Chelsea news: A good way to start the tie, believes Hakim Ziyech

Attacker Hakim Ziyech feels that Chelsea could have won the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur by more goals. However, the Moroccan was still happy with the effort the team put on the night to get a convincing 2-0 lead. He was playing on the right side of midfield in the first half and was pushed slightly further upfield in a front three after the break. Irrespective of the position, Ziyech continued to pull the strings, playing an important role for the team. It was his free-kick that created a major panic in the Spurs’ backline, which eventually ended up in the net to put the home side 2-0 up.

“It was a good performance from the team and a good way to start these two games,” Ziyech said, as per their club’s website. “We put pressure on them and didn’t give them time. We did good in the first half especially. We got a quick 1-0 and that’s what we wanted, because we knew they would have to come out and make some more mistakes, and in the end they did.

“10 minutes before half-time we got the second one and had a good feeling in the dressing room. We could have killed the game in the second half. We had bigger chances than they had, but 2-0, we can be happy with that. It was a derby, a semi-final, so we had to be sharp and focused, and we were. We got the job done but there is still a game next week so hopefully we finish it there.”

Read more – Carabao Cup: Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur in first leg semi-final

Ziyech: We have got on the right track

Ziyech then went on to explain the change in shape with which Chelsea FC played against Antonio Conte’s side. “It was a bit different than usual. We had four at the back, normally we have five, so that gave us more opportunities up front. 

“They didn’t know whether to follow the midfielders or step out. That was the biggest win for us. We had some difficult games, some injuries, Covid, but how we have dealt with it as a team is pretty good. We have got on the right track, and now let’s keep focused.”

Manager Thomas Tuchel was equally happy with the outcome. “I liked the game a lot,” he said, as quoted by their club’s website. “This is far from normal, how we performed today against a Tottenham who at the moment are so strong, so compact and so full of confidence. We had two late last minute bits of bad news with Thiago and N’Golo, who were both supposed to start. 

“So we decided yesterday to maybe switch to a back four and the guys were very open, very committed, very focused, to play like how we played. So it’s good and it’s not fair to demand performances more or less out of nothing, like from Saul, Hakim and Malang. All three were outstanding today and that makes us very happy because it was a very deserved win in a big match against a very strong opponent.”