You wouldn’t have blamed some Chelsea fans if they’d, perhaps, forgotten about Hakim Ziyech’s arrival back in February given Frank Lampard’s summer spending spree.
The Blues’ capture of free-scoring Timo Werner from RB Leipzig sparked fanfare on social media, given his record in Germany, while in recent weeks, it is the performances of Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy which have received all the plaudits.
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But having had to miss the first month of the season through injury, Ziyech is making up for lost time and showcasing that he, in fact, is the summer signing that Chelsea fans should be most excited about.
Fresh from scoring his first Premier League goal against Burnley last week, his performance in the Blues’ 4-1 win over Sheffield United illustrated his creative ability and world class vision.
The ball to play in Mateo Kovacic for Chelsea’s equaliser just oozed class and summed up a display which will leave Premier League defenders quaking in their boots.
Faced with few options as he picked up the ball near the half-way line on the left, Ziyech showed brilliant vision to spot and then expertly find the darting run of Kovacic with a nonchalant pass over a static Blades backline.
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This allowed the Croatian international to run in and pull the ball back for Tammy Abraham who put the Blues back on level terms.
If that wasn’t enough of a warning for United, they then left Ziyech completely unmarked when Chelsea were awarded a corner just over ten minutes later, allowing the Blues to play it short to the Moroccan, who fizzed in a superb first-time in swinging cross bundled home by Ben Chilwell.
It was no surprise, therefore, that Ziyech also played a role in Chelsea’s third goal to cap off a man-of-the-match display.
He highlighted his ability from dead ball scenarios once again by curling in a beautiful free-kick from near the corner flag which was flicked home by Thiago Silva.
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He could, and probably, should have had a hat-trick of assists to his name just moments after Chelsea’s third, when he split Sheffield United’s defence open once again with an inch-perfect pass which released Werner, who tried to lift the ball over Sheffield United’s onrushing Aaron Ramsdale, only for the ball to drop wide of the right hand post.
The former Ajax man proved to be a cut above the opposition, as showcased when he left second-half substitute Ben Osborn for dead with an intricate drag-back and flick within seconds of the Sheffield United midfielder coming on.
But it wasn’t just the 27-year-old’s creative ability which caught the eye; his awareness also proved to be a useful outlet for Frank Lampard’s men on a number of occasions.
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He was always in space to receive the ball or was aware of those around him, with two neat little cut-backs allowing Chilwell to have another couple of cracks at goal.
All of Chelsea’s positive phases of play seemed to go through the winger in some way and his vision, as well as his willingness to collect the ball from deep, caught the eye on an impressive night under the lights at Stamford Bridge.
For a fee thought to be in the region of £33.3m, Ziyech looks a snip in this market of inflated fees.
He will pay that back ten-fold with more performances like this and Chelsea fans should be licking their lips at the talent they have on their hands.
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