How much Celtic needed this. And how much Daizen Maeda needed it too. Just when a draw with Motherwell seemed unavoidable, the player from Japan emerged to rescue their season from further decline.

How much Celtic needed this. And how much Daizen Maeda needed it too. Just when it seemed like they would settle for a draw with Motherwell, the player from Japan came through to prevent their season from deteriorating further.

Having netted only twice in 12 matches before now, Maeda’s decline in form mirrors Celtic’s struggles in the initial months of the new season.

Honestly, Maeda was having another underwhelming game here. The same was true for Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate, a couple of Celtic’s other key players who haven’t been performing at their usual best.

But it was Maeda who clinched the win at the very last moment, scoring with a header in added time to overcome the determined effort of a Motherwell team that would have deserved a point if they had managed to draw.

Appearing as though they would lose more ground to Hearts in the title race, Maeda’s late intervention ensures Celtic are only trailing by two points as they head into the international break.

But a dramatic late win such as this ought to breathe new life into their season and, on a personal level, into Maeda’s own campaign.

But nobody will be under any illusions. Celtic continue to be a long way short of top form. If this opening chunk of the season has taught us anything, it’s that Brendan Rodgers’ side are vulnerable.

Motherwell certainly exposed them at times in a way which should make other Scottish Premiership teams sit up and take note.

Hearts are the current pace-setters. Celtic are in the strange position of being the hunters. Many of their tools will need to be sharpened if they are to catch their prey.

On the back of such a lacklustre display in the 2-0 Europa League defeat to Braga on Thursday night, Rodgers made four changes to the Celtic starting line-up.

Kieran Tierney and Colby Donovan both dropped out, with Tony Ralston and Marcelo Saracchi coming in at the two full-back positions.

Tierney’s ongoing fitness issues and his inability to complete 90 minutes are bound to be a concern for Steve Clarke as Scotland gear up for their World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Belarus later this week.

The two other changes saw Hatate and Luke McCowan come in to freshen up the midfield, with Benjamin Nygren and Paulo Bernardo dropping out.

Motherwell arrived at Celtic Park undefeated and in confident mood after beating Aberdeen 2-0 last weekend and already booking a place in the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup.

Jens Berthel Askou’s side have won plenty of plaudits for an expansive style of play, with one win and five draws from their opening six games as they made the short trip to Glasgow.

There was an early sight of goal for McGregor following a mistake in the Motherwell defence, but the Celtic skipper saw his shot blocked by visiting keeper Calum Ward.

Motherwell grew into the game and were popping the ball around nicely. It wasn’t tippy-tappy possession for possession’s sake either. More often than not, their first instinct was to play forward.

Striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos tried to latch on to a good through ball and would have been clean through had it not been for a vital last-ditch tackle from Liam Scales.

Despite offering very little in an attacking sense, Celtic took the lead midway through the first half after being awarded a penalty when Regan Charles-Cook blocked a McGregor volley with his hand.

McGregor looked like he might take the spot-kick but, instead, he handed the ball to Kelechi Iheanacho, who duly stepped up and calmly sent Ward the wrong way.

It continued Iheanacho’s impressive start to life at Celtic. He was once again their brightest player and is swiftly becoming a fans’ favourite, despite the lukewarm reception he received on arrival last month.

But, despite conceding the first goal, Motherwell were still well in the game. As was the case against Braga on Thursday night, Celtic’s distribution at the back was extremely poor and invited pressure.

Kasper Schmeichel continues to look a bag of nerves and Saracchi was also guilty on a few occasions of being far too slack with the ball.

When Motherwell drew level shortly before half-time, it was Ralston’s mistake as a clumsy touch deep in his own half gifted possession back to the visitors.

The ball was worked out wide to Tawanda Maswanhise on the right and he swung a good cross into a dangerous area.

Stamatelopoulos stole a yard and got in between Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers, with a terrific diving header bulleting the ball beyond Schmeichel.

Ralston was having a shocker at right-back for Celtic. On this evidence, 19-year-old Donovan looks to be the more capable deputy to the injured Alistair Johnston.

There was an obvious sense of anxiety among the crowd as the teams re-emerged for the second half – and the mood did not improve much when Motherwell took the lead on 54 minutes.

A promising attack from the away side saw Saracchi clip the heels of Maswanhise, with referee Calum Scott pointing to the penalty spot after consulting the pitchside VAR monitor.

Stamatelopoulos stepped up and clipped the ball past Schmeichel for 2-1 as more chants of ‘sack the board’ rang around the stadium.

If Hearts had laid down a marker as title challengers on Saturday night with their dramatic last-gasp win over Hibs, this was not the response Celtic would have had in mind.

Not for the first time this season, they were completely devoid of all sense of guile and creativity. Rodgers made a triple change, with Nygren, Arne Engels, and James Forrest all coming on around the hour.

Tierney also came on to replace Saracchi as Celtic desperately searched for some kind of spark, with Nygren forcing a good low save from Ward shortly after coming on.

Toiling to create anything clear-cut under their own steam, Celtic were gifted an equaliser when a horrendous error from Motherwell keeper Ward saw him pass the ball straight to Nygren.

It was a classic example of a team trying to overplay at the back. Nygren picked his spot and rifled the ball into the net for 2-2 with just over 20 minutes left to play.

Celtic pressed for a winner and, with seven minutes of stoppage time added on at the end, they finally found it as Motherwell’s resistance cracked.

On as a substitute, Michel-Ange Balikwisha was afforded far too much space out on the right. From his cross, Maeda stooped to head the ball beyond Ward to make it 3-2.

Cue scenes of wild celebration among a crowd who, only moments earlier, were on the brink of spontaneous combustion. Maeda had got his team out of jail.