Tuchel: It’s my fault Ziyech hasn’t been playing for Chelsea

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that it is his fault that Hakim Ziyech is still struggling to prove his worth to the London club. 

Ziyech made the move to the London club in the summer of 2020, when he made the transfer from Ajax for £36 million. 

Despite much fanfare, injuries to his knee and then his hip limited Ziyech’s ability to make an impression on previous manager Frank Lampard. 

However, having returned from injury, Ziyech has still to get a regular run of game time in the team since Tuchel took over the reigns at Stamford Bridge. 

The new Chelsea manager has since admitted that Ziyech’s lack of game time isn’t entirely down to the player’s form, but instead his decision to pick certain players and play specific tactics. 

“It is my fault, it is my decision,” Tuchel told the media on Friday ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Southampton.

“For Hakim [Ziyech] and some other players there are hard decisions to make, it is a good thing because it means we have quality. 

“There are some decisions for other players that means Hakim suffers at the moment, I can understand so it is my responsibility in this case that he cannot show more. 

“When I look at the rhythm and schedule for the next few days I am sure we will need all of our players.”

Indeed, it’s not hard to sympathise with Ziyech’s struggles to break into this Chelsea team. Despite signing as an exciting prospect, the Morrocan winger faces competition from the likes of Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic and even Timo Werner for two wide positions each week. 

Whether Tuchel’s decision to drop the new signing is simply a case of rotating his squad to deal with a high volume of matches or the unfortunate fact that the German coach doesn’t rate Ziyech remains to be seen.