There wasn't a moment's hesitation from Thomas Tuchel when the question arrived. He was ready to take the blame, to ease the pressure on his player. It was the right move from the Chelsea head coach.
"He was struggling and I take responsibility for that," Tuchel said when asked about Saul Niguez's difficult debut for the Blues against Aston Villa, which was ended after just 45 minutes.
"I put him into a difficult match after the international break and it was hard for him to adapt to the physicality. In general, I had the feeling he struggled with the intensity and pressing with Aston Villa.
"It was also hard for him to adapt to our system and principles. So we thought, to give a bit more stability, we would change the shape to 5-3-2 in the second half with Jorginho. It was a tough one but he can accept that it is my responsibility and it's maybe also normal.
"In training, it looked like he had no problem to adapt but that's training. The game was very intense today because that is what Aston Villa made of it.
"The guy struggled a bit, there were some easy ball losses which is very, very unusual for him. That is why we decided before he lost more confidence that we make the change."
Saul is not a wide-eyed youngster making his way in the game. He's played in Champions League finals, represented his country, played more than 200 La Liga games for Atletico Madrid, from who he is spending the 2021/22 campaign on loan.
So he will know the 45 minutes he produced on Saturday were not good enough, that they were not a true reflection of his ability and the impact he can have at Stamford Bridge. There will be better performances ahead. There simply has to be.
The intensity of the Premier League, the sheer breakneck speed of many games, can catch out even the most seasoned of professionals. Saul is not the first. And Chelsea fans only have to think back to last season for proof of that.
It was at The Hawthorns last September that Thiago Silva made his debut for the Blues following his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian had a wealth of experience behind him, had played in a Champions League final the previous month, yet endured a difficult afternoon against West Bromwich Albion.
He was part of a backline that conceded three first-half goals. One of those was as the result of a mistake by the 36-year-old; he lost possession to Callum Robinson near the halfway line and the Baggies striker broke clear and finished.
"There are days when unfortunately hard work doesn’t pay off the way we expected," Silva posted on Instagram after the game, which ended 3-3 after a spirited second-half fightback. "I am upset, but I take responsibility for the mistake I made, as I always did. As difficult as it may be, we have to get over this and move on."
Silva would start the following week against Crystal Palace, a 4-0 victory. He would go on to make 32 further appearances for Chelsea and was hugely impressive in each one. It was no surprise the one-year option in his contract was triggered to ensure he stayed with the Blues until the summer of 2022.
Given the midfield options available to Tuchel, namely N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, Saul may find it a little harder than Silva to immediately bounce back. A substitute appearance or two may be required to help the Spaniard acclimatise to the speed of the Premier League.
Chelsea's schedule is packed until the next international break; there are six matches for Tuchel's side to play in the following 19 days. So Saul will get the minutes he needs in the weeks ahead.
With those, the midfielder will adapt, improve and then almost prove his quality in a Chelsea shirt. He's got too much of it not to.
