Ao Tanaka had quite the night on Wednesday as his first Premier League goal helped fire Leeds to victory over Chelsea.
The Japan international rifled a Goal of the Season contender beyond Robert Sanchez to put Leeds 2-0 up after just 43 minutes, and delivered a masterful display overall to help secure a 3-1 win.
Ao Tanaka received an abundance of messages on Instagram from his Leeds teammates after his stellar performances – while there was also a funny exchange with his fellow countryman and Celtic star Daizen Maeda.
Ao Tanaka calls Daizen Maeda out on Instagram after Leeds United 3-1 Chelsea
The Celtic No.38 appeared to think MOT was a term for Man of the Match as he wrote #MOT in the comments section of Tanaka’s post.
What a win! Who was your Man of the Match? 🔥
In response, the Leeds No.22 said: “Because MOT isn’t Man of the Match.”
Maeda then took a stab at what it could mean, replying: “More! And… Things?”
Not quite, although Tanaka – who Daniel Farke was “furious” with – can explain all the quirks about Leeds when he next sees the Celtic attacker on international duty with Japan.
Ao Tanaka can surely have no more doubts about his quality after Chelsea masterclass
Tanaka recently expressed doubts over his ability to perform in the Premier League, admitting: “The Premier League is the best league in the world and every game is such a difficult game.
“The opponents are so good, but this is what I want. I’m not good enough at the moment but I enjoy this time to find what I need to do as a football player so I will try everything.”
Re-live Ao Tanaka’s rocket against Chelsea 🚀
That was understandable, as the 27-year-old started four consecutive games on the bench against Wolves, Bournemouth, Tottenham and Burnley despite being named in the starting XI for the first two matches against Everton and Arsenal.
Now – however – he can have no more doubts.
Tanaka tore the reigning FIFA Club World Cup champions apart, making a £106.8m midfielder in Enzo Fernandez look ordinary while also scoring a screamer.
It was a coming-of-age performance from the man born in Kawasaki, who will now hopefully start to grow as a Premier League footballer.
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