Gary Neville hailed Hakim Ziyech after Chelsea’s derby victory over Tottenham and compared the Blues forward to Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez.
Ziyech set Chelsea on their way to a third win over Spurs in three weeks when he curled home a superb opener at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Blues defender Thiago Silva put the game to bed with a 55th-minute header and Tuchel subsequently said Ziyech had produced ‘one of his best performances’ in a Chelsea shirt.
Former Manchester United and England defender Neville was also impressed by Ziyech, awarding the Morocco international the Player of the Match award and likening him to three-time Premier League winner Mahrez.
‘I gave Ziyech the Man of the Match award, I just thought he did really well,’ he said on the Gary Neville podcast for Sky Sports.
‘He’s up against real opposition within his own squad in the likes of [Timo] Werner, [Christian] Pulisic, [Callum] Hudson-Odoi, [Mason] Mount, they can all play in that position.
‘But he has got that Mahrez-feel about him, with a dip of the left shoulder and a lovely left foot.
‘He puts lovely deliveries in from set-pieces and it was a brilliant, brilliant goal.’
Ziyech’s goal was his fifth for Chelsea this season. He has also provided four assists from his 23 appearances to date.
‘I was right behind it!’ Blues boss Tuchel said. ‘I had the feeling it was a bit too high but it dropped at the right second. It was a brilliant goal. His technique was brilliant.’
Following their brilliant start to the season, Chelsea seemingly dropped out of the title race in recent weeks, going four league games without a win before beating Tottenham this weekend.
Tuchel’s side are now 10 points behind defending champions Manchester City, who also have a game in hand. Liverpool are currently second, trailing City by nine points.
‘A huge effort, the outlook of some free days and it being a London derby helped too,’ Tuchel added. ‘When we arrived this morning I could feel everyone was excited to play it.
‘It was physically tough, so full credit, I think we deserved it. Very important for morale – we go into a mini break, it changes everything, the mood, the belief.
‘We played the game we deserved. A lot of good stuff, we were patient and kept on believing and attacking in the second half. Now we try to breathe a little bit.’
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