Joe Cole believes that Hakim Ziyech's lack of pure joy at putting Chelsea into the lead on Tuesday night against Brighton 'doesn't sit well' with him amid Thomas Tuchel's calmness on the situation at hand.
Ziyech, 28, showed the best and worst sides to his game on the south coast with his goal papering over the frustrations that Romelu Lukaku felt at the Moroccan in this specific contest.
Before half-time, there was an incident where Chelsea's north African star had played the ball on the outside to the club record signing instead of feeding it directly into his path on the stride, causing tension between the two players come the half-time whistle.
Both were caught on camera talking over their frustrations and trying to solve this issue but nothing improved as the second half got underway in that sense.
Aside from this talking point, Ziyech's arrowed shot that fooled Robert Sanchez in the Seagulls net prompted little reaction from the player in question, with the travelling fans showing more passion in their celebrations in comparison to the former Ajax star.
Something to worry about perhaps?
Joe Cole and Alan Shearer certainly disagree on the issue, with the latter claiming that there is an 'issue' in the squad whilst the former Chelsea man himself thinks that it's just a temporary period that will pass over due to the upcoming Club World Cup that will provide the perfect escape from domestic action.
Cole explained on BT Sport post-match: "This is what you play for. He’s a fantastic talent to watch. He probably hasn’t hit the ground running in the Premier League.
"It’s very different to the Dutch league. The thing you can’t question is his ability. On the ball he’s second to none. His technique, he’s a fantastic player. The not celebrating… it doesn’t sit well… just for him as a lad.
"If he was in my team I would be getting him like... come on. Well you know when lads aren’t happy and they're not playing. I've been on that thing as well. If I come off the bench and score the goal…it’s a release of energy.
"It’s not concerning. I think it’s good that the club are going to the world club championships in a couple of weeks in Abu Dhabi and I think that’s a good opportunity for the club to get away with results not being what they want.
"So get away, get the lads together. Get back together. Because this team only seven or six months ago were Champions of Europe and easily won the final against a great Manchester City team. There’s still great players in there. They just need to get on the right track and get in the right direction.
"You can see when you run up to him, you want to celebrate. You’ve worked all week to get the game plan. He’s scored a great goal. He would be thinking in his mind that’s a message to the manager.
"But the message is the goal. Like I should be playing. I’ve just put us 1-0 up in the Premier League with a great goal. Enjoy it. You can really galvanise a group with a 1-0 win in a tough, tough game.
"Then you’re out of the slump. He obviously got feelings that he’s not happy with. But, just keep doing what you’re doing on the pitch. Effect the game and then you’ll be playing regularly."
A similar sentiment that was shared by manager Tuchel who was not concerned a bit with the antics demonstrated in the 28th minute of this contest.
When asked about the goal, Tuchel said: "Of course you can survive with this goal. We play under pressure. Not many teams control Brighton over 90 minutes.
"In the moment, it’s too difficult to be too harsh on our players because I know what's going on."
How did the rate the 'tired' Chelsea players in the draw against Brighton at the Amex? Make your selections below!
The 28-year-old scored an above average 7 out of 10 in football.london's ratings from the contest with the justification for his mark as followed: "Kept his place in the starting elven despite underwhelming at the Etihad. Struggled badly to start with before letting his frustrations out on the ball from 25 yards and firing past Sanchez, who should have done better. Flirted in and out of the game and subbed on 80 minutes. 7."
"He can score 20 more and not celebrate, no problem," Tuchel continued.
"I hope it's normal that they (Ziyech and Lukaku) talk, not happy, not like it if we say that we want more. Even in the reaction of the goal we are tired, we are relieved."
