Hakim Ziyech experienced another extremely frustrating evening as a Chelsea player on Thursday evening. The attacker annex midfielder started visiting Manchester United (4-1 loss) on the bench and was allowed to show up ten minutes before the end. The facial expression of the former Ajax player spoke volumes. In England, however, people mainly pay attention to the chat he had with Erik ten Hag after the final whistle.
United, which is now assured of participation in the Champions League next season, took the victory thanks to a surplus of effectiveness, because Chelsea was certainly equal in the first hour. Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford finally made the difference by pulling the trigger and it was only in the last minute that João Félix saved the West London honour.
EtH: siap kau main sama martial? Ziyech: insha Allah https://t.co/NBc33hF9l3
— Muhammad Resa P (@resapratomo) May 26, 2023
In England, however, it is not just about United’s resounding victory. After the final whistle, Ten Hag and Ziyech were caught by the cameras. You can see how the two exchange some words and seem to be having a good time. In his hand, Ziyech holds the shirt of Tyrell Malacia that he managed to get after the final whistle. Ten Hag and Ziyech eventually part ways with a telling hand.
Ziyech spontaneously brightens up when he speaks to Ten Hag again.
Just before the meeting, Ziyech entered the field with a bewildered face when he had to come on for Noni Madueke. The former Ajax player came in, just like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and David Fofana, but the three seemed to have little interest in it, Süleyman Öztürk also saw. Football International. “The body language of those three substitutes from Chelsea… They don’t feel like playing football. I understand at 4-0 and a trainer like Frank Lampard, but it’s all very painful.”
For Ziyech it is not a season to look back on with great satisfaction. The Moroccan international has only appeared six times in a Premier League game. While he was assured of a basic place shortly after his transfer from Ajax, he has now fallen far down the pecking order. Last winter, a departure to Ajax and Paris Saint-Germain seemed to be in the works, but it never came to that. The team from Amsterdam was only interested in a rental deal, while a transfer to PSG ricocheted at the very last minute.