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Chelsea: Three lessons learnt in snoozefest at Barnsley

By Hridyam Arora

Chelsea's English striker Tammy Abraham scores the opening goal during the English League Cup third round football match between Chelsea and Barnsley at Stamford Bridge in London on September 23, 2020. (Photo by NEIL HALL / various sources / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's English striker Tammy Abraham scores the opening goal during the English League Cup third round football match between Chelsea and Barnsley at Stamford Bridge in London on September 23, 2020. (Photo by NEIL HALL / various sources / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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BARNSLEY, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 11: (L-R) Callum Styles and Alex Mowatt of Barnsley battle with Hakim Ziyech of Chelsea during The Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between Barnsley and Chelsea at Oakwell Stadium on February 11, 2021 in Barnsley, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
BARNSLEY, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 11: (L-R) Callum Styles and Alex Mowatt of Barnsley battle with Hakim Ziyech of Chelsea during The Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between Barnsley and Chelsea at Oakwell Stadium on February 11, 2021 in Barnsley, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /

3. What is going on with Hakim Ziyech?

As I said above, there were far more negatives than positives in the game—well, here’s another. Hakim Ziyech’s performance against Barnsley was one of the biggest negatives of that game, if not the season. Now look, I won’t lie, Ziyech is one of my favourite players in football—I love him—but the player who played on the right flank against Barnsley? That’s not Ziyech; no way.

Ziyech possibly had his worst game in a Chelsea shirt on Thursday and it happened against a team that’s literally in a league below the Blues’. That’s just not what is expected from a player like Ziyech. He knows that, we know that and Tuchel knows that.

He lost possession more times than anyone else on the pitch, and he didn’t even play the whole game. He was subbed off, and rightly so, because it just wasn’t the night for him. The Moroccan also misplaced the most passes in the team. He’ll get back to his best soon enough, but it’s just so surprising to see him play like this.

It’s not like we need to worry too much about Ziyech’s performance from the game though. Yes, we all know that that’s not the Ziyech Chelsea bought from Ajax. He looked sloppy in possession and his passing was just horrendous. There were a lot of things wrong with his performance and as I said, it’s just surprising to see it happen against a team that is not even in Chelsea’s division.

He’s Ziyech, you know? He’ll figure it out, at least I hope he does. He can’t take his position for granted and honestly, nobody truly knows what’s going on in the magician’s mind at the moment. He can’t play like that when Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi are playing so, so well, game after game. Ziyech is one of the best players the Blues have right now, on paper at least. He needs to show us that side of himself, as he’s crucial for Chelsea’s potential success—again, on paper.

Next. Chelsea: FA Cup match put Mason Mount’s importance on display. dark

What did you learn in the match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!

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