Ziyech scores hat-trick as Chelsea kick off their pre-season with 6-1 win

Hakim Ziyech helped Chelsea kick off their pre-season campaign with a win after scoring a hat-trick against Peterborough on Saturday.

The Blues thrashed Posh 6-1 despite missing a number of their star players as they continue to rest following this summer’s European Championship.

Their absence did, however, allow several youngsters and forgotten men to prove their worth to Thomas Tuchel at the Champions League winners’ training base in Cobham.

Ross Barkley was among those who made a surprise appearances for the Blues, having spent last season on loan at Aston Villa.

The 27-year-old preformed exceptionally in Chelsea’s first pre-season friendly and received praise for his contribution.

Danny Drinkwater was another player who was given the opportunity to impress the Chelsea manager on Saturday afternoon after returning from a loan spell in Turkey with Kasimpasa.

He started in Tuchel’s 3-4-3 formation despite his last competitive game for the club being 1,077 days ago.

Drinkwater was also joined by the likes of Wayne Cumming, Trevoh Chalobah, Jake Clarke-Salter and Malang Sarr. Cumming provided a solid performance between the sticks for Chelsea but was later replaced by Lucas Bergstrom.

Davide Zappacosta and Marcos Alonso also featured for the Blues, playing as wing-backs, while Barkley operated in the middle of the pitch.

Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi proved to be too much for Peterborough to handle, breaking through their defensive lines of multiple occasions.

Abraham and Pulisic even provided Chelsea with a two-goal lead heading into half-time. However, it was super-sub Ziyech who hammered the final nail in the coffin.

The Moroccan landed himself not only a hat-trick, but a tick in Tuchel’s book, before fellow replacement Armando Broja closed out the game by providing the final goal of the match.

The Blues will face Bournemouth, Arsenal and Tottenham in their pre-season campaign, before rounding things up against Europa League winners Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup.

Chelsea will hope these fixtures will serve them well ahead of their opening game of the 2021-2022 Premier League season against Crystal Palace on August 14.