🇧🇷 David Luiz

[The only place to be 11,313]

What was interesting yesterday was seeing that he actually stayed back for corners. I think that was simply Jose keeping things simple and having him fill Rami's role at corners but he can be a real threat if balls come out to him for a long shot, although in time maybe we could use him at set-pieces alongside Matic, Cahill, Terry and Ivanovic and leave Azpi and Oscar back.

The guy certainly has it in him to hit shots from 30 yards, plus he can pick a pass. Just needs to get his stamina up there and he's a real option for next season.

[Kieran. 6,317]

What was interesting yesterday was seeing that he actually stayed back for corners. I think that was simply Jose keeping things simple and having him fill Rami's role at corners but he can be a real threat if balls come out to him for a long shot, but in time maybe we could use him at set-pieces alongside Matic, Cahill, Terry and Ivanovic and leave Azpi and Oscar back.

The guy certainly has it in him to hit shots from 30 yards, plus he can pick a pass. Just needs to get his stamina up there and he's a real option for next season.

I agree and he needs to get over these niggling but consistent injuries. Every two months it seems like he's out for two weeks.

[duo11bluecl 207]

This guy could become Coentrao to us, someone who always does the job when step in but never a regular/favorite for the manager which is fine I suppose.

[Mr Lover Lover 18]

This guy could become Coentrao to us, someone who always does the job when step in but never a regular/favorite for the manager which is fine I suppose.

He'll be off to Barcelona if it ever comes to him "just stepping in" for certain games imo. He probably will play in midfield for the rest of the season

[Barbara 15,149]

I was so much into the bandwagon that hated the idea of turning him into a midfielder, but the more I see him playing by Matic's side the less convinced of that I am.

Why would we reinforce one of the still strong teams there, fixing their defense and then still have to find someone to partner decently with Matic?

Maybe a newcomer won't have a chance to displace Ramires - maybe José won't even look into someone to reinforce us in that zone, but if Luiz makes the best out of the next four matches he'll play for us (two with Matic for EPL and likely two with Ramires for UCL), he could grab the position from Ramires.

If he convinces Mourinho he's at least the best partner for Matic in those three matches he'll play there, I'll be happy. I was so happy that the guys from Chelsea TV pointed out to Mourinho that the big matches we've played with Luiz/Matic we won and played well. Mourinho can be stubborn and maybe it'll take him a while do admit his lovely Ramires while very good in some aspects, is a letdown in others and therefore isn't the best fit for our pivot. We saw with Mata and others throughout the years that having a player who's very good in something and very bad in other isn't always better than have a guy who's consistent in all things, while not necessarily impressive in any of them.

The thing is Luiz can be impressive defending... so I think it could turn into a win-win situation for us. I hope Mourinho can see the light. And you never know... maybe that could help Luiz improve as a defender too.

[LAM09 7,056]

Everytime I see him play for Brazil as a CB, he is impressive. A different story when he plays for Chelsea. Maybe we need to buy Silva to partner him.

[laeth 527]

His anticipation and reading of the game makes him a great defensive midfielder, it allows him to see when to step in and intercept and as he is so much further forward, he has the ability to play the ball quickly to our front four and in-turn counter attack with pace. Both him and Matic do this really well, which is why we countered City and Arsenal so well when they played together.

[Special Juan 28,141]

Him and Matic could be the combo we need.

[Tomo 21,751]

Love love love love LOVE this guy in the pivot next to Matic. Fuck off do we need to spend £35 million on Witsel or some other "dynamic" box to box midfielder. This guy is class there. A far better option than Ramires (who is too inconsistent) and Lampard (who sadly is now too old to play consistently and/or on a regular basis).

I think Luiz works well next to Matic, but doesn't look to good next to any one else. One injury to Matic and we are back with the same old CM problem, which is why imo we need another (i would say Witsel, but apparently him and Matic weren't that great as a partnership at Benfica).

[Mufassir08 2,400]

I think Luiz works well next to Matic, but doesn't look to good next to any one else. One injury to Matic and we are back with the same old CM problem, which is why imo we need another (i would say Witsel, but apparently him and Matic weren't that great as a partnership at Benfica).

TBH he did play pretty well against Liverpool at home without Matic.I guess we'll know a lot more about Luiz the midfielder against PSG if he starts that one.

[Jase 43,479]

Luiz has done well in the midfield role this season when we are looking to be proactive in pressing, tackling and intercepting the ball (or player) higher up the pitch. Think question marks still remain on him when say we take a more reactive approach in sitting deep, defend and only pressing when the opposition to within certain distance of our goal. Not too sure if he can genuinely keep his discipline, mind etc on the task if that is the case. We have seen him done alright in such cases but also failing in it.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Luiz has done well in the midfield role this season when we are looking to be proactive in pressing, tackling and intercepting the ball (or player) higher up the pitch. Think question marks still remain on him when say we take a more reactive approach in sitting deep, defend and only pressing when the opposition to within certain distance of our goal. Not too sure if he can genuinely keep his discipline, mind etc on the task if that is the case. We have seen him done alright in such cases but also failing in it.

His aggressiveness is still for me an issue. His pressing can be very good at times, but he always seems to make at least one or two mistakes each game which is a lot. For example, the mistake he did early in the game against Arsenal that led to that brilliant Cech save. He lost his concentration and got his positioning completely wrong and left the back four stranded with 5 Arsenal players running at them. He did a similar mistake later on in the first half and had to take down Rosicky from behind and if the game wasn't already finished he would have been booked for it.

The only game in midfield he's gone without making a serious mistake was against City. But then again, he was playing against a midfield duo of a CB and a nonchalant Toure.

[Jase 43,479]

His aggressiveness is still for me an issue. His pressing can be very good at times, but he always seems to make at least one or two mistakes each game which is a lot. For example, the mistake he did early in the game against Arsenal that led to that brilliant Cech save. He lost his concentration and got his positioning completely wrong and left the back four stranded with 5 Arsenal players running at them. He did a similar mistake later on in the first half and had to take down Rosicky from behind and if the game wasn't already finished he would have been booked for it.

The only game in midfield he's gone without making a serious mistake was against City. But then again, he was playing against a midfield duo of a CB and a nonchalant Toure.

True but then again, it is always a risk when we take a proactive approach in pressing high up the pitch. If the opposition manages to bypass that pressure or someone switches off, then they'll have a clear run at our back 4. Hasn't happened a lot but it does happen here and there a little bit.

[dee25 1,044]

He hasn't played many games with Matic so it might be too early to draw any conclusions but the reason why Luiz plays well with him is probably the same reason why he works well with T. Silva.

Luiz tends to perform better when there's a more competent player beside him.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Personally for me, if he does stay and if we do sign another top CM then I'd like him to play at CB against teams that'll sit deep against us because we then have 3 great distributors at the start of every transition (Luiz, Matic, new top CM) and would definitely break down opponents a lot easier than we have this season.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Personally for me, if he does stay and if we do sign another top CM then I'd like him to play at CB against teams that'll sit deep against us because we then have 3 great distributors at the start of every transition (Luiz, Matic, new top CM) and would definitely break down opponents a lot easier than we have this season.

I'd rather have the better defenders in the team and let Matic and a midfielder look to distribute the ball. I also think it's a misnomer to suggest that at any point have we been at a disadvantage against any team because we've had Terry and Cahill at the back passing the ball forwards. In fact JT's passing is incredibly underrated. David Luiz's passing reminds me of David Beckham's quarterbacking against Northern Ireland - pretty but ineffectual. If you want to move the ball through the lines then do it on the ground and let Matic do it.

One more thing - if we're struggling to break teams down then Cahill and Terry's presence at set-pieces is a fantastic weapon.

But ultimately it comes down to this - there's not an attack in the Premier League who are so inept that I would trust David Luiz in defence against them.

[Fernando 6,585]

Well David Luiz should have started the season as a DM.

But it seems mourinho has a big dislike for benetiz that he didn't want to follow any of his tactics.

Yet after half a season he has to swallow his mistake and admit that David Luiz at DM is much better then mikel at DM.

[LAM09 7,056]

For me the only out and out DMF of any quality at the club is Matic. Mikel is beyond poor, and Luiz is doing well in that position ATM, but it clearly isn't his preferred position.

[The Skipper 20,609]

I'd rather have the better defenders in the team and let Matic and a midfielder look to distribute the ball. I also think it's a misnomer to suggest that at any point have we been at a disadvantage against any team because we've had Terry and Cahill at the back passing the ball forwards. In fact JT's passing is incredibly underrated. David Luiz's passing reminds me of David Beckham's quarterbacking against Northern Ireland - pretty but ineffectual. If you want to move the ball through the lines then do it on the ground and let Matic do it.

One more thing - if we're struggling to break teams down then Cahill and Terry's presence at set-pieces is a fantastic weapon.

But ultimately it comes down to this - there's not an attack in the Premier League who are so inept that I would trust David Luiz in defence against them.

It's not about just "passing" though, it's about penetrating, playing a high line, and allowing someone with a bit more finesse and technical ability than Terry or Cahill to start the moves from the back. We have that in Luiz, I'm not just talking about his passing ability obviously.

You're missing my point, I do want Matic to distribute the ball from the back, but if we have him, Luiz, and let's say someone like Kroos in the team against teams that just sit deep, we've definitely got more impetus in controlling the game and creating more. Instead of just having Matic distributing the ball, you have two other technically good players creating things from deep. That in turn allows players like Oscar and Hazard to remain further up the pitch because they don't need to drop back to regain the ball as often, thus making us again more potent offensively. That's what I'm trying to get across.

You're being way too harsh on Luiz, everyone knows he's not having the greatest of seasons but to pretend that he's never had good or great games for us at CB because of that is ridiculous IMO. You and a few others are being very selective with your thinking, acting like he's never been good at CB for us here, or like he's never shown any consistency there when that's far from the truth.

Same people that wanted JT gone last season because he wasn't having a good season.

[The only place to be 11,313]

It's not about just "passing" though, it's about penetrating, playing a high line, and allowing someone with a bit more finesse and technical ability than Terry or Cahill to start the moves from the back. We have that in Luiz, I'm not just talking about his passing ability obviously.

You're missing my point, I do want Matic to distribute the ball from the back, but if we have him, Luiz, and let's say someone like Kroos in the team against teams that just sit deep, we've definitely got more impetus in controlling the game and creating more. Instead of just having Matic distributing the ball, you have two other technically good players creating things from deep. That's what I'm trying to get across.

You're being way too harsh on Luiz, everyone knows he's not having the greatest of seasons but to pretend that he's never had good or great games for us at CB because of that is ridiculous IMO. You and a few others are being very selective with your thinking, acting like he's never been good at CB for us here, or like he's never shown any consistency there when that's far from the truth.

Same people that wanted JT gone last season because he wasn't having a good season.

We can play a high line with Terry and Cahill (an article in the news about it today in fact). I'm fine with Luiz in midfield but I think you're completely overestimating his impact from defence. He doesn't make us anymore incisive than Terry or Cahill. In fact I'd take John Terry's passing ability over Luiz's anyday.

Luiz has not played well in defence for much of the season, whilst Cahill and Terry have been the form partnership in the league. Messing about with that for the sake of a couple of Hollywood passes that add NOTHING whatsoever is just silly, especially when you have two players in front of him who can do that.

There's a very good reason why David Luiz doesn't get selected in defence by Jose and it's got nothing to do with me and a few other people being harsh on him. You might say it's his form, but I'll say it's his concentration. That's why I'm actually excited about seeing him develop as a midfielder and terrified about seeing him play in defence for us.

Plus the JT situation was different. There's a LOT of other stuff associated with him that was very fresh in the memory.