ZIYECH PINPOINTS THE SECRET BEHIND HIS ASSISTS AND REFLECTS ON A SUPER START
In the aftermath of our victory over Sheffield United, Hakim Ziyech reflected on the three points and his role in three of the goals…
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea pass true test of how far they have come since £200m spending spree
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea pass true test of how far they have come since £200m spending spree
Frank Lampard’s Blues struggled against Sheffield United last season but demonstrated the progress they have made as Chelsea brushed aside the Blades at Stamford Bridge
“They were better than us physically, better than us mentally, better with the ball,” a simmering Lampard said in Yorkshire. “They were also stronger than us. With no crowd you can hear every voice. All I could hear were Sheffield United voices.”
It was the final point that stuck out. Lampard, like most head coaches, can accept defeat much easier if the team has shown some personality. They were meek, shrinking violets on that Saturday evening.
Fast-forward 17 weeks and it was a different story here. Last season this was a game Chelsea too often failed to win but they showed plenty of character to overcome a tough start for a win that sees them enter the international break with plenty of momentum.
It helps that there were eight different faces in the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge compared to Bramall Lane, although this is still a team that is not going to win a shouting contest despite an abundance of technical ability. Lampard has spoken a lot about building relationships on the pitch of late and there are undoubtedly kinks that must be ironed out. But they are getting there.
Much of the improvement in terms of enhancing the collective’s character has come from the presence of Thiago Silva, his mere existence enough to bring calm to a skittish back line. The 36-year-old is taking intensive English lessons with a focus on phrases needed for football but the leadership quality was clear well before this game.
Plenty of praise can be heaped on Edouard Mendy too, a far more commanding and instructive voice than Kepa Arrizabalaga, but as Sheffield United poured forward in the early stages it was easy to remember that this is still a team undergoing growth.
From the opening minute it was clear that Sheffield United’s voices still carried louder. Not solely on the pitch either; the encouragement from the visiting dugout produced significantly more decibels than the home bench.
The visitors deserved their early lead, David McGoldrick again the source of misery for Chelsea as he finished from a corner, but Lampard has far more technical quality at his disposal compared to the summer, summed up by Ziyech’s magic wand.
Chelsea’s potency from the flanks with Reece James playing behind Ziyech on the right and Ben Chilwell producing on the left with, in recent games, Timo Werner ahead of him, was a topic of conversation before Saturday’s match against Sheffield United.
‘At the moment we are getting praise for the sides of the pitch but as we move forward we can get better at it in terms of our execution and finishing in the box as well, but it is something I am happy with and we want to keep working on it,’ Frank Lampard said on Friday.
That the boss then labelled the 4-1 victory against the Blades, the first Chelsea win against Chris Wilder’s side under his management, as the best performance of the season indicates the team have indeed very quickly got better at the wide play, and the statistics from the game back that up.
Though quite rightly the football on the right, for which Ziyech was overwhelmingly voted man of the match, received much attention, the attacking importance of the left side cannot be ignored.
ZIYECH AND PENSIONERS FEATURE IN SHEFFIELD UNITED PROGRAMME, AVAILABLE NOW
Premier League football returns to Stamford Bridge for the first time in three weeks when we take on Sheffield United this weekend and the matchday programme for the game is available to order now, featuring an exclusive interview with in-form Hakim Ziyech and a special front cover to commemorate Remembrance Day.
With Saturday’s game our closest fixture at Stamford Bridge to 11 November, it’s an opportunity to salute everyone that has served and is serving in our armed forces, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in conflict.
There is also a photographic feature celebrating our unique history with the beloved Pensioners, while both Frank Lampard and Cesar Azpilicueta pay their own tributes within their usual columns. On top of that, club historian Rick Glanvill looks back at Stamford Bridge during the First World War in the latest instalment of Brick by Brick.
The headline feature of this weekend’s programme is an interview with Ziyech, our summer signing from Ajax who had to wait patiently on the sidelines while battling back from injury before making his mark.
Goals on each of his first two starts for the Blues, against Krasnodar and Burnley, have served notice of what the 27-year-old is capable of and, in a wide-ranging chat covering his first months at the Bridge, his mentality as a footballer and so much more, we found out what makes him tick.
‘When you play for a big team there is always pressure, and that will never change,’ said Ziyech, referring to his former club, Ajax. ‘But I was always thinking, “Yeah, there is pressure, but people make it bigger than it is.”HAKIM ZIYECH’S DEBUT DOUBLENew Blues attacker Hakim Ziyech became the first player to score in both of his first two starts for Chelsea in all competitions since Diego Costa in August 2014. Have another look at Hakim’s excellent week here…
‘I feel like you have to put pressure on yourself. Of course, there is pressure on big games, but that is people making that for you – I think you have to put it on yourself, not let other people put you under pressure.
‘You have to motivate yourself, don’t let other people motivate you, because they’re living their own life and you’re living your own life. That’s the biggest factor that I changed in Ajax, I think.’
So, how does he put that into practice?
‘Just always stay calm,’ he added. ‘Try to be calm and, good or bad, there will always be opinion from people.
‘At the end of the day, you have to make sure that, when you go from training or the game, you’re just happy in your life. Don’t let other stuff kill your happiness. I think how happy you are outside the pitch is also how happy you are on the pitch.’
A FIRST PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL LAST TIME OUT FOR OUR MAGICAL MOROCCAN
Catch up on all the latest goings on from elsewhere at the club, as Academy coaches Andy Myers and Ed Brand, and Chelsea Women boss Emma Hayes bring you up to date with their sides. For Brand and his Under-18s, it’s been quite the week as they beat Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup semi-final on Friday night but then fell at the final hurdle three days later.
For Blues fans of a certain vintage, you’ll be able to reminisce with Mark Stein about the striker’s two-goal showing against the Blades on a dramatic final day of the Premier League season in 1993/94. Steino talks us through that and what it meant to him in the latest What’s the Story.
You can order your copy of the Sheffield United programme for £3.50 (plus P&P) from our programme partner Reach Sport. There are also still copies available of tomorrow night’s programme for the game against Rennes