Daizen Maeda netted a hat-trick as Celtic burst Aberdeen’s bubble in emphatic fashion in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden. Celtic scored five goals in half an hour before Maeda rounded off a 6-0 victory late on to inflict Jimmy Thelin’s first defeat as Aberdeen manager.
Aberdeen fans travelled to Glasgow filled with hope of seeing their team beat Celtic at the national stadium for the first since 1992 but they were well and truly dismantled either side of half-time.
Cameron Carter-Vickers headed the opener from a 29th-minute corner after a delayed and scrappy start to the game, which then quickly spiralled in Celtic’s favour. Maeda set up Kyogo Furuhashi to score the second and Nicolas Kuhn was also on target to send Celtic into the final next month, when they will play the winners of Sunday’s meeting between Motherwell and Rangers.
Aberdeen came into the game having won 15 games and drawn one under Thelin and on a 21-match unbeaten run since losing to Celtic on penalties at the same venue in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final. A 2-2 draw at Celtic Park two weeks earlier and a midweek win over Rangers, which put Aberdeen nine points above the Ibrox club, has seen Thelin’s side keep pace with the champions in the Premiership.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers welcomed the challenge of Aberdeen on the eve of the game and claimed the competition would help his side improve. His prediction was instantly fulfilled as he continued his perfect Hampden record. Aberdeen were unchanged from the team that beat Rangers, meaning starts for Duk and Ester Sokler whose half-time introductions helped them claw back a two-goal deficit at Parkhead.
Celtic started with Auston Trusty and Alex Valle in defence as Greg Taylor and Liam Scales had to make do with substitute appearances. Kick-off was delayed by 13 minutes after a pre-match pyrotechnic display from both sets of fans led to visibility problems for the VAR technology.
The game was slow to get going even after kick-off with Arne Engels and Jamie McGrath blazing well over at either end. The opener came when Carter-Vickers rose to head home Engels’ corner and Celtic doubled their lead on the counterattack three minutes later. Maeda intercepted a pass meant for Slobodan Rubezic, got the ball back from Kuhn before checking back to take Jack MacKenzie and goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov out of the equation and setting up Furuhashi to finish off the underside of the bar.
The third goal in the 40th minute also came on the transition. Kuhn played a brilliant through ball for Maeda, who ran round the back of Nicky Devlin and swept home.
Rodgers became the sixth person to be booked by Kevin Clancy before half-time, although both men had a smile on their face after the Celtic manager fell on his backside while booting the ball out of the technical area after his side’s passing move had broken down.
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Celtic continued where they left off in the second half and took just four minutes to add to the scoring. Kuhn ran from the halfway line, waltzed into box and saw a shot saved before Maeda tucked home the rebound. McGrath got Aberdeen’s only shot on target but his weak effort trundled along the ground into Kasper Schmeichel’s hands.
Celtic continued their clinical display when Engels helped the ball on to Kuhn 15 yards out. The winger was faced with a crowd of players but curled a shot in off the bar. Aberdeen came very close to a consolation midway through the half when Sokler headed MacKenzie’s cross just wide.
But Celtic had the final say when Maeda tapped home Alistair Johnston’s ball across the face of goal with five minutes left.
