The numbers and reasons behind Chelsea’s abysmal attack

Hakim Ziyech is one player that was perhaps under-utilized this season, considering his impact last season. With a requirement of playing one-third of the available league minutes, Ziyech ranked 16th for minutes played, 7th for total Shot-Creating Actions (67), and first for Shot-Creating Actions per 90 (4.57).

Creating shots is the first step to shooting at goal and scoring, and the Moroccan played a significant role in shot creation, despite not playing that many minutes last season. Ziyech has been heavily criticized in his time at Chelsea, however, the former Ajax star has been consistent in the things he has been able to control. He also ranked 9th for Goal-Creating Actions (GCA) and 6th for Goal-Creating Actions per 90.

Ziyech was significant offensively in more obvious ways too. Despite playing 37% of available league minutes, he ranked 2nd for total big chances created (9) and a distant first for big chances created per 90 (0.61). Ziyech alone explains a significant portion of Chelsea’s drop-off in attacking numbers.

In Passes into the penalty area last season, Ziyech ranked 6th in total and 3rd per 90 minutes. The Chelsea forward contributed his fair share to ball progression in carries, ranking 4th for total carries into the penalty area (20), and 3rd for carries into the penalty box per 90 (1.36). No, he didn’t play a key role in the team last season, but his contributions relative to the minutes he played, indicate that he was a significant part of the Blues’ success attacking-wise.