I would still rate Kovacic's pass to Lukaku higher. The pass Barkley played to Havertz is something we need to see more of though. Until the subs were made, it was only Jorginho that was trying to play these passes.
And I would have Barkley in the team ahead of Ziyech right now.
I think Ziyech should still start since Mount is ill. Ziyech was just unlucky against Newcastle. He could easily have scored 2 with the offside and the shot that hit the post. His counter pressing was amazing and he even took a yellow card from a tactical foul on Saint Maximan.
But how many times do you say Ziyech was unlucky when game after game he doesn't make a telling contribution?
The lad is World class. The formation we play doesn't really suit him because he thrives on having a free role but we can't just give up on a foreign player after 1 and a quater seasons. It takes time to adapt to the English game and he has been very unlucky with injuries just when he is heating up. It happened at the end of Lampards reign and also happened in Pre season when he was hands down our best player.
Don't think he's demonstrated that yet in a Chelsea shirt.
He hasn't started that many games for us. I agree that he hasn't set the roof on fire with his performances but Neither has Kai havertz ( Apart from UCL Final) I will judge Ziyech once he has a run of games as a starter .
That's not how it works in top level football though. We can't give everyone a run of starts just because they've performed in a much inferior league. We have many talented guys that would apply to. Ziyech got plenty of chances and didn't really take them.
He has been here for a year and 3 months. I won't pass judgement until at least the end of this season. I don't know what you mean by he hasn't taken his chances. He was big for us against Athletico in the quaterfinals and twice against Man City at the Etihad and in the FA cup Final. He is in direct competition with Mason Mount who was our player of the season and has been an able sub for him when he is injured.
The result was definitly not down to Barkley. As a matter of fact I think he did very well and gave us something we've been missing for a while. He's a top passer in attacking areas and he showed that yesterday too. On the contrary I believe we may see a lot more of Barkley as he offers something different to the rest of them. And he's much better than Ziyech.
Yup has all the other tools but when it comes to that final pass, movement or shot he gets it wrong 9 out 10 and thar simply is not good enough at the top end. It was not even good enough for Villa last season.
With ross it is all about his decision making. Physically he is terrific, balll striking wise he is among the best in our squad, his passing technique is also terrific, but his decision making is just head scratcher. So once in a blue moon when his decision making clicked, you get prime Zidane instead of Ross
