Hakim Ziyech felt the cruel twist of VAR on Sunday afternoon when the Chelsea forward thought he had given Morocco the lead on the stroke of half-time. But Ziyech would find great redemption in the dying moments of the game, setting up Zakaria Aboukhlal's clincher to seal only their third win at a World Cup.
The Chelsea attacker curled in a left-footed cross that appeared to embarrass Thibaut Courtois and fluster the Belgium keeper to give Morocco their first goal at this year's tournament. However, a VAR check found Wolves defender Roman Saiss inches offside and interfering with play, which ended celebrations and chalked off a much-needed goal for Ziyech.
Lightning would ironically strike again in the second half as Morocco eventually took a shock lead from an Abdelhamid Sabiri curled free-kick from the opposite side, which again caught out a scrambling Courtois as the ball squirmed below him. Ziyech's clever work and assist for Aboukhlal in added time made it 2-0 to ignite the loud Moroccan crowd that filled the Al Thumama Stadium.
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Morocco's win shakes up Group F significantly heading into the final round of games which takes Walid Regragui's team top before Croatia and Canada face off in the other match on Sunday afternoon.
The 29-year-old's international situation is radically different from the one he faces at Stamford Bridge. Only making nine appearances for Chelsea so far this season, racking up only 270 competitive minutes under Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter before the international break at the beginning of this month.
Speculation continues over a potential exit for Ziyech in January with ongoing links to AC Milan who have reportedly been chasing the winger for several transfer windows.
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