Johnston: Bayern Munich suspended Daizen Maeda is one of 'most in-form players in Europe'

Celtic’s Alistair Johnston has said teammate Daizen Maeda is one of the most in-form players in Europe – and has admitted he will be a huge miss in the club’s Champions League play-off tie against Bayern Munich.

After a Scottish Cup hat-trick against Raith Rovers, the Japan international has scored ten goals in his last ten appearances—and he is suspended for the first leg against Bayern.

The winger was sent off late in the 1-0 win over Young Boys, with Maeda dismissed for kicking out at Mohamed Ali Camara.

Fullback Johnston admits it’s going to be a huge miss but is confident someone else can “step up”.

“Yeah, I mean, for crying out loud, he scored. I’m not sure what his stats are, but he’s got to be one of the most in-form players in all of Europe right now, and he can’t seem to miss right now”, he said.

“So yeah, again, when he’s scoring and creating, he adds just another dimension, but also everyone knows his work rate is unbelievable. He’s a nightmare as a fullback to go up against and I get the joy of having him running after me throughout the week most of the time.

“It’s a bummer for us, but at the same time, that’s why we brought in guys like Jota. You know, it’s to have that quality that between all of our wingers, that entire group.

“So that here is enough quality and depth that when something like that does happen, the suspension, that other guys can step up. So yeah, I think right now between Jota, Yang, and Nicolas Kuhn, like, we’re still really happy with where we are at in terms of our depth and our talent there.

“It’s a great opportunity for one of those guys to step up, and I’m expecting that someone will in the coming days.”

The first leg of the play-off will be played in Glasgow on Wednesday, with the return leg taking place in Germany the following Tuesday.

Johnston acknowledged the challenge Bayern Munich present and said that his side need to use a “rocking” Celtic Park to their advantage.

He said: “Yeah, as soon as we got through the league phase and we knew we had qualified, it was funny, as we got into the Villa changing room and realized that we were going to get Real Madrid or Bayern and that was pretty exciting.

“Then to see our name get pulled against Bayern Munich, it was going to be a special, special match. Again, it is one of those ones where you are excited just to be a part of and say that you’re going to have a chance to be out there because I think that we all can agree that Celtic Park is going to be rocking.

“Now it’s up to us to go out there and, you know, give those fans something to cheer for. We’re all super excited about it. It’s a massive tie and a great chance for us to go and show not only the rest of Europe but the rest of the world what we’re all about as a team. It’s an exciting opportunity for us.