Chelsea summer signing Hakim Ziyech did not have his best game against Manchester City yesterday, and he was subjected to stinging criticism from pundit Graeme Souness afterwards.
The Morocco international joined Chelsea from Ajax in the summer, having looked a hugely promising talent during his time in the Eredivisie, catching the eye in both the Dutch top flight and in the Champions League.
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Still, during Chelsea’s current poor run of form, it does seem like Ziyech could be doing more, and Souness was clearly hugely unimpressed with an apparent lack of effort from the winger in the 3-1 defeat to Man City yesterday.
Speaking afterwards on Sky Sports, as quoted by the Metro, former Liverpool star Souness did not hold back as he laid into Ziyech for neglecting to do the basics for his side when they needed him.
“Just watch Ziyech. He wanders in, watch him! Big players don’t act like that. He needs to sprint back as fast as he can,” Souness said.
“They don’t stand and watch the game like this. ‘It’s not my problem, it’s someone else’s problem.’
“I’m not saying he’s going to race back and make the difference but he needs to get back. Kevin de Bruyne has followed up, he still wants to be part of it.
“He wasn’t bothered. He didn’t do the basics. He pretends he slips. What does that say about me as a player?
“I’m not saying he would have prevented the goal but you never know. That must be happening in training and as a manager you have to point it out.”
Chelsea fans will no doubt hope Ziyech can improve in upcoming games, as he’s got superb natural talent when he’s on his game.
For the moment, however, Frank Lampard seems to be struggling to get enough out of this expensively-assembled squad.