Aston Villa midfielder spoils Chelsea ace’s debut
By Ritam Ghosh
Aston Villa were defeated, 3-0, by an in-form Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
A Romelu Lukaku brace and a poor back pass turned goal for the man-of-the-match, Mateo Kovacic, saw the Blues capture all three points at the Bridge.
Chelsea’s deadline-day acquisition Saul Niguez finally made his much-anticipated debut, but, much to his absolute dismay, it was nothing short of a calamity.
The 26-year-old was absolutely dominated by Villa’s Scottish midfield maestro John McGinn and was replaced by Jorginho at halftime.
Former England international Michael Owen had this to say about the matter:
"“The Aston Villa players dominating and they have, that was right early on in the game. John McGinn gave him a taste of what the Premier League is all about. He is taking too many touches. We all know he is a world-class player. But you just don’t get that time on the ball in the Premier League."
McGinn spoils the party for Chelsea debutant Saul
Chelsea signed Spanish midfielder Saul on loan from Atletico Madrid with an option to buy him for £40 million next summer. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel gave him the nod to start against Villa on matchday four, and it was 45 hard, long minutes for the midfielder as he struggled to cope with the pace and pressure of McGinn.
Villa’s high press put pressure on Chelsea’s build-up play, especially in the midfield. More accustomed to the La Liga style of football, Saul struggled to adapt to the tempo of Premier League, and Villa’s energy and pressure made matters worse.
As reported by Opera News, McGinn claimed that Villa targeted the Premier-League-inexperienced Spaniard and tried to steal the ball from his feet as much as possible.
Villa nearly capitalized on McGinn’s ball win from Saul early in the first half, and his misery came to an end at halftime when he made way for Jorginho.
Even though Villa came up short, it was one of the best performances of the season so far, with McGinn clearly Villa’s top star.