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Top 25 Chelsea players of the Premier League era - #5

Sports Mole's countdown of the top 25 Chelsea players in the Premier League era continues with number five - Gianfranco Zola.

Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola celebrates scoring against Manchester United on December 16, 1998.© Getty Images

While Arsenal had Dennis Bergkamp and Manchester United had Eric Cantona, Chelsea found their own foreign wizard in the early years of the Premier League when they brought Gianfranco Zola to the club from Parma in 1996.

The diminutive Italian made a habit of scoring spectacular goals during his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge, perhaps most memorably producing an outrageous mid-air back-heel flick from a corner to score past Norwich City in 2002.

Zola's Chelsea career may not be as trophy-laden as the others who share a top-five spot in this countdown, but he was integral to their revival in the late 1990s and helped the club to two FA Cups, the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup between 1997 and 2000.

Voted Chelsea's Player of the Year on two occasions - and their greatest player of all time in a 2003 poll - Zola was also named the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1997.

The forward eventually left for Cagliari in 2003, by which point he had scored 80 goals in 312 appearances for Chelsea, including 59 in 229 Premier League outings.

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Today's games header
Result
Swiatek
Sabalenka
7 4 79
5 6 67
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal36265588286083
2Manchester CityMan City35257387335482
3Liverpool35229477364175
4Aston Villa35207873522167
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs341861067541360
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle351751378562256
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd34166125251154
8Chelsea34149116559651
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham351310125665-949
10Bournemouth36139145263-1148
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36137164960-1146
12Fulham36128165155-444
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton341111125257-544
14Crystal Palace351010154557-1240
15Everton36129153849-1137
16Brentford3699185260-836
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3689194563-1829
18Luton TownLuton3668224978-2926
19Burnley3659223974-3524
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd36372635100-6516


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