In recent fixtures, Hakim Ziyech has impressed for Chelsea, scoring and assisting once in his last three games. After his winning goal against Malmo FF in their last Champions League outing, some Blues fans believe the Moroccan international has been scapegoated by others.
So far this season, the star has scored just two goals, both of which have come during continental matches. However, his place in Chelsea's starting lineup has been somewhat compromised. Ziyech started only twice in the club's last 10 Premier League games.
After a statistic about Ziyech was shared on Twitter by popular Chelsea fansite CFCDaily, fans came to the star's defense. According to the tweet, the former Ajax playmaker has made 10 key passes in his last four appearances. This includes the five key passes he notably made during the game against Malmo FF yesterday.
Although the star has struggled to perform for Chelsea this season, the recent stat reveal has brought some fans to his defense:
Ziyech can be more clinical: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel
After Ziyech scored the only goal against Malmo, Tuchel expressed happiness for the star, but also offered some advice as well:
"A goal like this helps the most, so I’m happy for him and for Callum with the assist. It was decisive. We always rely on his work-rate and his intensity in counter-pressing, his awareness. There is space for him to improve in decision making and connections on the pitch to be more consistent."
"With the ball he can still be more clinical and grow more into our rhythm. The injury in his shoulder cost him a lot, even if he pushed hard to come back early. He is still not 100 per cent free, and especially the offensive players love freedom in turning."
The Chelsea boss also reflected on the overall result that sees Chelsea sit three points behind group leaders Juventus:
“It was a deserved win, a close one. There are a lot of reasons why you can stumble today, the pitch wasn’t in good condition, two away games and a lot of travelling, some injured players, but we don’t need to look for reasons because we got the job done.”