Denis Zakaria: How did Chelsea man play on debut vs Dinamo Zagreb? | OneFootball

Denis Zakaria enjoyed a dream Chelsea debut on Wednesday evening.

The Swiss midfielder has been out in the wilderness ever since he was brought in on loan from Juventus at the end of Thomas Tuchel’s reign as manager.

Many believed Zakaria would not be given an opportunity in a Chelsea shirt as a result, but Graham Potter opted to finally give him a debut in a strong team for their final 2022/23 Champions League group stage match against Dinamo Zagreb.

Zakaria lined up alongside the likes of Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Jorginho and Kalidou Koulibaly.

And the powerful midfielder was arguably the best player on the park at Stamford Bridge.

Per Squawka, Zakaria completed 39 of his 40 passes, won possession back seven times and made two interceptions.

On top of those impressive numbers, the former Borussia Monchengladbach man scored Chelsea’s winner against Zagreb.

Zakaria made it 2-1 in the first half with a cool side-footed finish after Sterling had cancelled out Bruno Petkovic’s shock early goal in west London.

As full debuts go, it was a pretty special one from ol’ Denis, one that he’ll remember for the rest of his professional career.

Needless to say, his individual highlights from the game are rather good and after watching them, it’s hard not to think that Zakaria should be in the frame for a regular starting berth at Chelsea.

Video: Zakaria’s highlights from Chelsea debut vs Zagreb

No wonder Zakaria’s performance has gone down so well on social media…

Fan reaction

Let’s hope the injury that forced Zakaria to be subbed off on 71 minutes isn’t a serious one, because he looks like a top, top player.

What did Potter think of Zakaria’s performance?

Like many Chelsea fans, Potter was full of praise for Zakaria’s display against Zagreb when speaking to the press after the game.

The Blues boss said: “I thought he was really good. You can see what he brings, the quality he has and he played with enthusiasm. He had good discipline and got forward when he could.

“I was really impressed with him. He certainly did more than we asked which was to give us competition there. He did everything he could. He helped the team and scored – a great debut.”

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