
A thriller of a friendly was served up at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on Wednesday, as J.League 1 leaders Yokohama F. Marinos won a 10-goal thriller over Scottish Premiership giants Glasgow Celtic, with Kevin Muscat’s men beating Brendan Rodgers’ charges 6-4 despite former Yokohama danger man Daizen Maeda landing a first half hat-trick for Celtic.
Anderson Lopes had initially given hosts Yokohama the lead in the 4th minute after the Brazilian had capitalized on some lax defending by Celtic goalie Joe Hart, but two minutes later Daizen capitalized on a Liel Abada cross to draw things level.
Daizen and Israeli winger Abada then teamed up once again fifteen minutes later to give Celtic the lead with the former beating Jun Ichimori in the Yokohama goal, however Kota Mizunuma drew things level for the hosts only moments later.
Celtic, who also fielded Daizen’s countrymen in Tomoki Iwata, Reo Hatate, and Yuki Kobayashi, reclaimed their lead in the 42nd minute, after Daizen had expertly finished off an Iwata pass into Ichimori’s goal, completing his hat-trick in the process.
The second half saw Rodgers bringing some changes to his squad, mainly with deputy goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist replacing Hart.
This change also coincides with the complete collapse of the Celtic defense in the second half, with Carl Starfelt practically gifting Lopes the chance to draw things level just before the hour mark, a chance that the Brazilian did not waste at all.
Yuki Saneto then made it 4-3 for Yokohama in the 66th minute, prompting Rodgers to throw Kyogo Furuhashi into the mix.
But even with Celtic’s number one danger man on the pitch, Yokohama continued to run rampant. Ryo Miyaichi bagged himself a brace as Yokohama raced into a 6-3 lead, before David Turnbull’s last-gasp effort made the scoreline a bit more respectable for Yokohama.
This thriller of a friendly would provide Rodgers – who replaced Tottenham Hotspur-bound Ange Postecoglou this summer – a food for thought as he sets out to guide the Bhoys to defend their Scottish Premiership title this season.