Amid wild celebrations in the Celtic end at Hampden on Sunday, Callum McGregor was asked about Kyogo Furuhashi’s match-winning performance. “He’s a special player,” the captain quite simply responded.
It was an apt portrayal of a man whose 23rd and 24th goals of the campaign had just downed city rivals Rangers, delivering the Viaplay Cup for a second season running.
Fourteen months prior, on the same stage, at the same venue, the 28-year-old’s double dispatched Hibernian, delivering the first trophy of the Ange Postecoglou era.
“Sometimes the measure of a footballer at this club is whether you can deliver on the big occasions,” the Celtic boss said of his talisman. “He wants the big moments. He delivered again.”
‘Clever, invaluable and outstanding’
Postecoglou billed Sunday’s final as a match of “great consequence”. It appeared that burden of significance was hanging over both sets of players in the early exchanges at Hampden. That included Kyogo, who passed up a handful of opportunities with the game goalless.
Even with a weight of expectancy on his shoulders, there was no chance the Japan forward was going to allow those misses to faze him. The ruthless streak he possesses embodies the relentlessness of the attack he spearheads.
“As long as I was standing on the pitch, I knew more chances would come,” Kyogo said post-match. So it proved as the Japan international showcased his cunning movement and poacher’s instinct to open the scoring before repeating the process to add a second after the break.
“He wants to be front and centre when the opportunities are there,” Celtic boss Postecoglou added. “But it’s just not about the goals, even though they are the most important thing.
“It’s invaluable to have a player who is willing to do everything in his power to help the team. He just works so hard. The rewards he gets are hard earned. He’s such a clever player.
“The size he is, the players he’s up against, he doesn’t shirk any of it. He’s been outstanding from the moment he joined the football club.”
Twenty-four goals and counting…
By the time Kyogo had taken to the Hampden pitch on Sunday, he had already bettered the 20 goals he scored across all competitions last term. In fact, he had beaten that tally over three weeks ago.
The 28-year-old has already played more minutes this term than he managed last season, which was disrupted by injury.
The 24 goals he has scored so far this campaign adds to a very impressive total of 44 across 68 games since his arrival from Vissel Kobe in the summer of 2021 – but his numbers from this season in particular are staggering.
In the league, Kyogo manages a goal every 82 minutes, which averages out to 1.09 goals per 90. The 19 Premiership goals he has bagged this season have come via 60 shots, meaning he needs just over three shots to score a goal.
Sunday’s final also meant the Japan international became just the second Celtic player to score back-to-back braces in League Cup finals after Billy McPhail in 1956 and 1957.
“He’s a superstar,” club captain McGregor said. “I can’t talk highly enough of him. That’s two finals in a row he’s scored the goals that have won it. We’re lucky to have him.”
With Postecoglou’s men nine points clear at the top of the Premiership and a Scottish Cup quarter-final at Hearts on the way, there is a growing possibility of a domestic treble.
Don’t bet against Celtic’s talisman being the one to provide more decisive moments if the club are to claim a fifth treble in seven years.
