at a familiar Olympiastadion.
“I was right to sneak past the defenders. That was exactly what I was looking for and it was worth it », he said. “It was a bit of an emotional goal (to score against Hertha)… I was able to fully express my passion (with acting).”
Hertha equalized with an own goal four minutes into the break, but goals from Grischa Promel, Becker and Sven Michel sealed the derby victory.
In Spain, Takefusa Kubo came off the bench in the 54th minute and helped relegation-threatened Mallorca end their seven-game losing streak by beating defending La Liga champions Atletico Madrid 1-0 at home.
Related coverage:
Football: Andrés Iniesta shoots for Japan and Spain to qualify for the World Cup
Football: Japanese wingers Ito and star Mitoma in the Belgian elite
Soccer: Japan in Bundesliga hail World Cup clash with Germany
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