Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Three lessons learnt in big win
2. Sluggish Saul lacking match sharpness
Thomas Tuchel sprang a surprise, naming new signing Saul Niguez in the starting eleven for the game against Aston Villa. Niguez was a late arrival on deadline day from Atletico Madrid; he signed for the Blues in an eleventh-hour loan deal for the season with the option to make it permanent. The Spaniard trained with his new teammates – at least those who weren’t called up by their national teams – over the last fortnight, but his selection from the start raised more than a few eyebrows given his apparent lack of match fitness.
The lack of match fitness, and an unclear understanding of his new surroundings, was visible in Saul’s display during the first half. The midfielder looked okay when keeping things short and simple – his 84 percent passing accuracy a testament to the same. However, when asked to perform complex tasks, he suffered. His medium and long-range passing lacked sharpness, with his passes often coming across as speculative rather than purposeful. Meanwhile, his attempts to dribble through the Aston Villa lines proved fruitless, and on one occasion, nearly resulted in a Chelsea concession.
Saul lost the ball nine times during the first forty-five minutes and often in positions that threatened to compromise Chelsea’s defensive integrity. Had it not been for Thiago Silva’s excellent last-ditch defending, the scoreline and, probably, the outcome of the game could’ve been very different.
Nonetheless, while Saul warrants criticism for his first-half showing, he also deserves patience from the fans. The 26-year-old is picking up the pieces of his promising career in a new country, in a new league, in a new system, with almost an entirely unknown set of players. It will take him time to find his feet in England, as it does for any new player coming in from a foreign land. Perhaps the best approach in the short-term would be to start the Spaniard in cup competitions, where he could pick up valuable minutes while he continues to bed into the team further on the training ground.