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Denis Zakaria made a real impression on Chelsea supporters due to his outstanding debut in their 2-1 against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, November 2.
The Blues needed a win to secure top spot in Group E but got off to the worst possible start when they fell 1-0 down to the Croatian side inside seven minutes. Raheem Sterling ended his recent poor run when he equalized shortly after, before Zakaria scored the winner at the half-hour mark to send Graham Potter's side top.
Zakaria has endured a miserable time at Stamford Bridge since his transfer deadline move from Juventus, with his loan move so far proving pointless. This was the Switzerland international's first appearance for Chelsea, but proved that he belongs in the Premier League outfit by putting on an outstanding performance. In addition to his goal, he had 98 percent pass accuracy and played one key pass as well.
Supporters have been calling for the on-loan midfielder to be given a chance in the first-team, with Potter even stating recently that the midfielder deserved an opportunity. Zakaria has plenty of competition ahead of him in the Chelsea midfield which led to him sitting on the sidelines.
But the former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder took his chance with both hands against Zagreb, as supporters took to Twitter to offer their support:
Graham Potter 'really impressed' by Chelsea midfielder following Champions League win
Following the victory, Potter was affusive in his praise for the Swiss midfielder, describing his appearance as 'really good.' Potter told BT Sport after the game in west London (as per BBC Sport):
"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."
Potter went on to discuss Chelsea's overall performance, as he stated:
"Really pleased. Not the ideal start for us but the character was good and overall we played quite well. We attacked well, had some good chances and finished it off in a positive way.
"Whenever we have played Raheem Sterling we try to get him as high as we can. He has only ever needed to defend against the full-backs so it was a slight change in terms of the back four behind him but not too much change."
