Hakim Ziyech has conceded he did not expect his wondergoal from the edge of the penalty box to go in as Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in a routine victory for the Blues over their London rivals.
The Morocco international was expected to be with the rest of his national side at this stage of the season but a fall-out with national side manager Vahid Halilhodzic has meant he remains in west London - thankfully for Chelsea.
The former Ajax man was crucial in the win for Thomas Tuchel's side and opened the scoring with a glorious curling effort that left Spurs shot-stopper Hugo Lloris rooted to the spot.
The French goalkeeper could only stand and watch helplessly as Ziyech's dipping effort curled into the very top-left corner of the his net.
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Much like plenty watching on from home, Ziyech has since conceded he thought his effort was flying well over the bar before it dipped drastically to open the scoring for the Blues.
While completing his post-match media duties, Ziyech was pressed on whether he knew the strike was goal-bound from the moment it left his boot.
"Nah ,I was following the ball but I thought I hit it a little bit hard, then in the end I saw it go in." he joked.
Asked how he rated the strike, he remarked: "I think it was a 10/10!"
His manager revealed that he agreed, also thinking the shot was destined to fly over the crossbar rather than the corner of the Spurs goal.
"I was right behind. I had a feeling it was a little bit high, but it dropped in the right second, and was a brilliant goal," Tuchel explained.
Ziyech's goal marked his second in successive games, though his first against Brighton earlier this week prompted a very different celebration - muted in contrast to his one against Spurs.
Asked why, the 28-year-old explained: "I think it’s two different situations.
"The game against Brighton we didn’t play well so there was a little bit of frustration.
"But I think today we played well. Had a lot of chances and good football."
Tuchel echoed his player's sentiments on that subject as well, insisting his Blues side were worthy winners in the end.
"We were working extremely hard for it, it was a tough match. But we're very happy because the effort was outstanding," added the German.
"It was a deserved win. It's hard to create chances against them, but I think we were relentless and we kept on believing.
"A Good team effort, and excellent result, of course."
A win for the Blues was pivotal in their bid to not get dragged into a desperate race for fourth spot currently being fought between the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham.
