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Celtic Target Daizen Bags Hat-Trick as Marinos Blast Eight Past Sorry Gasmen

Yokohama F. Marinos have placed the pain of missing out on the 2021 J.League 1 title behind them on Saturday as they went on a rampage in Matchweek 35. With FC Tokyo visiting the Nissan Stadium, Kevin Muscat’s Yokohama showed no mercy as they trounced the visitors 8-0, with Daizen Maeda – linked to Ange Postecoglou’s project at Glasgow Celtic – bagging himself an incredible hat-trick.

With former Vissel Kobe winger Kyogo Furuhashi having taken Scottish football like a duck on water, rumors were rife that Ange will once again raid the J1 for stars to strengthen his Celtic side further.

Twitter account Marco Molla has linked Yokohama’s Daizen and Kawasaki Frontale’s Reo Hatate with a move to Celtic during the winter transfer window, with the former being strengthened further by an article by British news outlet The Sunday Times. Daizen had worked with Ange when the Australian head coach was in charge of Yokohama, and the bald striker had tasted European football before with Portuguese side CS Maritimo in the 2019/20 season.

Now under the tutelage of former Melbourne Victory head coach Muscat, Yokohama missed out on the 2021 J1 title after Kawasaki had clinched their fourth title in five years in the mid-week. However, the men in blue knew that they must persevere if they want to clinch this year’s silver medal and the AFC Champions League group stage ticket that comes with it, and an unfortunate FC Tokyo became the victims of Yokohama’s bloodthirsty desire on Saturday.

Daizen pounced on a rebounded shot saved by FC Tokyo goalie Go Hatano in the 10th minute to give Yokohama the lead, before Marcos Junior made it 2-0 in the 21st minute with a penalty following a foul within the area on Teruhito Nakagawa.

Three minutes later Ryuta Koike made it 3-0 for the hosts before FC Tokyo had a man sent-off as already-booked Masato Morishige received his marching orders following his foul on Thiago Martins within the area.

Daizen stepped up the plate and slotted home coolly past Hatano to make it 4-0 Yokohama coming into the break.

The men in blue did not relent on their ruthlessness in the second half and they soon found themselves 5-0 up three minutes into the restart, with Daizen completing his hat-trick after heading home a Theerathon Bunmathan corner.

Koike bagged his brace in the 69th minute to make it 6-0 Yokohama before the hosts hit seventh heaven with Keigo Higashi’s 84th minute own-goal. Yokohama then put an already battered FC Tokyo out of their misery with their eighth goal of the match, courtesy of Kota Mizunuma in the 86th minute.

The 8-0 trouncing left a huge embarrassing scar in FC Tokyo, so much so that long-serving head coach Kenta Hasegawa announced his resignation the day after the thrashing.

As for Daizen, his hat-trick made him the outright top-scorer of the 2021 J1 season and judging by the methodical manner in his destruction of FC Tokyo, he did well to justify Celtic’s rumored interest in him. Will we see a Daizen-Furuhashi partnership at Celtic Park next year? Only time will tell.