Kyogo Furuhashi bagged a brace as Celtic battled to a 3-2 Old Firm derby win over Rangers in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
Furuhashi took his season's tally to 22 league goals as leader Celtic prevailed at Parkhead and moved up to 88 points, opening a 12-point gap on archrival Rangers in the title race.
After seeing an early strike ruled offside, Furuhashi scored the 26th-minute opener by controlling on the turn with his left foot and finishing clinically with his right following Matt O'Riley's pass from inside the box.
James Tavernier bent in a free kick off the post on the stroke of halftime to level for Rangers, but Furuhashi restored the home side's lead in the 62nd minute, smashing the ball through the legs of keeper Allan McGregor from a tight angle after a poor clearance fell into the Japanese forward's path.
Jota capitalized on another defensive error from the visitors and rounded the keeper to roll in Celtic's third in the 73rd minute. Tavernier headed his second goal five minutes later, but that was not enough for Rangers.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou lauded Furuhashi for his man-of-the-match performance.
"From the moment that guy arrived he's just been outstanding," Postecoglou told the official Celtic site. "I don't remember a flat period, and even when he's not scoring he's contributing."
"In the big games, he scores goals and he's always available. You saw how hard he was working without the ball today, so he's a fantastic player and an outstanding person, and I've got no doubt that he'll go down as a very good player for this football club."