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Football London
Football London
Sport
Alan Smith

Hakim Ziyech's signature move and the Chelsea team-mates with most to gain

Hands up who thought Hakim Ziyech's deep cross for Ben Chilwell to finish in Saturday's 4-1 win over Sheffield United looked familiar.

Pretty much all of you who saw him play for Ajax, right?

It is a move that the Moroccan has specialised in for quite a long time, cutting on to his left foot from the right wing before sending an inswinging pass towards the back post.

Lampard warns Chelsea not to get carried away

Ziyech is far more than a one-trick pony but this is his signature move.

In Amsterdam the main beneficiary was Qunicy Promes, who regularly arrived at the rear stick to finish Ziyech's perfectly-weighted deliveries.

Chelsea's system works differently to the 3-5-2 Ajax used for much of last season but Chilwell and whoever is playing on the left of Frank Lampard's front three have most to gain from the talents of the man on the opposite flank.

These illustrations show how Ziyech continuously found Promes, who played up front but had a licence to roam, with balls whipped beyond opposition defences including Chelsea at the Bridge.

A textbook example away to Lille in the Champions League

A similar pass but from a more central area against Heracles

An all too similar goal in the same game

And that sweet delivery against Chelsea

The 27-year-old said after Saturday's win that a knowing look at team-mates is often the key indicator before creating goalscoring chances.

"I always look at them before I play the ball," said Ziyech, who also teed up Thiago Silva for his first goal for the club from a wide free kick and played a role in Tammy Abraham's equalising goal.

"Usually eye contact is enough and you could see it worked well two times."

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