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Ziyech delighted to score ‘important’ goal for Chelsea against Atletico Madrid
The Morocco international has reacted after helping the Blues advance into the last eight of the European competition
Hakim Ziyech has expressed his delight to score an ‘important’ goal for Chelsea against Atletico Madrid in Wednesday’s Champions League game.
The Morocco international has struggled for game time since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard as manager of the Blues.
The forward was afforded his seventh appearance in the European competition this season and made the most of the opportunity to score his first goal for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Ziyech combined well with Timo Werner to open the scoring in the encounter before Emerson sealed the victory moments before the end of the game.
The 27-year-old is pleased with his performance and his side’s progress to the quarter-finals of the European competition.
"Some difficult moments in the game but for most of the time, we had it under control. It was an important goal and I had to wait a long time for it,” Ziyech told BT Sport.
"It is always good when you go 1-0 up, especially when you make it by yourself. Timo's delivery was good as well.
"It was a bit like seeing how the game would go for 10 minutes and after that we had control. We did well.
"They didn't create a lot. We can be happy about the performance. Hopefully, it will be a good opponent for the last eight."
Tuchel has also taken time to praise the contribution of the Morocco international who played for 77 minutes against Atletico Madrid.
“He played for that, because he did this at Ajax. We choose him for this, good experience in the round of 16, knows how it feels to arrive in the knockout round to go through to the last 8,” Tuchel said.
“First reason because he deserves, this was the 2nd reason, and 3rd reason today we miss Mason Mount and wanted to replace work rate and intensity with Hakim.”
Ziyech teamed up with the Stamford Bridge outfit last summer from Dutch club Ajax, where he spent four years and delivered spectacular performances in the Champions League before his departure from the side.
The forward has scored three goals and provided four assists in 25 appearances across all competitions this campaign for Chelsea.
The winger will hope to feature prominently for the Blues in the quarter-finals of the Champions League before that, however, he will be expected to play a part when Chelsea take on Sheffield United in their next Premier League game on March 21.
