"A social experiment to test our patience" "Horrific excuse for a footballer" - Chelsea fans lose their minds over 29-year-old's 'appalling' display against Salzburg
Chelsea fans were left furious with Hakim Ziyech following his display against RB Salzburg in their Champions League Group E clash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, September 14.
The Blues could only gain a point against the Austrian champions in Graham Potter's first game in charge, managing a 1-1 draw after going ahead early in the second half. Chelsea are still looking for their first European win of the season.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring in the 48th minute with a smart finish, before Noah Okafor leveled for Salzburg with just 15 minutes remaining.
The spoils are shared this evening.
@WhaleFinApp | #UCL https://t.co/dAdE2W3RbF
Potter's side certainly improved from their previous outing where they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb, a result that preceded Thomas Tuchel losing his job. Potter is seen as a long-term option, joining the Blues on a five-year deal. He experimented in the clash, with Raheem Sterling appearing to play as a wing-back at times.
However, one tactical decision fans weren't impressed with was bringing on Ziyech in the 80th minute. The former Ajax winger has been poor this season and was ineffective once again. He blew a great a chance by tamely striking the ball at the goalkeeper in the 88th minute.
The Moroccan has made four appearances this season and is yet to score or register an assist and Chelsea fans have clearly had enough of the winger. After the full-time whistle, supporters took to Twitter to slam the playmaker for yet another subpar performance:
Glad Azpilicueta and Ziyech got their "it's a clean slate for everyone lads" cameos, now let's never see either on the pitch again
ziyech is a social experiment to test our patience he’s just there to make people angry
@Iewdawg No manager can save him
It’s painful to watch Hakim Ziyech play football.
Also, I hope Hakim Ziyech knows where the door is but the idiot would probably miss it.
Terminate Ziyech’s contract I swear this guy isn’t a serious footballer.
Hakim Ziyech is an embarrassment. What a horrific excuse for a footballer.
And yet again. Another appalling performance from Hakim Ziyech. When he came in, he wasn’t improving our game at all. Too many reckless passes, poor decision making and on top of that those horrendous crosses, like what the heck is he doing, ffs 😞😭
Graham Potter insists Chelsea will improve soon
The Blues will now not play another game until October due to their weekend clash with Liverpool being postponed, followed by the international break.
While Potter claimed that Chelsea's defensive performance was quite good, he insisted that they will need to improve at the back. The former Brighton & Hove Albion manager told BT Sport (as per BBC Sport):
"We're disappointed with the result. I thought the boys gave everything. We scored a good goal, but lost a bit in the second half but their goalkeeper has made some good saves.
"It is what it is, we have to dust ourselves down. Personality and application was good, we will get better. We got Raheem in one-on-one situations quite often and the goal was a good result of that."
He added:
"It's always irritating when you concede a goal. Overall the defensive performance was quite good, it's just the little details we will have to improve.
"It has not been easy for the boys, they have responded to us really well over the last few days and it's a point we will have to take and get better. The attitude has been fantastic, no complaints apart from the fact we have not taken three points."
The Graham Potter era begins… 🔥💙 https://t.co/w1Dh3jAOnK
Tonight's draw puts Chelsea at the bottom of their group table behind AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb and Salzburg.