Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech says Chelsea are battle ready for their FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester City on Saturday and will do everything to knock them out of the competition.
Chelsea have been outstanding in recent weeks following their league victory over Crystal Palace and progress into the last four of the UEFA Champions League at the expense of FC Porto.
Thus, Ziyech hopes his side can continue their blistering form by beating City in the FA Cup last four.
“For us, it’s a nice week so far. I think we can finish the whole week with a good result again on the weekend and, hopefully, then we can say it’s a complete week,” Ziyech told the club website.
“I like to play the big games – I think that’s the same for every other footballer – but I just see them as another game. It’s a semi-final right now, we will do everything that is in our power to reach the final and how we do it doesn’t matter.
“They are leading the league and they are really impressive this season, the way they play. You can see they have individual players who can do crazy things. As a team, they can do a lot of things and it’s just the way of how they play football.
“I played them in January here and I think in the first half the game was already over. What I can remember is when they speed up the tempo, they are a difficult team to beat.”
So far, Ziyech has featured four times in the FA Cup since joining the Blues from Dutch side Ajax last summer, scoring one goal and providing one assist.
His debut season with the west London side seemed to have suffered several setbacks, including injuries which has limited him to 12 league starts in the current campaign.
However, the player has promised to keep to rediscover that form that made Chelsea part with €44 million to secure his signature.
“It’s a difficult season, with everything around adaptation and injuries, playing then a couple of games, not playing,’ he continued.
“It’s a difficult season but I think for every player sometimes it could help to have these seasons because you have to work harder and keep improving every single day.
“It’s about the rhythm and sometimes you think you have the rhythm then you get a setback. It took some time and I have to continue to believe in myself. I’m not loud about it but I have to keep going and keep working and the rest will come by itself.”
