Ziyech battles Kovacic and Richarlison for Premier League Goal of the Month award

Morocco international Hakim Ziyech will rival his Chelsea teammate Mateo Kovacic for the Premier League Goal of the Month award for January 2022.

The 28-year-old African delivered an impressive performance for the Blues in the month under review, scoring against Brighton and Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.

However, his sumptuous strike against Spurs was picked for the individual honour.

In the London derby, Ziyech curled a perfect shot from outside the box which dipped just in time to creep inside the angle of the post and crossbar, leaving Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris stranded to the spot.

“It was a good goal, I think it was a 10 out of 10 actually,” the former Ajax star told the media after the effort.

“I wanted to put it in the top corner. I didn’t know it would go in straight away when I hit it, I was following the ball. I thought maybe I’d hit it a little bit long, but in the end I saw it go in.”

Aside from Kovacic, the African star will slug it out with the Southampton duo of Kyle Walker-Peters and James Ward-Prowse, West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini, Brighton & Hove Albion's Alexis Mac Allister, Everton's Richarlison and Norwich City's Joshua Sargent for a chance to clinch the prize.

The winner will be chosen by the supporters' votes combined with those from a panel of experts and will be announced on February 4.

Ziyech has been impressive for Thomas Tuchel’s men since his return to full form for the reigning European champions.

Despite boasting 17 goals in 40 international caps, he was axed from the Atlas Lions squad for the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, after falling out of favour under current head coach Vahid Halilhodzic.

The Bosnian tactician revealed in September when first snubbing Ziyech, that his patience with the star had been pushed beyond breaking point.

Halilhodzic told the media: “For the first time in my coaching career, I saw a national team player who doesn’t want to train and claims to be injured, although tests have shown he can play.

“I won’t tolerate it. Not this behaviour as long as I coach Morocco."