Ahead of the season I thought that he will have fun playing since last season we scored a lot of goals and we missed a lot of chances but the one thing we did was to create chances for most of the season - Seeing Ziyech and Pulisic on paper as our wingers I thought they would be having a blast together since one loves to cut inside and score and the other loves to pass and I personally believed that Ziyech is going to be our best passer and our main playmaker.

It's very disappointing that Ziyech at his prime can't do much in the PL at all, part from some good balls at the start of the season he looks like a flop and it has nothing to do with him not having a pre-season at this point in time because Lampard tried to get him involved and Tuchel tried to give him some extra time and not to risk him and he still isn't a big influence for us part from 1 good cross per game, basically.

No wonder we play with a back 3. I'm all in for a Bamba or Sancho buy, yes Werner missed a whole lot of chances and Giroud might be leaving but without a consistent winger that can produce goals and assists we can say goodbye to a title challenge in the future and as much as CHO looks promising we can't rely on Alonso to come in instead of Pulisic and Ziyech forever...

3 hours ago, Gol15 said:

Ahead of the season I thought that he will have fun playing since last season we scored a lot of goals and we missed a lot of chances but the one thing we did was to create chances for most of the season - Seeing Ziyech and Pulisic on paper as our wingers I thought they would be having a blast together since one loves to cut inside and score and the other loves to pass and I personally believed that Ziyech is going to be our best passer and our main playmaker.

It's very disappointing that Ziyech at his prime can't do much in the PL at all, part from some good balls at the start of the season he looks like a flop and it has nothing to do with him not having a pre-season at this point in time because Lampard tried to get him involved and Tuchel tried to give him some extra time and not to risk him and he still isn't a big influence for us part from 1 good cross per game, basically.

No wonder we play with a back 3. I'm all in for a Bamba or Sancho buy, yes Werner missed a whole lot of chances and Giroud might be leaving but without a consistent winger that can produce goals and assists we can say goodbye to a title challenge in the future and as much as CHO looks promising we can't rely on Alonso to come in instead of Pulisic and Ziyech forever...

Have to agree, I know Pulisic & CHO are seen as the future so by bringing in another winger on the surface would seem counterintuitive in an already congested squad. But, with that being said almost everyone assumes next season we will see a back 4 more often and therefore an extra space up front and if Ziyech goes I would say Sancho is the man to pursue.

I think Jadon is a straight baller, if we signed Pulisic because he was the closest player to Hazard's dribbling, then Jadon is the closest in terms of output (equal amount of goals & assists).

 

Photograph: David Klein/Reuters Photograph: David Klein/Reuters Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

Edited March 17, 20215 yr by erskblue

As frustrating as he's been in the league he could be a big player in the CL run.

Worked his arse off tonight and pushed the ball forward whenever he had the opportunity. Very pleased.

Still thought he was our worst player tonight. Too many flicks and lost possession more than anyone. But at least he did do some good stuff too and was in the right place to score that all important goal - even though the keeper should have saved it!

 

His goal could push him to keep working hard for the team, I think I saw him making a bad pass a few times but part from that he had a good game.

1 minute ago, Nibs said:

Still thought he was our worst player tonight. Too many flicks and lost possession more than anyone. But at least he did do some good stuff too and was in the right place to score that all important goal - even though the keeper should have saved it!

 

If the keeper had saved it like he really should have. Ziyech's thread could have been quite hot tonight for the wrong reasons. Far too careless in possession , definitely a luxury player. He does though get some credit for his defensive work from the front.

I lost hope in him but on the big games he has done well. Tonight was good! His shot from outside the box was spectacular. Would've been candidate for best goal in the CL

10 hours ago, Nibs said:

Still thought he was our worst player tonight. Too many flicks and lost possession more than anyone. But at least he did do some good stuff too and was in the right place to score that all important goal - even though the keeper should have saved it!

 

I don't necessarily mind this. He's looking to play the more difficult passes to force some creativity out of us. Obviously the lazy and cheap giveaways are something he should cut out of his game, but I feel when it comes to making things happen in attack, it's good that he is trying these things. I also don't think he was our worst player last night, I thought he was excellent until he started to get a little bit more tired.

Tuchel's said after the game Ziyech lost the ball too much which is true but also telling about Tuchel's philosophy. Score, almost score another beauty and make good moves is not enough. Which naturally is true in football but not many managers would have brought that up I think. 

Ziyech has to be willing to change to play a system not just relying on his natural talent. I think he has but there is that artistry that lifts its head in games. 

But his talent is undeniable. Shooting, vision and passing. At best up there with world class players. 

Tuchel has definitely seen something he likes with Ziyech because he's giving him a lot of chances, including starting both the games against Atletico. 

It was a better performance from him last night compared to how he was playing about a month ago. 

Good to see him score though as we desperately need to see our attackers contributing more. 

FFS, all of a sudden my Ajax supporting colleagues mail me today practically claiming Zyiech's goal and Chelsea's progress into the quarter finals as an Ajax achievement 

 

He may appear lazy and sulk when things are not going his way but he is clearly the most creative player in the squad and we can afford to have someone with a passing accuracy of 80% and trying those high risk balls in behind when everyone else is operating at an accuracy of mid 90's.

I think Tuchel prefers having him in the team due to the angles he opens up on the right, defenders have to cover the inside when Ziyech is on the ball which creates heaps of space for Reece/CHO to run into.

I think Tuchel mostly would want at least one of Mount and Ziyech on the pitch. Playing risky passes will inevitably affect his passing accuracy but that's to be expected and to be forgiven - and necessary to create chances. If he only gets those simple passes better adjusted - because they are incredibly weak sauce much too often - he'll already be a much better fit even though he still isn't nowhere his best form.

I thought that yesterday he was good. Yes, he lost the ball a few times, but instead of sulking he just got on with it and tried to recover. He ran and defended as hard as the other two up front, and he tried a few passes behind the lines that were not picked up by other players. The moment the team gels, those passes will create chances. Overall, I though that he did well.

6 minutes ago, RMH said:

I thought that yesterday he was good. Yes, he lost the ball a few times, but instead of sulking he just got on with it and tried to recover. He ran and defended as hard as the other two up front, and he tried a few passes behind the lines that were not picked up by other players. The moment the team gels, those passes will create chances. Overall, I though that he did well.

Yeah he pressed well for sure. I think with our struggle for creativity he is needed. Sure the pass doesn't ways come off but he has great vision if others make the runs. 

I also thought his corners were a huge improvement over Mounts recent efforts too.

7 minutes ago, Spiller86 said:

Yeah he pressed well for sure. I think with our struggle for creativity he is needed. Sure the pass doesn't ways come off but he has great vision if others make the runs. 

I also thought his corners were a huge improvement over Mounts recent efforts too.

Man, those corners though. Gotta be honest: not sure I saw a single good corner since TT took over. Maybe 1-2 at absolute max. edit: and I don't mean mediocre but abysmal kind of corners - that kind you got to be happy it didn't end in your own goal.

Edited March 18, 20215 yr by weetee

The main problem I have with him is he seems pretty weak on his right foot. He scored with his right last night but it wasn't a particularly clean strike. Always bothers me when a top professional footballer isn't comfortable using both feet.

3 hours ago, just said:

The main problem I have with him is he seems pretty weak on his right foot. He scored with his right last night but it wasn't a particularly clean strike. Always bothers me when a top professional footballer isn't comfortable using both feet.

I think it may be a mental thing with Hakim. I've seen him score outside the box on his right before but it seems like when he takes shots recently he isn't generating a lot of power. I think he's still finding his feet in the new environment.

I've noticed when cutting in on his left and shooting he doesn't always pick out the far corner but, instead his shots have been quite centeral or swerving back to the right of the goal.

Granted though he does appear very one footed, while a limitation it's not always a bad thing since players like Robben have flourished for us in the past.

7 hours ago, weetee said:

Man, those corners though. Gotta be honest: not sure I saw a single good corner since TT took over. Maybe 1-2 at absolute max. edit: and I don't mean mediocre but abysmal kind of corners - that kind you got to be happy it didn't end in your own goal.

It's a long way from Zouma smashing them in from practically  every corner at the start of the season.

Ziyech's delivery is better than Mount by a distance. I suspect James' might be as well.

Happy Birthday to him, 28 years old today!

16 hours ago, just said:

The main problem I have with him is he seems pretty weak on his right foot. He scored with his right last night but it wasn't a particularly clean strike. Always bothers me when a top professional footballer isn't comfortable using both feet.

Usually left footer are very one footed

A lot of praise for Ziyech although imo I don't think he show anything for the past few games that say he deserve to play or start. 

Having said that, I think people forget for a short stretch Ziyech in early season, he was our best player, he pretty much made everything tick.

IMO Ziyech is a good player, a bit limited so you have to play him in his best role otherwise he will struggle.