Thomas Tuchel asserts that Saul Niguez’s time will come

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Saul Niguez was close to getting a Starting 11 spot for the weekend win over Southampton. However, the manager went on to explain the reason why he decided to leave the Spaniard among the substitutes. It would have been the summer loan signing’s first league action since his debut in the first game of last month. Instead, Ruben Loftus-Cheek joined Mateo Kovacic in central midfield on Saturday. When substitutions were made, it was Jorginho and Ross Barkley, who were the ones that were brought on, with Mason Mount introduced a bit later, leaving Saul unused.

“Saul does not need to worry, just work hard, and then the chances will come,” Tuchel was quoted as saying by the club’s website. “We could only give 11 players the chance [to start], so of course that means we have eight players we didn’t trust on Saturday from the beginning. I cannot hide from this reality and I will always do my choices in the best belief for the team and for these kinds of games.

“There will always be tactical choices, there will be choices on current form, there will be choices on connections on the field, and Saul was very, very close to starting on Saturday. In the end, I decided against it because I thought if we put him in another high-pressing match, against an opponent who is pressing so high in the centre of the pitch, would it be fair to him to say okay now prove it, and let’s see if your adaption has gone further.”

Saul has struggled for game time at Chelsea after he joined the London club on loan from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. Tuchel, however, is confident that Saul will get his chances. “It’s life at Chelsea and we have to keep on going and keep everybody positive. The guys have to work for their form because performance is the most important, and form and confidence and positive attitude. Saul has everything. His time will come.”

Ben Chilwell wants to keep improving in attack

Ben Chilwell has opened about his eventful Premier League appearance against Southampton over the weekend. The left wing-back conceded the penalty from which Southampton equalised on the hour. Then, Chilwell’s day took another turn when he impressively turned the ball over the line after the Blues had struck the woodwork twice. “I said to the assistant manager ‘that’s football’,” was Chilwell’s verdict on his own performance.

“I felt I had a good game but then gave the penalty away. I just tried to bounce back from that, and got the goal in the end. I thought it hit the post so I just played on! I heard the ref’s whistle go and was a bit baffled to be fair. That’s why my celebration wasn’t really a celebration! It is definitely up there with my best goals. It was kind of instinctive, it just came to the back post. The keeper was either on the floor or near the other post, so I thought if I hit the target I had a good chance.

“The manager was happy I was getting in the positions to score,” Chilwell was quoted as saying by the club’s website. “I had a couple of chances in the first half, second one could have done better, first one was a good save. If you look at my stats last year, four goals, seven assists, I did pretty well in that aspect, but you can always improve. I am never satisfied with what I’ve done, and hopefully my numbers will be better than last season and I can keep improving in an attacking sense.”