Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech was recalled by Thomas Tuchel for the 2-0 victory against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last night.
The Moroccan international had not made an appearance since the 0-0 draw versus Wolves last month and it was clear he was trying to impress his manager with his performance.
Ziyech delivered some excellent passes, one of which led to the Blues’ second goal, and while most fans on Twitter were happy with what they saw from the 28-year-old, some did criticise his finishing:
Man is having a masterclass without the goals😭
— CFC VED⭐⭐💙💙 (@VEDCfc1204) January 5, 2022
His shooting is awful
— Joseph Carter (@JSJC2991) January 5, 2022
true for all our forwards most games 🥲
— CFC_Shiven (@ShivenG9) January 5, 2022
he needs game time and he will be better ,its normal if a player don’t get much time play to have this finishing
— Noureddine (@Nouredd12691429) January 5, 2022
Still loved his performance tonight
— NYCBLUES (@NYCBLUESCFC) January 5, 2022
He needs to take these chances to be considered in the lineups to come but he still was very very good tonight
— J 🐳 (@RockTheBabyRuss) January 5, 2022
Literally. He deserved that goal
— Lee (@CFCLBv4) January 5, 2022
To be fair to Ziyech, he hadn’t played a single minute of first-team football for two and a half weeks before yesterday’s game, so he was likely to be slightly rusty. Having said that, though, his nine goals in 58 appearances for Chelsea is hardly a great return considering he scored far more frequently for Ajax.
The winger’s all-round game does mitigate his mediocre shooting somewhat so Tuchel may well consider giving him more game time in upcoming fixtures based on his good display against Spurs.