Saul called out for making 'big mistakes' in Chelsea debut by Tuchel

Sloppy and unconvincing, the Spaniard endured a gloomy start to life in London.

Thomas Tuchel has called out Saul Niguez for making “some big mistakes” in his Chelsea debut.

Saul, who arrived at Stamford Bridge on loan on the deadline day of the summer market, was in the Chelsea starting XI for the Premier League match against Aston Villa on Saturday.

The midfielder was poor on the ball and gave away possession three times in the first half, and was replaced by Jorginho at the start of the second half.

Saúl Ñíguez won 0 of the 7 ground duels he contested in his first 45 minutes as a Chelsea player.

A tricky start for the Spaniard. 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/pBfPwCRvCP
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 11, 2021

While it was a bad day for the Atletico Madrid loanee, it turned out to be a lovely evening for his new team as they sealed a 3-0 victory.

“I had the feeling that he struggled. There were some big mistakes, passing mistakes, and he struggled with the intensity,” Tuchel told of Saul, speaking to Sky Sports.

“You could see he isn’t fully adapted. It’s completely my responsibility. I had the feeling he could jump in for us and play at that level.

“I [then] thought it was maybe better to change him, but it doesn’t change anything [about how I see him].

“It’s very hard. You can either do it or not do it. I told him before it was my responsibility if it does not work out for the matter of your life. He struggled a bit, created some half-chances for Aston Villa.”