https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/04/16/
ziyech-wants-to-make-it-a-perfect-week
Ziyech wants to make it a perfect week
16 Apr 2021
Ahead of our FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, Hakim Ziyech has
given his view on our opponents as well as discussing how he and the rest
of Chelsea's new signings this season have been improving over the course
of the campaign.
https://i.imgur.com/rgKYuc8.jpg
Ziyech claims to enjoy playing in big games, so he must be feeling pretty
spoiled at the moment, as we follow up Tuesday's Champions League
quarter-final with a trip to Wembley to face the Premier League leaders in
the last four of the FA Cup, and the Moroccan international is eager to
make it a perfect week for the Blues by going through to the next round
for a second time.
'For us it's a nice week so far,' he said. 'I think we can finish the
whole week with a good result again on the weekend and, hopefully, then we
can say it's a complete week.
https://i.imgur.com/fcFPn1h.jpg
Ziyech scored in the last round of the FA Cup against Sheffield United
'I like to play the big games – I think that's the same for every other
footballer – but I just see them as another game. It's a semi-final right
now, we will do everything that is in our power to reach the final and how
we do it doesn't matter.'
Having already faced Manchester City in our 3-1 Premier League defeat in
January, though, Ziyech is under no illusions about the difficultly of the
task which faces us if we are to book our place in the FA Cup final.
'They are leading the league and they are really impressive this season,
the way they play. You can see they have individual players who can do
crazy things. As a team, they can do a lot of things and it's just the way
of how they play football.
https://i.imgur.com/lYWNU9f.jpg
Ziyech trains at Cobham ahead of the semi-final
'I played them in January here and I think in the first half the game was
already over. What I can remember is when they speed up the tempo, they
are a difficult team to beat.'
As a newcomer to English football this season, this is Ziyech's first
experience of competing in the FA Cup, and the winger admits it has not
been an easy adaptation to this country for him given the interruptions
caused by injury.
However, he feels it has been a challenge which could turn out to be
beneficial for him in the long-run.
'It's a difficult season, with everything around adaptation and injuries,
playing then a couple of games not playing,' the 28-year-old conceded.
'It's a difficult season but I think for every player sometimes it could
help to have these seasons because you have to work harder and keep
improving every single day.
'It's about the rhythm and sometimes you think you have the rhythm then
you get a set-back. It took some time and I have to continue to believe in
myself. I'm not loud about it but I have to keep going and keep working
and the rest will come by itself.'
Of course, Ziyech was not the only new arrival in attacking positions for
Chelsea at the start of this season, with Timo Werner and Kai Havertz both
joining him at Stamford Bridge, and he feels we are now starting to see
all three of them finding their feet in west London.
'We can see already that we are feeling each other in training and how
everyone wants to play, or what is someone's strength and where they feel
comfortable, with or without the ball. So those things we know from each
other and if you saw the game against Atletico Madrid at home when all
three of us played, I think we had a good game at that moment.
https://i.imgur.com/Q9L84dX.jpg
Werner, Havertz and Ziyech all started the 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid,
with the Moroccan finding the net
'We had our time to come in and see how it is and now I think it's time
for us to perform. For new people, it always takes some time. Everywhere
I've been, it's always been like that, and for me it's no different.'