Since the World Cup we have seen some magic moments from Daizen Maeda.
A run from the half way line and curling shot into the Hibernian net;
Characteristic speed and anticipation to latch into Alfredo Morelos’s loose pass for the opener at Ibrox;
Cutting onto Alex Bernabei’s monster pack pass before setting up Jota’s opener verus Kilmarnock in the league; and
Chesting Kyle Lafferty’s clearance into the Hampden net in the League Cup semi-final.
Japan defeated both Germany and Spain in the Group Stages, and Maeda would go onto score in the last 16 tie with Croatia. His work rate and pressing ability in particular was praised.
The 25-year-old was lauded in the tournament as a pressing monster for the Japanese side, and his role was to hound the opposition for 60 minutes or so before giving way for more creative players. This selfless role was recognised, aided in part by the increasing awareness amongst supporters of pressing statistics, for example.
Since his return to club duty, has there been more to Maeda’s game than some magic moments, and has his overall performance changed?
Expected Scoring Contribution
Maeda has weighed in with three goals and one assist in the 433 minutes completed since World Cup return.
As you all know by now, expected goals and assists provide a more accurate assessment of performance and potential future outcome.
Have these changed?

As you can see, he has maintained his xG at 0.34 per 90minutes and his xA has decreased to 0.26 in the six fixtures selected for in the post Qatar period.
Even his contribution to establishing passes or secondary assists has declined. From providing 0.94 passes before the assisting pass pre–World Cup that has fallen to 0.62.
Short article then?
Well, let’s consider a wider set of metrics to assess his overall contribution.
Off The Ball
An effective way of assessing movement off the ball, and the ability to get behind the opposition is the use of pacing data.
Specifically, pack receives are where a player successfully receives a forward pass from a colleague which takes opponents out the game. Think of it as a proxy for off the ball movement, finding space, control and anticipation.

Maeda’s receive packing score has increased 47% in matches post World Cup.
Not surprisingly, the number of possessions he is now getting in the opposition box averages 6.86 post World Cup but was only 3.42 prior.

The number of defenders the winger takes out the game per 90 minutes has gone up from 1.28 to 5.4 post World Cup. This is the most telling packing statistic as if you are getting behind defenders, you have usually badly messed up the opposition structures.
Involvement
It seems the Japan player is simply getting more involved in matches.
A simple count of on ball actions shows this.

Maeda is involved in 48.85 on ball actions per 90m compared to 30.91 prior to the World Cup. His in-game involvement has increased 58%.
Press Machine
Surely he is not pressing more? How could that be possible?
Maeda is renowned for his hunting of the opposition back line at pace. Such diligence and work rate bore fruit at Ibrox with a goal, and he is in the 99th percentile according to Statsbomb for pressure regains.
In terms of pressures applied to the opposition per 90 minutes, here are his pre- and post-World Cup numbers:

He is applying 29% more pressure to the opposition in matches since the World Cup than before.
Statsbomb also loves his overall game as per the On Ball Value metric they calculate. His overall average OBV per 90 minutes in the SPFL is 0.17 but has been 0.37 in the matches since Argentina were crowned champions.
Summary
Whilst Maeda’s magic moments may lead one to surmise that post World Cup he is more potent and more creative the facts are that his goal scoring and creating data is much the same as it was.
However, there is significant uplifts in his off the ball movement and, remarkably for such a pressing machine, his pressing data.
Consequently, his overall involvement in matches is much more influential and he is increasingly responsible for taking opposition defenders out of the game.
The question is: is this confidence (and temporary) or Maeda using the World Cup experience to feel empowered to maximise his latent potential?
I do wonder of the World Cup participants have all gained a post tournament adrenalin shot as Aaron Mooy’s form has similarly improved post Qatar. Will there be a crash later in the season?
All I can do is continue to monitor but at the moment this is Maeda’s butterfly moment so let us enjoy its beauty.