3rd December 2025 Celtic Park, Scottish Premiership. Celtic versus Dundee Luke Graham of Dundee passes the ball while Reo Hatate of Celtic closes him down. Photo IMAGO – David Young
HAKUNA HATATE – 7.5/10 MOTM – Another O’Neill miracle – heaven knows how Martin’s command of Japanese has made the required impact with Reo, but the evidence is plain; mercurial inventive, involved and hungry for action. Always our most dangerous tonight in creation or execution of the difficult pass; just a shame nobody around him was able to reach the same elevated frequency.
Daizen Maeda of Celtic scores the opening goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee at Celtic Park on December 03, 2025 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
LORD KATSUMOTO – 7/10 – Daizen Maeda, Bushido master: When death manifests, Bushido is realised – choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death; true courage and honour are found in facing death, in embracing its ferocity headlong – exactly what Daizen did when that big thick Dundee heid stood between him and glory.
The only crystallising thought in his mind at that moment was gyokusai shugi (nothing to do with fondly-remembered Johannes Edvaldsson, or Darius Wdowczyk, older Celts…) – the principle of honourable death.
3rd December 2025 Celtic Park, Scottish Premiership, Celtic versus Dundee Daizen Maeda of Celtic down after a clash of heads with Luke Graham of Dundee while scoring for 1-0 in the 11th minute Photo IMAGO David Young
He took it….Only to be resurrected ten minutes later as a true Kamikaze, bearing the headband of the Divine Wind, back like a tormenting ghost to rumble the Dundonian rear-guard until the final whistle, before which he nearly scored a ripper but for the keeper’s fingertips and a traitorous post. Not that Daizen will remember it anyway – he’s still asking around the ground-staff if the cursed Yankee battleship has sunk yet.
3rd December 2025 Celtic Park, Scottish Premiership, Celtic versus Dundee Cameron Congreve of Dundee takes on Yang Hyun-Jun of Celtic. Photo IMAGO David Young
YING – 5.5/10 – Jings Ying’s… Suffering from Luke’s fading affliction; we got the resurgent Yang performance for much of the opening spell – direct, penetrating runs, looking lively. But the edges were fraying as his touch and decision-making deserted him at crucial times. And he disappeared off radar and park somewhere in the second period.
