Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers doubts there is a player in world football better at pressing than Daizen Maeda

Brendan Rodgers has hailed Daizen Maeda’s pressing ability and insists he doesn’t think there is a player in world football that does it better.

The Japan international impressed in Celtic’s 5-1 Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday night.

Maeda got on the scoresheet but it was his constant running and pressing of the Slovan defence that stood out.

Rodgers singled out one incident towards the end of the game that summed up the quality that the 26-year-old brings to his team.

Speaking ahead of Celtic’s return to domestic action this weekend, Rodgers said: “The team have been doing well and keeping clean sheets – the goalkeeper and back four have been praised for that but it starts at the front.

“What we are seeing from the guys at the top of the pitch is that when they see it, they go, and that is our trigger reference

“I would doubt that there is anyone in world football better than Daizen Maeda in that context.

“I watched a clip towards the end of the game and he is making a recovery run, into the left-back position, tracking their right-back thinking the ball is going to come across, but the ball goes to the centre-half and he presses it and nicks it off him.

“So that level of, even if you can do that, it’s the will and desire to do it, which most players won’t have.

“He could easily have dropped that press, he didn’t have to do that one, he went, realised it wasn’t getting there and he actually got to the centre-half before the guy who should have got there.

“It was incredible and unbelievable pressing, but that is his mentality.”

Celtic take on Falkirk in the quarter-final of the League Cup on Sunday and Rodgers is keen to get his hands on the only piece of domestic silverware that alluded them last season.

It was the first trophy that the former Liverpool and Leicester City boss won in his last spell in Glasgow and he is aiming to get his hands on it again this season.

He said: “This competition is very important to me, it was the first trophy I won at Celtic, so it means everything to me and we will be going all out on Sunday to reach the semi-final.”