Denis Zakaria never expected a two-month wait to make his Chelsea debut after joining the club on loan from Juventus – but the midfielder is now hopeful of establishing himself in Graham Potter's side after an impressive maiden outing against Dinamo Zagreb last night.
Zakaria joined Chelsea on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day. A motivating factor in his decision to relocate from Turin was to work under head coach Thomas Tuchel, an experience that lasted just five days before the German parted ways with the Blues after a breakdown in his relationship with the club's new hierarchy.
Tuchel's dismissal was a shock to Zakaria – as he admitted in an interview with football.london last month – and he has had to remain patient under Graham Potter. The Switzerland international has made several matchday squads but was never introduced from the substitutes' bench despite the punishing October schedule.
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That led to speculation that Zakaria could return to Juventus in January – and there was even debate as to whether he would feature against Zagreb due to that possibility. However, Potter decided to name the 25-year-old in his midfield against the Croatian side and was rewarded with a commanding performance from Zakaria.
The Swiss star lasted 70 minutes and scored what proved to be the winning goal of the contest; a composed finish from the edge of the penalty box having been teed up by Mason Mount. And after the victory, Zakaria revealed his surprise over the time it has taken for him to make his Chelsea bow.
"For me yes [it was a surprise], a little bit," he said. "But yes, it was a new coach who decided to do it like this. I have to accept it and work. That’s what I do, I worked on myself to be ready for this moment and today I think I was ready, so I am happy about that.
"It is an amazing feeling [to score on my debut]. I am really happy and proud about this goal and I hope it won’t be the last goal. I hope, I hope I can play more. But that’s for the coach to decide. I will train as always, give my best, and if I get the chance to be on the pitch then I will try to help."
Zakaria was replaced with 20 minutes to go by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and was given a standing ovation by the Chelsea supporters as he made his way around the Stamford Bridge pitch and back to the dugout. It was a special moment for the midfielder. "Amazing, the fans are really good and amazing fans so I am really happy," he said.
"It’s a long time that I didn’t play so my body was a little bit tired with a bit of cramp. Then I took a kick so that’s why [I came off early]."
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