Denis Zakaria is not known for his scoring prowess.
He might be a combative midfielder, with an eye for a tackle.
But rippling the back of the net generally doesn’t appear on his CV.
The 25-year-old scored his first goal since February in the 2-1 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb earlier in November.
That strike marked his debut for Chelsea after joining from Juventus on loan in the summer.
It was also just his second goal in nine months.
So, to see the Switzerland international rattle a picture perfect free-kick in off the crossbar in training may come as a surprise to many.
Zakaria zings a freekick
The Swiss national team’s Instagram captured Zakaria curl a quite brilliant effort from outside the area, kissing the woodwork on the way in.
We must mention a few caveats with this goal, however.
For one, there isn’t a wall or even a single player – other than a goalkeeper- standing in-between Zakaria and his target.
Secondly, the ‘goalkeeper’ doesn’t appear to be a goalkeeper at all, but a teammate roped in to try stop the attempt.
This isn’t detracting anything away from the free-kick; it is a beauty.
But perhaps just keep in mind the environment you scored the set-piece in before lining up to hit one in an actual match, Denis.
He would love to crack one as sweetly at the World Cup this winter.
The Juventus loanee will be part of the Switzerland squad aiming to build upon their quarter-final exit at the European Championships last summer.
There’s a high chance Zakaria will rack up more minutes in Qatar than he has since moving to Chelsea.
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