Media sprinkle with high numbers after ‘magical’ Ziyech performance with ‘magic balls’

Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 9:43 PM• Mart van Mourik

The British media ran out of superlatives on Sunday evening to describe Hakim Ziyech’s performance. The Chelsea attacking midfielder played a crucial part in the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League with a nice goal from outside the box. Almost all media rate Ziyech’s game with a figure that is around 8 or 9, while the goalscorer himself was also very happy afterwards.

Ziyech got the ball on the edge of the penalty area in the 48th minute and curled it right into the far corner from there: 1-0. The hanging right winger was close again a minute later from the same spot, but this time goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saved his hard shot. “How good was the goal? I think the goal deserves a 10. At first I thought I hit him too hard. But he came in,” said Ziyech, who left the field in the final phase with a standing ovation. The former Ajax player suffered from cramps and was replaced by Saúl Ñíguez in the 91st minute.

Immediately afterwards, manager Thomas Tuchel also lacked words to describe the game of his pupil. “It was one of his best games for Chelsea. He was very reliable on the ball when it was needed. At first I had the feeling that he would pass something, but he descended at exactly the right time. His technique was brilliant,” the coach concluded about Ziyech’s first Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge.

“Hakim Ziyech deserved the standing ovation he is getting,” said Matthew Upson, former England and Arsenal defender. BBC Radio. “And he doesn’t get that ovation just for his goal, but it’s for his overall contribution today. He was the key to success at Chelsea: he made smart runs, did very well coming in from the right with his left leg and some of his passes in the penalty area were brilliant. He played a very strong game.” In the player ratings of the BBC gets Ziyech, because of his ‘miracle strike‘, with a 7.89 Chelsea’s highest mark.

Sky Sports also praises the maker of the opening goal against Tottenham and gives him an 8. “Chelsea were very sloppy with their chances, but found their way in the second half shooting boots. And how: Lloris was transfixed when Ziyech curled the ball into the top corner in an improbable way.” The Guardian, which also gives an 8, writes that ‘Harry Kane would wish to have a reporter like Ziyech in his squad’. “This was Ziyech at his best: cutting in from the right, the ball on his left foot and a shot that wickedly curled in the far corner. Hugo Lloris could only watch helplessly as the ball flew past him and Chelsea, who had looked so irritable and tired of late, finally felt their season coming back to life.”

Just like Tuchel saw too Sunday Express today one of Ziyech’s best ever matches and rates his play with an 8. “He was a constant tease for Tottenham’s defense and gave his opponents a handful of work, with a number of magic balls. Immediately after the break he broke the spell with a pin point strike, which ended in the top corner.” The highest ratings were given by The Evening Standard and Sports Illustrated: a 9. “A man, or rather a wizard with a mission. The passes he made were of an unparalleled quality and he took matters into his own hands when the others dared not,” writes the latter medium.