Midfielder Hakim Ziyech responded to his Morocco snub by scoring twice to keep Ajax Amsterdam on the tails of Eredivisie leaders Feyenoord in their 3-1 win over PEC Zwolle on Sunday.
The midfielder was a surprise exclusion by coach Herve Renard when he announced his 23-man squad for the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
After Lasse Schone’s opener via a penalty, the 23-year-old netted twice at the MAC³PARK Stadium in Zwolle.
For his first, Ziyech raced on to a Joel Veltman chip behind the defence before expertly composing himself to beat the onrushing defender and fire past a standing Mickey van der Hart in goal.
55' ⚽️ GOAL! #Ziyech 0-2. ##ajax #pecaja #ziyech ##eredivisie pic.twitter.com/x6UgK5aD4P — Dutch… https://t.co/FVi2jbsYnC #CrazyVoetbal
— Lammert Doddema (@lammertdoddema) January 15, 2017
He would again return in the 80th minute for his second of the game and Ajax’s third.
This was the Moroccan's ninth goal in the Dutch giant’s colours after 19 appearances in all competitions.
With star man Younes Belhanda also absent from Afcon, Ziyech – the summer signing from FC Twente – has fitted in with ease at Ajax. He was believed to be a natural pick for, amongst other things, his creativity and set-piece menace and his ability to also feature in a number of attacking options but was remarkably overlooked by Renard.