Martin O’Neill claimed Daizen Maeda’s wonder goal against Rangers evoked memories of Henrik Larsson as the Japanese forward dragged Celtic within a point of Hearts at the top of the league.
Trailing to Mikey Moore’s opener, the Parkhead men levelled through Hyun-jun Yang to go in level at the break.
Needing no less than a win to ensure the title was still in their hands, Maeda turned in a cross then scored an outrageous overhead kick to seal a 3-1 win.
With Hearts hosting Falkirk, Celtic now need to win at Motherwell on Wednesday to set up a last-day decider against the league leaders.
Asked if the Japanese’s sublime second goal was up there with the chip the legendary Swede scored in the 6-2 game in 2000, O’Neill said: ‘Yeah, it is very much so. Henrik will disagree of course, but it was a great goal.
‘When he did it, I knew it was going in. Because there was enough pace to carry it across. It was incredible.’
Daizen Maeda scores with a stunning overhead kick that capped his outstanding performance
Maeda celebrates the wonder strike that sealed a 3-1 victory and edged Celtic closer to Hearts
O’Neill was effusive in his praise of Maeda’s all-round display — by some distance the best of a campaign which started slowly.
‘He was super today,’ added O’Neill. ‘I’m going to take him out tonight. He was terrific, really terrific.
‘I don’t know where he gets the energy from. It was sensational, really sensational. His second goal was out of this world.
‘But his whole performance… he starts off with his closing down and the negative part of the game. It galvanises the side because he’s so good about it. Then his own performance, with the ball and scoring the goals, was magnificent.’
O’Neill felt his players showed exactly the right character after finding themselves a goal behind in a game they had to win.
‘It was a great fightback from the players and lovely to win,’ he added. ‘We played some great stuff, so did Rangers.
‘Coming from behind was great for us. I think the players are delighted with their own performance and the comeback. They could have wilted, but they didn’t do that.’
Despite beating Rangers in the league for the first time this season, Celtic need to raise themselves for another must-win match against a highly impressive Motherwell side in midweek.
‘In the dressing room there are only thoughts about Wednesday,’ O’Neill insisted. ‘I’ve never been confident, never!
‘People talk to me about momentum, but it can shift quickly.
‘It’s obviously special (winning) against Rangers. But, in the scheme of things, it’s just three points and we can look no further than Wednesday.
‘We have to win. We have no grounds for dropping points. We can’t afford to do it.
‘I expect Hearts to win their game, and we have a really difficult match at Motherwell. Wednesday will be really tough, as shown from last night.’
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill was delighted with their first league victory over Rangers this season
The Old Firm triumph ensured Celtic have won five straight league matches for only the second time this season, with both runs coming under O’Neill.
While taking nothing for granted, the manager feels the players must take huge confidence from dusting themselves down after a dismal loss at Tannadice seven weeks ago.
‘We were poor that particular day,’ he recalled. ‘We had some chances, but we didn’t play well and deserved to lose it.
‘It was probably the first time we really questioned whether we had it or not. Also, it gave us a bit of time for reflection over the international break. But whatever they were thinking about, they’ve come roaring back.
‘Even with all the wins we’ve had, we’re still behind. If we win the matches, it’s true, it’s in our own hands. We have to try and do something about it.
‘I think the run that we’re on gives us confidence to go and compete. And also the fact that we’ve come from behind today as well.’
