Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was left impressed with the influence Hakim Ziyech had in the 1-1 Premier League draw with Leicester City on Thursday night at the Stamford Bridge.
The former Morocco international has started most matches from the bench but was trusted with a starting berth against the Foxes. James Maddison scored first for the visitors before Marcos Alonso levelled matters later on to ensure the spoils were shared.
The German tactician has explained why the 29-year-old has not started in the club's recent matches, before Thursday, and how he won his place against Leicester.
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"He [Ziyech] had some unlucky decisions against him in the last few weeks," Tuchel said as quoted by the Chelsea official website.
"He always trained well and gave a good impact with energy in training and when he came on as a sub.
"It was necessary that he gets the feeling from the start again. He tried everything and was very active."
By getting a point on Thursday, the Blues guaranteed themselves a third-place finish.
They have managed to collect 71 points from 37 matches, and even if they lose their last game, and Tottenham Hotspur - who are on 68, win their last match, they cannot be replaced owing to their healthy goal difference.
Despite having an inconsistent season domestically, Tuchel was left impressed with the input of all the players.
"It’s the story of the season. We need an assist from a wing-back and a goal from a wing-back. You can see the numbers of our offensive players and you can see the numbers from the teams in front of us," Tuchel continued.
"Still [Thursday] was the day we secured third place, we have been all season in the top three and we have in mind where we come from. We had some obstacles to overcome and some circumstances around the club which was not easy so full credit to the team.
"It is a big step in consistency for us and maybe it doesn’t feel like this because the gap is so big to the top two teams. We have stuff to improve and we are the first ones to admit that."
Chelsea will complete the season against Watford who have already been relegated.
