Hakim Ziyech’s Blues career may have begun with injury, but the fully fit star is now proving his money’s worth and feels settled.
A pre-season knee injury caused Ziyech to miss Chelsea’s opening four Premier League games. He returned to action last month, making three cameo appearances before finally entering the line-up at Krasnodar last week.
The former Ajax man performed strongly in the Champions League win and got the nod again from Frank Lampard to start against Burnley on Saturday.
And Ziyech didn’t disappoint, offering the Blues a taste of what’s around the corner with a fearless performance at Turf Moor.
The 27-year-old added an extra dimension to Lampard’s attack and dictated the match pace while laying out some exquisite passes to his teammates, leading many to label him as the best player out on the pitch.
2 – Hakim Ziyech is the first player to score in both of his first two starts for Chelsea in all competitions since Diego Costa in August 2014. Arrival. #BURCHE pic.twitter.com/MHbBXefa1d
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 31, 2020
Registering his first Premier League goal and assist in his first start in the English top-flight was a fitting way to cap things off.
“Life at Chelsea is good, I am where I am supposed to be,” Ziyech told the club’s website after the 3-0 win over Burnley.
“I feel good and feel at home and everything is fine.”
Chelsea boss Lampard praised the Moroccan for his confidence and personality in his post-match conference.
“It is one of the most important things, that you play with confidence and don’t be scared of making mistakes,” continued Ziyech.
He added: “It has been a really good week for me and hopefully we can continue.”
“Especially after the European game, coming here [to Burnley], I think we did a really good game. We started well and gave Burnley problems. They had one big chance at the beginning, but after that we controlled the game.”
Kurt Zouma and Timo Werner were also on target to help Chelsea break into the top-four spots in the Premier League.