Saul Niguez once again fails to take his chance despite Chelsea’s win against Watford

Chelsea managed to defeat Watford in the Premier League on Wednesday evening, but the Blues were far from their best.

Thomas Tuchel’s side has been ravaged by several injuries, with as many as seven first-team players ruled out through injury at the moment. This forced the German manager to field an experimental midfield against Watford by pairing Saul Niguez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the middle of the park.

The combination obviously did not work, and Chelsea ended up being outplayed by Watford for most of the game. Tom Cleverley, Moussa Sissoko and Imran Louza had a field day in midfield and even won all the second balls.

Saul disaster-class at Vicarage Road

Many Chelsea players did not turn up against Watford, but none was poorer on the pitch than Saul Niguez. The 27-year-old was simply out of his depth.

The on-loan Atletico Madrid midfielder has struggled for game time since joining the Blues in August, having usually found himself on the bench.

Before Wednesday, he had started just one Premier League game, and this was his chance to redeem himself and stake a claim for more playing time.

However, Niguez was utterly disappointing on the night and was substituted at half-time. The fact that Tuchel preferred shifting Trevoh Chalobah into midfield over the Spanish midfielder highlights just how bad he was.

Saul Niguez has no future at Chelsea

This is the second time Saul Niguez has been substituted after being handed a start in the Premier League, and it is increasingly looking like he has no future at the club.

All the players he’s competing with have stepped up, and it’ll be difficult for him to displace any of them. Moreover, with his move being a loan deal, it’s difficult to see Chelsea extending it at the end of the season.

“It was Saul [who went off] to change the shape a little bit and have Thiago on the pitch with the quality of organising, and Trevoh in the six who is more physical,” Tuchel said after the game, as quoted by Chelseafc.com.

“Unfortunately Trevoh injured himself so we ended up with Ruben in the single six. It was a tactical decision and we go on from here.”

The Blues boss was modest in discussing Niguez’s substitution, but the truth is that the midfielder was disastrous and once again failed to take his chance.