Chelsea coach Frank Lampard said his team was missing the creativity of injured winger Hakim Ziyech who might make his return in the next scheduled game against Manchester City on Sunday.

Ziyech went off with a hamstring injury during Chelsea’s win over Leeds United on December 5 and the Blues have won only one of their five league games since then. They drew 1-1 on Monday with Aston Villa as Olivier Giroud’s first-half header was cancelled out by Anwar El Ghazi.

“The way Hakim was playing, he was being very effective for us in terms of assists, goal creation, chance creation and some goals,” Lampard said. “You’re going to miss players at that level when they drop out.”

Lampard said his players had responded to his criticism after the loss to Arsenal. “The boys’ attitude was great. We just didn’t get the rub of the green,” he said.

PSG on Tuchel

French champions Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed sacking their coach Thomas Tuchel, with the side sitting third in the league standings, the Ligue 1 club said in a statement on Tuesday.

German Tuchel, who led PSG to the Champions League final in August which they lost to Bayern Munich, was dismissed on Christmas eve.

“I would like to thank Thomas Tuchel and his staff for everything they brought to the club,” PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said.

“... Of course we’ll remember the good times we shared together. I wish him the best for his future.”