Frank Leboeuf has labelled Hakim Ziyech’s latest performance as “poor” after watching him in action for Chelsea against Southampton on Tuesday night.
Chelsea edged past Southampton into the Carabao Cup quarter finals after winning 4-3 on penalties. The Blues continued their strong recent record in penalty shootouts after the game finished 1-1 in 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are without a number of important players right now because of injuries, but it’s not denting their progress in an impressive season so far.
Ex-Chelsea man Leboeuf did pick out Ziyech as a negative last night, though. The £33million attacker was given a chance in the starting line-up, but didn’t do enough to convince Leboeuf:
“Chelsea went through with a new defence with not much experience. I saw a good Kovacic. A poor Ziyech,” he told ESPN.
Ziyech can’t knock Tuchel’s door down after Southampton display
In fairness, Ziyech’s corner assisted Kai Havertz’s goal against the Saints during the midweek cup tie. However, he was taken off midway through the second half by the manager.
The 28-year-old didn’t leave a massive impression on the game to suggest he’s ready to force his way into the Premier League XI. Therefore, he can’t really go chasing Tuchel demanding more starts.
It’s extremely frustrating to see the left-footed playmaker struggle to create too much when he’s on the pitch and his confidence looks shot right now. Unfortunately, he’s not grabbing matches like he needs to in order to move up Tuchel’s pecking order.
Injuries to teammates mean the door is open for him, but it feels like he’s running out of opportunities. Tuchel may have some sympathy because he did claim last week that he thinks Ziyech may still be struggling with the long-term effects of a shoulder injury.
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