"He played well today" - Thomas Tuchel says under-fire star was an 'important part' of Chelsea's structure against Wolves
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has heaped praise on Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez for his impressive performance in Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Wolves.
Chelsea's recent dip in form continued as the Blues dropped two points against Wolves on Sunday. Tuchel's side struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities in the game.
Saul Niguez's impressive performance, however, was a source of positivity for Tuchel and the club's fans.
The Spaniard was brought on at half-time by Thomas Tuchel as a substitute for Trevoh Chalobah.
Saul Niguez came in for heavy criticism in recent weeks but he added some much-needed composure and stability to the Blues midfield against Bruno Lage's side. Tuchel heaped praise on the 27-year-old for his performance on the night.
'"He [ Saul] played well today, and in general we played better because the structure was better, the discipline was better in the structure. That helped us to be better, Saul was an important part of it," Tuchel told Chelsea TV as per Metro.
Saul Niguez was slammed by Chelsea fans for his mistake against Everton in the build-up to the Toffees equalizer in their 1-1 draw in midweek. He has often been deployed as a left-wing back in recent weeks.
The 27-year-old was deployed as a defensive midfielder against Wolves and therefore seemed more at ease as he was playing in his preferred position. Saul has made just nine appearances for Chelsea in all competitions this season.
The Atletico Madrid loanee could receive more game-time in the coming weeks as Chelsea are currently facing an injury crisis in midfield. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jorginho were ruled out for the game against Wolves due to injury, while Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante returned to action on Sunday after a number of weeks on the sidelines.
Finishes goalless & another 2 points dropped, only positives is that we have a clean sheet, Ngolo Kante has a good game & Saul Niguez played well when he came on second half. #WOLCHE https://t.co/2d79ozoz3A
Chelsea need to bounce back if they are to keep pace with likes of Liverpool and Manchester City
Chelsea have won just two of their last six games in the Premier League. The Blues had one of the best defensive records in Europe during the opening stages of the season. Thomas Tuchel's side have, however, conceded ten goals in their last seven games in all competitions.
Chelsea are currently six points behind league leaders Manchester City, and three points behind second-placed Liverpool. The Blues have suffered a slump in form in recent weeks and their misery has been compounded as Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Ben Chilwell tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
Here's every word from Thomas Tuchel's post-match press conference. Including
🔵 Positives from performance
🔵 What happens next given Covid cases
🔵 How staff have been impacted
🔵 If training ground will be closed
🔵 Chalobah/Ziyech injuries
🔵 And more
football.london/chelsea-fc/new…
The Premier League giants will need to dig deep and bounce back in the coming weeks if they are to keep pace with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race.